National and State Contest Dates

NATIONAL CONTESTS are April 5-7, 2019, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Maryland sends one contestant to the first of the three National rounds. The top three national finalists earn berths in Original Oratory at the National Speech & Debate national tournament. National winners also win a trip to the National Convention in August. 

The road to the National Contest looks like this: 

1. Post Contests: January 2019. The American Legion Post is the primary entity of our organization. You will begin your competition here. Contestants should commit to and start to write, memorize, and practice their speeches by Thanksgiving or at least by the December school break time!
2. County Contests: Early February 2019.  Each Maryland county has between 7 and 46 Legion Posts and the county competition is the next step for the Post winners. You can usually expect 3-5 competitors at this level. 
3. District Contests: Late February 2019. There are seven Legion districts in Maryland. Each district is comprised of between 2 and 6 counties but you can usually expect 2-4 competitors at this level. 
4. State Finals On March 3, 2019.  This year's contest will be held at Stevenson University in Owing Mills, MD.  ​Not only does the winner of the state contest go to the national contest in April, but we invite you to speak at our state convention in Ocean City on July 18, 2019.   

Get Details About the State/Department Contest