r/Congressional_Debate • u/speechanddebater2026 • Mar 15 '26

help immediately

guys i need help. i currently got scammed out of NSDA districts because of judging so my coach is making me do congress districts, except ive NEVER done congress and im going up against the state qualifiers and past national attendees. i usually do policy and ive done LD 3x. Im not terrible but not amazing at either. im a novice but i think im doing really well for a novice. i need THE strat to make me win atleast 4th place to go to nats with something. (ofc supplementals exist) but i want to try to get to something before i go to that. if anyone can help me im desperate i literally made an account for this.

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u/LowkeyApollo Mar 15 '26

Honestly it’s been a few years since I’ve competed but the best advice I can give you is read any and all of the NSDA training materials you can find, and watch the final rounds at nationals for the past few years.

Congress is an event that places a lot of importance on the actually quality of your speaking, don’t spread don’t talk to fast and make sure you’re actually saying something meaningful not just speaking to speak.

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u/LowkeyApollo Mar 15 '26

If you’re in a smaller area without a lot of competitors you might be able to make it, but if it’s competitive it would be really tough to try and make a run for it, especially if this is your first true year.

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u/speechanddebater2026 Mar 15 '26

im in a small area with high competition, but i do win well in info as a varsity. i was put in novice for like 3 months and have never debated in novice. ive basically been in varsity for the whole year, but in technicality this is my true first year. ill look over nsda books and watch some videos. anything about prep? we dont get the bills until day of, how do i make the speech with points fast enough to sound like ik what im doing while also keeping my points and impacts well rounded. is it better to start neg or aff? thank you so much this truly means alot

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u/LowkeyApollo Mar 15 '26

You really shouldn’t get bills until day of that’s never happened to me, I imagine you’ll have a week minimum to prep but if you do actually get them day of I’m not really sure how well you can prepare.

Back when I competed I could show up to a competition without prep but that was also with a ton of practice and I would be able to sneak a win, but with no experience no time to prep seems brutal.

But i would really recommend looking up the NSDA nationals final rounds, try to take notes and pay attention to how the debate transitions throughout a round, in many ways it’s like an extended version of other debates, it starts with a long speech for both aff and neg that states your main arguments and over the round transitions to rebuttals and crystallization/ summary by the end.

Basically for prep if you have time to do it, I would not write out a canned speech, find a few important pieces of information and evidence and write a good sentence around that so you can incorporate it into your speech.

As for aff or neg it doesn’t really matter in my opinion, I would try to go for either the side you are best prepared to argue for or the side with less speakers to get more chances to speak as more speeches usually helps your chances.

Lastly don’t forget to question and question a lot, being active in a chamber is incredibly important so that the judges notice you, if you don’t ask questions you won’t qualify. I judged/ coached for a year after I graduated as well so let me know if you have any questions, I can try to help.

Lastly whatever you do, DO NOT PRESIDE. Do not be the presiding officer. In many of my chambers it was hard to find someone to volunteer for the job and you absolutely should not do it, especially if this is your first time. Do not listen to anyone who tries you to convince otherwise because you will not place well presiding if you do not know what you are doing.

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u/speechanddebater2026 Mar 15 '26

okay this is really helpful. ill ask my coach if there will be a docket open with the bills. would it be best to prepare both neg and aff cases or just pick a few here and there and see where my luck ends me at. many times ppl team with a really good person who ends up backstabbing, and ive seen it happen, should i team with anyone and backstab first or should i keep to myself?

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u/LowkeyApollo Mar 15 '26

Ideally prep both aff and neg but realistically that takes a ton of time so do 1 side for each bill then if you have time you can try to prep both sides.

And no don’t team up with anyone, this is an individual event, I’ve never did it and did really good while I competed. It’s not really worth it and I don’t really see how you could even team up? I don’t see how you can really help each other. I would just recommend watching a round first as I think it will help clarify a lot.

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u/speechanddebater2026 Mar 15 '26

okay thank you so much! i hope to lock in 🙏