National and State Contest Dates
NEW THIS YEAR: the NATIONAL CONTESTS are scheduled for May 16-19, 2024, at Hillsdale College in Michigan. This new date is 3-4 weeks later than recent tradition, so the state finals are scheduled a little later as well. Posts and Districts can plan accordingly.
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:
NEW THIS YEAR: the NATIONAL CONTESTS are scheduled for May 16-19, 2024, at Hillsdale College in Michigan. This new date is 3-4 weeks later than recent tradition, so the state finals are scheduled a little later as well. Posts and Districts can plan accordingly.
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:
- Post Contests: Late January or early February 2024. The American Legion Post is the primary entity of our organization. You will begin your competition here -- use the Contact Us information to find a sponsoring Post. Students must sign up not later than November 17, 2023 with a sponsoring Post. Contestants start now to start to write, memorize, and practice their speeches by Thanksgiving or at least by the December school break time.
- District Contests: Late February or early March 2024. There are eight Legion districts in Maryland. Each district is comprised of between 4-6 counties but you can usually expect 2-4 competitors at this level.
- The State Finals will be on Sunday, March 17, 2024 in Towson, Maryland. There may be up to eight competitors at this level. Not only does the winner of the state contest go to the national contest in May, but we look forward to you speaking at our state convention in Ocean City on July 17-18, 2024.