Minnesota's Sanyu Mwassa and Mariam Elias-Danjuma won a national championship in duo interpretation in 2024. Photo: Emily Bratton/Courtesy of the NSDA
More than 6,300 of the nation's top high school speakers — including many from the Houston area — are in Des Moines, Iowa, for this week's National Speech & Debate Tournament.
Why it matters: Future leaders in politics and culture are likely to be at this tournament now in its 100th year.
Flashback: A young Oprah, Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Hasan Minhaj and Stephen Colbert all once competed.
The organization says four of the nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices are speech and debate alums — and Neil Gorsuch is a former national champion.
Zoom in: More than 150 students from across the Houston area — including from Alief, Fort Bend, Houston, Conroe, Katy, Montgomery and Spring Branch ISDs, as well as several private schools — will represent the region at the tournament.
How it works: At nationals, 12 main categories of competition fall under the umbrellas of "speech" or "debate."
In debate events, competitors verbally spar over morals and values, current events, or policy plans, or in mock sessions of a legislature.
In "public address" speech events, competitors deliver persuasive or informative speeches.
"Interpretation" events look more like competitive acting, featuring humorous or dramatic monologues, or a scene with a partner.
By the numbers: Since 2000, 38 Texans have won the tournament's main events, more than from any other state save for Minnesota.
What's next: The final rounds will be live-streamed on Thursday and Friday.
