The Murrah High School Speech & Debate team and Millsaps College are proud and excited to partner as hosts for the 2026 MHSAA State Championships in Speech & Debate on April 24-25, 2026.

We need your help to put on this capstone event for Mississippi Speech & Debate! Please see below for the many ways you can contribute.

1. Purchase a Tournament Ad!

Every student and volunteer at the tournament will get a tournament book with the event rules and schedule, lists of previous state champions, and ads from supporting local businesses.

Purchase an ad for the tournament book today! Your money will support the Murrah Speech & Debate team and your ad will be seen by the whole state!

Sign up to purchase an ad using this form. 

2. Donate!

We're seeking donations of food items to serve to our volunteers and competing students during the tournament. We're especially interested in showcasing local Jackson restaurants and businesses! 

We're also looking for "swag" items from local businesses (branded pens, cups, key chains, or any other similar items) to put in our coaches' hospitality bags.

If you'd like to simply donate money to help us offset the costs of hosting, we'll take that too!

Fill out this form, and we'll be in touch!

3. Volunteer as a Judge!

One of the best ways to help us host the tournament is to volunteer your time as a judge! Speech & Debate judges are teachers, parents, college students, former competitors, and everyday people just like you! Anyone can be a Speech & Debate judge! You'll get to see some amazing performances and help us make the tournament a success!

Easy training materials and tutorial sessions will be provided! You can sign up for a specific shift or for the whole weekend! Read more about judging here. 

Sign up to judge today using this form. 

Did you know... 

All MHSAA-affiliated schools can enter the MHSAA State Championships? 

In addition to students who have qualified throughout the season, every MHSAA schools gets 5 "Wildcard" entries that can be used for new students or students who haven't yet qualified. Additionally, the events of Storytelling and Expository don't require students to qualify in advance. This means, even if a student or school hasn't competed in Speech & Debate before, they can participate at the MHSAA State tournament! 

Coaches can sign up student competitors online at the Tabroom.com website.

Did you know...

There are 18 events in MHSAA Speech & Debate? That means 18 different event state championships are up for grabs! (Track & Field still has more events, though.)

Debate events include Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Congressional Debate.

Platform speaking events include Original Oratory, Informative, Expository, Extemporaneous, Impromptu, and Declamation.

Interpretation and other speech events include Humorous, Dramatic, Duo, Duet Acting, Program Oral Interp, Prose, Poetry, and Storytelling.

Did you know...

Murrah's team has won 9 individual event state championships in the past decade! Click the "Home" button above and scroll down to see our past state champions!

This year, 13 Murrah students have qualified for the MHSAA State Tournament. See all the qualifiers on the "Home" page above.

Did you know...

Dating back to 2006 (when a team championship trophy was first awarded) only 4 schools have ever won the Overall Team MHSAA State Championship in Speech & Debate: Oak Grove High School, Hattiesburg High School, Madison Central High School, and Petal High School. 

They're all hoping for a repeat, and many schools are aiming for their first! Who will win it this year?