The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) is the largest interscholastic speech and debate organization serving middle school and high school students in the United States. It is also the national authority on public speaking and debate.
Extemporaneous Speaking is a speech delivery style/speaking style, and a term that identifies a specific forensic competition. The competition is a speech event based on research and original analysis, done with a limited-preparation; in the United States those competitions are held for high school and college students. In a Extemporaneous Speech competition, enrolled participants prepare for thirty minutes on a question related to current events and then give a seven-minute speech responding to that question. The extemporaneous speaking delivery style, referred to as "off-the-cuff", is a type of delivery method for a public presentation, that was carefully prepared and practiced but not memorized.
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organization of its type in the world.
The Texas Forensic Association (TFA) is an organization that provides and regulates competition in speech and debate (forensics) for Texas high school students. The association authorizes forensics competitions nearly every weekend in Texas for the duration of the forensics season, which lasts from early August until the end of February, with the State competition typically in the first or second week of March.
Midway High School is a public high school located in the city of Waco, Texas, USA and classified as a 6A school by the UIL. It is part of the Midway Independent School District, which serves the Waco, Texas area. Although the school is located in southwestern Waco, most students live in the suburbs of Woodway and Hewitt. The school was formerly located in Hewitt until the fall of 2003, when the current high school was built a half-mile away. The previous building is now Midway Middle School.
Whitesboro Independent School District is a public school district based in Whitesboro, Texas (USA).
Liberty High School is a public high school located in the city of Frisco, Texas, United States. It is classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Frisco Independent School District located in east central Collin County, and is currently one of ten high schools in the district. The school initially opened in 2006 in what is now Fowler Middle School and the following year opened in its own building on Rolater Road. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency. It has a rivalry with Centennial High School, which the students refer to as the "Rolater Rumble”
Bushland High School is a 3A high school located in Bushland, Texas (USA). It is part of the Bushland Independent School District located in southwestern Potter County. In 2014, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Grand Prairie High School is a public high school in Grand Prairie, Texas. It is one of three high schools serving the 41-campus Grand Prairie Independent School District, which encompasses the Dallas County portion of Grand Prairie.
Angleton High School is a public high school located just outside the city of Angleton, Texas, United States in unincorporated Brazoria County. It is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the Angleton Independent School District located in south central Brazoria County. For the 2021-2022 school year, the school was given a "B" by the Texas Education Agency.
Electra High School is a public high school in Electra, Texas. It is part of the Electra Independent School District located in western Wichita County. In 2013, Electra High School was rated "Improvement Required" by the Texas Education Agency.
Carthage High School is a public high school located in the city of Carthage, Texas. It is part of the Carthage Independent School District located in central Panola County and classified as a 4A school by the UIL. In 2022, the Texas Education Agency awarded Carthage high a grade of "A", with distinctions earned in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Science, Progress, Closing the Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.
Lindsay High School or Lindsay Secondary School is a public high school located in Lindsay, Texas, in Cooke County (USA) and classified as a 2A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Lindsay Independent School District located in west central Cooke County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Big Spring High School is a public high school located in Big Spring, Texas and classified as a 4A Division I school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is part of the Big Spring Independent School District located in north central Howard County. The high school building was dedicated on March 23, 1952. The dedication address was given by J.W. Edgar, State Commissioner of Education. This was the first new high school built in 35 years, and the third in the districts history. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Lampasas High School or LHS is a public high school located in the city of Lampasas, Texas, United States and classified as a 4A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the Lampasas Independent School District located in south central Lampasas County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Crane High School is a public high school located in Crane, Texas, United States. It is part of the Crane Independent School District which covers all of Crane County and is classified as a 3A school by the UIL. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Van High School is a public high school located in Van, Texas (USA). It is part of the Van Independent School District located in east central Van Zandt County and classified as a 4A school by the UIL. With just over 750 students, it is the largest high school in Van Zandt County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
The American Forensic Association National Speech Tournament (AFA-NST) is an intercollegiate, individual events based forensics tournament held in conjunction with the first Saturday in April, beginning on the prior Friday and continuing through the subsequent Monday. In comparison to National Forensic Association Nationals, another prominent college-level individual events national tournament, the AFA-NST has significantly more stringent qualification procedures and a smaller, but more exclusive field of competition. The AFA-NST represents the culmination of the forensics season for many collegiate speech teams.
Merkel High School is a public high school located in Merkel, Texas, United States, and classified as a 3A school by the UIL. It is part of the Merkel Independent School District. The high school serves approximately 330 students from areas on the Northwestern part of Taylor County. Generally students from the area come from either Merkel, Tye, or Trent. A small portion of southwestern Jones County lies within the district also. The district and the school are both named after the Baylor Merkel, the first settler in the area. In 2016, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
The University Interscholastic League Academic Contests, also known as UIL Academics, is a series of academic contests offered by the University Interscholastic League in the state of Texas. At the High School level, 30 contests are offered. At the Middle and Elementary School levels, 20 contests are offered. The UIL estimates that more than half a million students participate in its competitions in a given year.
