Explore Membership Coach

Why Become a Member?
As the national authority on public speaking and debate, the National Speech & Debate Association provides the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around the world. We create a platform for youth voices to be heard and celebrated, which culminates with an annual National Tournament, the pinnacle of Public Speaking.
Member Benefits
Coaches
Get Recognized
- Students, coaches, and schools earn points for competition, academic excellence, leadership, and service activities in our Honor Society.
Embrace Your Community
- Member schools receive a free copy of Rostrum magazine, which shares quarterly news, team profiles, scholarly articles, and national updates.
- Peers answer your teaching and coaching questions via our online forums, accessible by 5,000 colleagues at more than 3,000 member schools across the country.
Gain Access to Direct Program Support
- Teams can earn up to $2,500 with our Big Questions Debate fundraising program and take advantage of discounted services from EdCo, the fundraising platform designed for the K-12 community.
Improve Your Classes and Practices
- Unlock practice drills, judging guides, event overviews, and fresh resources every month!
- Access instructional units with lesson plans, handouts, and resources to teach Policy, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum Debate, as well as a full semester speech course.
- Utilize free access to HeinOnline, an outstanding research product with millions of pages of legal history normally only available to law students and legal professionals.
Develop Your Coaching Skills
- Pursue professional development opportunities and credit through our learning management system, NSDA Learn.
- Demonstrate achievement via our professional coach accreditation program.
- Learn best practices with our online textbooks for Public Forum and Congress, World Schools, Policy, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, and Extemporaneous Speaking.
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Students
Expand Your Resume
- Gain membership in one of the oldest and most respected honor societies.
- Earn local, state, and national recognition for competitive success, academic excellence, and service activities.
Compete Against The Best of The Best
- Compete to attend the National Tournament, the pinnacle of public speaking, where 54 national champions are crowned.
- Join a community where student voices are given a platform to be heard and celebrated.
Earn Money For College
- Member students are eligible to earn a portion of the $150,000 in college scholarships we give annually.
Prepare for College, A Career, and the Future


Access More Than 1,000 Competitive Resources
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- Prepare for competition or practice sessions with fresh sets of Extemp questions, Congress legislation, and World Schools motions.
- Access debate topic resources to build arguments and keep them up to date throughout the season.
- Gain insight by watching the best in the nation perform in National Tournament final round videos from our archives dating back to 1985.
- Learn from event experts in our community with courses on NSDA Learn.
How to Start a Team Guide
Find the resources you need to advocate for a new program.
Membership Structure
Annual School MembershipHigh School: $149 Middle School: $75 |
Membership is good through July 31 of the school year for which you are renewing. Renew or join as a new school!


ACCESS LEVEL | MEMBER BENEFITS | COST | CYCLE | ||||
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STUDENT BENEFITS |
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MS: $10 HS: $20 |
One-time | ||||
COACH MEMBERSHIP |
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$20 | One-time |
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RESOURCE PACKAGE |
Enhance Your MembershipNSDA membership includes access to excellent training tools, competitive resources, and more. The Resource Package is a membership add-on for teams or individuals that offers the best speech and debate resources around all for one low price. The Resource Package provides coaches, educators, and students with valuable resources to improve their speech and debate skills, all curated by experts at the NSDA and successful educators across the country. Highlights include:
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$199 | ANNUAL |
Interested in learning about all of the benefits of NSDA membership? Find more information below!