Tier 2 through Tier 5
Placement and elimination points
Placement points by tournament tier| Place | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 |
|---|
| 1 | 150 | 100 | 70 | 40 |
|---|
| 2 | 120 | 85 | 60 | 34 |
|---|
| 3 | 105 | 70 | 49 | 28 |
|---|
| 4 | 75 | 50 | 35 | 20 |
|---|
| 5 | 60 | 40 | 28 | 16 |
|---|
| 6 | 50 | 33 | 23 | 13 |
|---|
Elimination-round points by tournament tier| Furthest round | Tier 2 | Tier 3 | Tier 4 | Tier 5 |
|---|
| semifinal | 38 | 25 | 18 | None |
|---|
| quarterfinal | 23 | 15 | None | None |
|---|
| octafinal | 8 | None | None | None |
|---|
International and United States Extemp are scored separately, then one division may receive the strong-field multiplier.
| Place | Base points |
|---|
| 1 | 200 |
| 2 | 170 |
| 3 | 140 |
| 4 | 100 |
| 5 | 80 |
| 6 | 66 |
| 7 | 50 |
| 8 | 48 |
| 9 | 46 |
| 10 | 44 |
| 11 | 40 |
| 12 | 38 |
| 13 | 36 |
| 14 | 34 |
NSDA adjustments
- The division containing more competitors from the post-NCFL top 25 receives a 1.25 multiplier.
- Multiplication uses half-up rounding to the nearest whole point.
- The final-round winner receives a 40-point base bonus. It is also multiplied in the strong-field division.
- Quarterfinalists receive 30 base points. Octafinalists receive 10.
- If both divisions contain the same number of top-25 competitors, neither receives the multiplier.
Policy calculator
Try a placement
This explanatory tool reads the same frozen values as the scoring engine. It does not create or change an award.
Current roster
Twenty-one tracked tournaments
Names and tiers come directly from the executable 2026-27 policy.
The Arizona State HDSHC Invitational joins the race as aTier 4 tournament beginning in 2026-27. It is not applied retroactively to the 2025-26 reconstruction.
Tier 2
- Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round RobinMBA top-six exception
- Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament
- NCFL Grand National Tournament
Tier 3
- Glenbrooks
- University of Texas Longhorn Classic
- California Invitational
- University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions
Tier 4
- Yale Invitational
- Florida Blue Key
- Princeton Classic
- Barkley Forum
- Stanford National Invitational
- Tournament of Champions of Extemporaneous Speaking
- National Individual Events Tournament of Champions
- Arizona State HDSHC Invitational
Tier 5
- National Speech and Debate Season Opener at the University of Kentucky
- New York City Invitational
- George Mason Patriot Games
- James Logan MLK Invitational
- Apple Valley Minneapple Speech Tournament
Finals and divisions
Edge cases are policy, too.
- Places 1 through 6 receive placement points in a standard final.
- In an oversized final, seventh place or lower falls to the preceding elimination bucket when the tier has one.
- MBA awards points only to its top six. Its legacy final-credit limit is five for the finals tiebreak.
- When a competitor enters multiple eligible divisions at one tournament, only the highest single award counts.
Standings and evidence
Sorting, corrections, and restraint.
- Standings sort by points, wins, top-three finishes, then finals. Exact competitive ties share a rank.
- Official corrections produce a new standings version and preserve prior history.
- Ambiguous identities and contradictory sources are withheld. The system does not guess.
- Unavailable or not-held tournaments remain visible with that status and award no points.