NDCA National Championships
Catalog organization: National Debate Coaches Association
Compiled by: ExtracurricularHub Editorial Team — editorial policy
Last updated
What Is NDCA National Championships?
The National Debate Coaches Association (NDCA) National Championships are an annual in-person culmination for high-school debaters on the national circuit. The latest completed 2026 tournament offered Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate and Public Forum Debate. Students compete through preliminary and elimination rounds for national placement and event honors. The 2027 event is confirmed for March 19-21 at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, but NDCA has not yet posted its 2027 event list, topics, invitation, Tabroom registration, qualification system, fees, judge obligations or detailed schedule.
This is not an open-entry introductory program and is not limited to policy debate. Archived NDCA procedures required students to represent a school, remain eligible for that school's extracurricular activities and satisfy event qualification or waitlist priorities based on national-circuit results. They also required an accompanying adult employed by the school or district. Those archived rules explain the tournament's competitive context but are not a substitute for the forthcoming 2027 invitation.
NDCA National Championships Key Facts: Cost, Deadline, and Eligibility
| Cost | Varies — see Cost and funding |
|---|---|
| Format | In person |
| Eligibility | Grades 9–12 |
| Application deadline | Dates not announced |
| Listing last updated | August 30, 2026 |
Program details shown here reflect the current catalog record.
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