Johnston among hosts, competitors for 2025 National Speech and Debate Tournament
By Lynn Meadows, JCSD Director of Communications
JOHNSTON, Ia. (June 13, 2025) — Thousands of students from across the nation will be here next week when Johnston High School will once again be a host school for the National Speech and Debate Tournament, June 15-20, 2025.
The event is expected to bring 6,700 high school and middle school students from 1,500 schools to the Greater Des Moines area, and will recognize 42 champions. JHS speech and debate coach Jeremy Fitzpatrick is one of four members of the national tournament’s local host steering committee.
Other host schools include Valley, Roosevelt, Northwest and East high schools, along with Hiatt, Timberline, Trailridge and South middle schools, and the Iowa Events Center. Round 1 of three competitions — policy, Lincoln-Douglas and public forum — is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. Monday, June 16 at Johnston, Valley and Roosevelt.
This year’s event is special because it’s the centennial year. The National Speech and Debate Association was founded in 1925.
Eight JHS students to compete
Johnston will not only be a host of the National Speech & Debate Tournament but a participant, as well. Johnston High School has eight students who have qualified for the national tournament. Six will compete in main events starting Monday. They’ll know Tuesday afternoon if they qualify. They are:
Alan Qi in United States Extemporaneous Speaking, where students are presented with a choice of three questions related to current events in the United States and in 30 minutes prepare a seven-minute speech answering tone of the proposed questions. Students may consult articles and evidence they gather prior to the contest, but may not use the internet during preparation. Topics range from political matters to economic concerns to U.S. foreign policy. The speech is delivered from memory
Advik Bajpai in International Extemporaneous Speaking, where students are presented a choice of three questions related to international current events, and in 30 minutes prepare a 7-minute speech from memory, answering the selected question. Topics range from country-specific issues to regional concerns and foreign policy.
Ella Devine in Dramatic Interpretation, where students use a play, short story or other published work to perform a selection of one or more portions of a piece up to 10 minutes in length. This focuses on a student’s ability to convey emotion through the use of dramatic text.
Aravind Balaji in Senate Congressional Debate. He is a three-time national qualifier in Congressional Debate, judges preside over a room of students as they simulate the United States Congress’ process for debating legislation. A typical round of Congress is 3 to 4 hours long.
Manasvi Dhanekula and Shreyas Shrestha in House Congressional Debate. Shrestha is also a three-time national qualifier in Congressional Debate, where judges preside over a room of students as they simulate the United States Congress’ process for debating legislation. A typical round of Congress is 3 to 4 hours long.
Supplemental Events
Two additional JHS students will be representing Johnston in the National Speech and Debate Tournament’s supplemental events that start on Wednesday. They are:
Marla Wirt in prose. Prose expresses thought through language recorded in sentences and paragraphs: fiction (short stories, novels) and non-fiction (articles, essays, journals, biographies). She has up to 5 minutes to perform her piece and is allowed to use a script while performing.
Aubrey Moser in Storytelling. Storytelling is a single published, printed story, anecdote, tale, myth, or legend must be retold without notes or props. Any theme/topic area may be used. The piece must be memorized and she has up to 5 minutes to perform her piece.
Each year, the National Speech & Debate Tournament travels to a different major city across the United States. The event will be held in Richmond, Virginia in 2026 and in Phoenix, Arizona in 2027.