All high school and middle schools are invited to participate in the 2023-2024 New Jersey Speech and Debate League (NJSDL) Online Speech Festival Series. These festivals are designed to provide students on speech and debate teams as well as students in traditional classroom environments an avenue to develop and share their public speaking and performance skills in a convenient, educational, and fun way! The NJSDL Festivals are open to students from ANY STATE and each festival will have specific themed events connected to calendar celebrations during the year.

2023-2024 REGISTRATION & VIDEO DEADLINES

• October 2023 NJSDL Online Speech Festival
  Registration and videos closed on October 15, 2023; Asynchronous Judging took place 10/16/23-10/19/23
• December 2023 NJSDL Online Speech Festival
  Registration and videos due on Speechwire.com by December 3, 2023; Asynchronous Judging will take place 12/4/23-12/7/23
• May 2024 NJSDL Online Speech Festival
  Registration and videos due on Speechwire.com by May 1, 2024; Asynchronous Judging 5/2/24-5/7/24

SPECIAL THEMED EVENTS & NJSDL ASYNCHRONOUS EVENTS Each festival will have specific themed events connected to calendar celebrations during the year.

2023-2024 Themes:

• The October 2023 NJSDL Online Speech Festival will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
• The December 2023 NJSDL Online Speech Festival will celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• The May 2024 NJSDL Online Speech Festival will celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month

The themed events for each festival will be:

• Congressional Debate Authorship Challenge (December 2023 Themed Legislation Packet)
• Prepared Prompt (December 2023 Themed Prompts)
• Original Spoken Word Poetry (December 2023 submissions should celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities)

The other NJSDL events offered will be:

• Children's Literature (HS Only)
• Dramatic Performance (MS & HS)
• Humorous Performance (MS & HS)
• Prose Interpretation (MS & HS)
• Poetry Interpretation (MS & HS)
• Program Oral Interpretation (MS & HS)
• Original Oratory (MS & HS)
• Informative Speaking (MS & HS)
• Declamation (MS & HS Freshman/Sophomores)
• Pro Con Challenge (MS & HS using the current Policy, LD or PFD Topics)

All events will follow rules in the NSDA High School Unified Manual and the NSDA Middle School Unified Manual. Children's Literature will follow the rules from the Ridge Invitational.

VIDEO SUBMISSIONS Teachers or coaches will upload videos of student performances to be evaluated by a selection of educators and experienced judges. Students will receive commentary and feedback aimed at helping them improve their speaking, performance, and communication skills! Students will receive recognition for their video submissions along with feedback from the evaluators. Coaches and teachers will also receive school recognition to display in their classrooms, offices, or team trophy cases.

ABOUT THE NJSDL The New Jersey Speech and Debate Leagueis a volunteer, member-led, not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that exists to promote the arts of effective communication among students in public and independent schools in New Jersey. The League is registered as an incorporated non-profit entity with the State of New Jersey. The League is also affiliated with the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), the National Federation of High Schools, and works in conjunction with the New Jersey District Committee as the governing body for NSDA activity in the state.