2022 National Speech and Debate Tournament Champions

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, June 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) is proud to announce the 2022 high school National Speech & Debate Tournament champions.
Following a week of intense competition among more than 5,000 high school students from 1,194 schools, 30 students were declared winners from 22 different competitive speaking events at the National Tournament. Find the list of champions here.

At the ninety-second National Tournament, students debated tough topics covering trade agreements with Taiwan, civil liberties, and environmental issues. Other championship performances ranged from interpretation of literature to public address to events where students have a limited amount of time to prepare a speech on a current event they've been assigned. Access the live stream archive to view the full range of issues addressed in final rounds.

"Every year, our national champions prove that students who participate in speech and debate have a superpower that they can use to change the world," said J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association. "This year, despite a global pandemic, these champions showed that shuttered schools couldn't stop them from sharing their message. We can't wait to learn what comes next for these future leaders."

This year's tournament is the largest in NSDA history with over 8,500 students participating across the three divisions offered: Online Supplemental Events, online middle school, and in-person high school. For the online supplemental events and in-person high school division, students competed throughout the year at one of 111 district tournaments to qualify for Nationals. Schools are allowed a certain number of entries to the district tournament. Districts are allocated a number of qualifiers based on the size of the district and their growth.

The National Speech & Debate Tournament is the pinnacle of public speaking and considered the largest academic competition in the nation.

The 2023 National Tournament will be held June 11-16 in Phoenix, AZ. For more information on the National Speech & Debate Tournament, visit www.speechanddebate.org/nationals. To learn more about joining the National Speech & Debate Association, visit www.speechanddebate.org.

The National Speech & Debate Association is the authority on public speaking and debate in the United States. The Association builds the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world by providing topics, educational resources, and training for students and coaches. For nearly 100 years, the National Speech & Debate Association has built a platform for youth voices that culminates in the National Tournament, the largest academic competition in the world. For more information, visit www.speechanddebate.org.

SOURCE National Speech & Debate Association