District National Qualifier

Fri–Sat, March 22nd-23rd (3/22-3/23)

The final tournament of our season concludes with the New Mexico District National Qualifier (aka “Nat Quals”) hosted at Albuquerque Academy.

Students compete for the honor of representing New Mexico at the NSDA National Championship in mid-June (the largest academic competition in the world!). No student may double-enter at the National Tournament. Therefore, a Single Entry Letter of Intent must be filed on Tabroom indicating the event in which the student will compete at the National Tournament should they qualify in multiple events. In this instance, they will vacate their qualifier status and the qualifiers will go to the 1st or 2nd alternates.
Students interested in attending nationals but unable to compete in this tournament should consider registering for the online NSDA Last-Chance Qualifier (4/25-4-27).

All students considering registering for District Nat Quals are encouraged to read more about the various ways to qualify to Nationals by visiting https://www.aaspeechanddebate.org/nationals.

This is a great final opportunity for students to compete locally this year and round out their season on the New Mexico circuit!

Specific event information, schedule, and the tournament invitation are available via the Tabroom.com link:

New Mexico District Qualifier 2024

Registration is due no later than Thursday, 3/7, at 4:00pm.

Schedule Considerations

  • Tournament falls during the first weekend of Spring Break — students should anticipate being in town through Saturday, 3/23 if they hope to compete and qualify to Nationals

  • Mock Trial State Championship has a conflict with this weekend

  • Some 9th graders may be on one of the required ex-ed trips.

  • Students are asked to register to formally compete ONLY if they have serious competitive intention and availability to attend Nationals this summer (June 16th-22nd). If students know that they absolutely CANNOT attend Nationals, we ask them to leave entries open for others. However, bear in mind that with good communication, many folks are willing to help accommodate schedules to allow for student attendance at this tournament given the excitement and prestige of this achievement!

  • However, if students know for sure that they CANNOT attend Nationals, they may still be able to help the District by entering in other events, even knowing that they may not attempt to qualify in those events. All events that reach 16 entries minimum will be able to send TWO top entries from New Mexico to the National Championship, so filling up as many of our entry slots as possible is to both our advantage was well as the District’s!

  • Students applying for Summer Employment with Think Academy should disclose the fact that they may need to miss week 3 of the summer program if they qualify in their events; the hiring office is willing to work with students to accommodate this!

Entry Rules and Considerations

  • Only students in grades 9 through 12 are eligible to compete at Nat Quals

  • Students must have earned at least 25 NSDA Honor Society points and have received the seal of “Merit” in order to be eligible

  • Competitors may register for up to two events + Congress (District Congress is held as a separate tournament on 2/10). (Ex: PF, HI, and Congress).

  • Debaters may not enter in more than one debate category.

  • Students who are excited about attending Nationals should consider applying for a spot one one of the NM District’s World School debate teams. Applications are available on the right-hand sidebar of newmexico.tabroom.com. Learn more about World Schools Debate here.