Judges
Welcome Judges!
Thank you for giving your time and expertise to judge speech and debate. Your feedback helps students grow as communicators, thinkers, and advocates while giving them the opportunity to be heard, challenged, and encouraged.
Whether you’re new to judging or an experienced adjudicator, we’re grateful for your role in creating meaningful learning experiences for students. Get started by completing your judge accreditation and preparing to make an impact, one round at a time.
Sign up to Judge!
Let coaches know you are available to judge.
Learn to Judge
Complete judge accreditation training to sharpen your evaluation and feedback skills.
Viewpoint Diversity
For over 100 years, the NSDA has created a healthy marketplace of ideas where disagreement is productive, rather than divisive. Since our founding in 1925, we have upheld a strong commitment to viewpoint diversity. To ensure viewpoint diversity is respected inside as well as outside speech and debate rounds, our judge training and certification programs emphasize that personal or political beliefs must never influence competitive outcomes. This includes provisions at NSDA tournaments for removing judges and ballots that cite personal or political views as the basis for a decision.
Need to hire judges?
FAQs
What is the NSDA’s role in this process?
The NSDA provides this board as a service to tournament directors, schools, teams, and judges. The NSDA does not endorse or vouch for any judges listed. Each school is responsible for following its own district and institutional policies regarding the hiring and vetting of judges. Additionally, the NSDA is not involved in any financial agreements between schools and judges. Coaches are encouraged to review a judge’s paradigm on Tabroom.com with the NSDA’s Judge Paradigm Standards in mind before making any hiring decisions.
How much should judges get paid?
Payment rates are determined individually between schools and judges. A commonly observed rate is approximately $20–$30 per hour-long round.
How often is this list updated?
Judges listed have signed up during the current academic year. The list is cleared annually in July, and judges must re-register each academic year to remain on the board.
Who can sign up to judge?
Anyone who has graduated from high school is welcome to sign up as a judge. Schools are responsible for following their district or institutional policies when hiring and vetting judges. The NSDA does not participate in or oversee any financial agreements between schools and judges. Please note that the NSDA National Tournament only accepts judges who are at least two years out of high school.
Who should I contact with my questions and/or concerns about this process?
Please direct your emails to Jennifer Borman at jennifer.borman@speechanddebate.org
Will signing up guarantee someone contacts me?
No. Signing up simply adds your name to the public judge board. It is entirely up to individual schools to decide which judges they choose to contact and hire.
Sign Up to Judge
Interested in being a judge for NSDA-affiliated and/or school-affiliated tournaments? Sign up below!
Judges are some of the most vital contributors to the speech and debate community. For many tournaments, judges are the limiting factor without which tournaments would not be possible.
Sign up below to use your skills and expertise so more students can compete in speech and debate!