Iowa High School Speech Association

The Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) consists of member high schools from four districts in Iowa, United States, and offers three categories of competition: debate, large group, and individual events. At the end of each of the three contests, the Cooley Sweepstakes Trophy is awarded. To get to the all-state speech tournament, one must first proceed from the district and state tournaments. At district for speech, there is one judge (except for One Act Play, which has 3 judges) who issues ratings and every team or individual who receives a "I" goes on. At State (there are four "state" tournaments) there are three judges, and two out of three must not only give a "I" rating, but also give a recommendation.

The State Debate Tournament is typically held the first weekend of January each year. Schools are only allowed to enter a certain number of debaters in each category, aimed at getting the best debaters from Iowa to the tournament. Events include Student Congress and Lincoln-Douglas Debate, as well as others. The IHSSA uses the same rules and resolutions as the National Forensic League when hosting these events.

District tournaments are held for both large group and individual events separately.

State tournaments are also held separately for large group and individual events. There are four state tournaments in Iowa.

The All-State Festival is actually not a tournament because there are no judges or superior tournaments to compete for. Instead, the best in each category are showcased at two separate events. Critics give comments instead of ratings given by judges.

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