After several years of planning, the National Speech & Debate Tournament is coming to Richmond this summer across various venues, including Henrico County Schools, the Altria Theater, and the Greater Richmond Convention Center, where 42 champions will be crowned. Students will engage in descriptive storytelling (speech), while others focus on debating peers (debate).
The tournament will take place from June 14-19 and will involve over 7,000 competitors, including three from Deep Run High School, where the press conference to announce the tournament’s location was held on April 8.
Senior and seven-time national qualifier Shelly Purser had the opportunity to speak at the conference, highlighting her experience with speech throughout high school.
“Speech is so many things. It’s competition. It’s art. It’s community,” Purser said. “Now, I look back as a senior, and I can say with confidence nothing has changed my life more than speech has. Because when you strip away the glamour of props and costumes and slideshows, it leaves you with people and the stories that represent them.”
Since 2019, the Richmond Forum and the Richmond Region Tourism have been working to integrate the tournament into Virginia. After seven years of back-and-forth, it’s now happening. This will be the first time Virginia has hosted this tournament, and the first time since 2000 that it will be held in the Mid-Atlantic.
“This will be a historic moment for the region,” the executive director of the Richmond Forum, Heather Crislip said.
Many speech & debate alumni residing in or near Richmond believe this is a great opportunity to expand speech & debate outreach in the community.
“A lot of people don’t have the familiarity with speech & debate. I grew up with it, I’m familiar with it, I know how amazing and awesome it can be, but when it’s right here [Virginia], we have the opportunity to tell our friends and neighbours, ‘Go out and see what this is like,’” Board of Supervisors Vice Chair and Three Chopt District Supervisor Misty Roundtree said.
However, they are missing one key aspect: volunteers. The Richmond Forum is asking for volunteers to help in various ways, such as greeting participants at the airport or setting up competition sites. They need around 1000 volunteers to ensure the event runs smoothly. You can sign up to help volunteer for the tournament through their website: https://www.richmondforum.org/speech-and-debate-initiative/2026-2/.
