Get started with WASDL
Join WASDL, volunteer to judge or just ask a question.
Joining at a glance
- Who can join
- Any public or private middle or high school in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area
- Where
- The District of Columbia, southern Maryland and Northern Virginia
- How to apply
- The team coach submits an application, approved by the school principal. Apply for 2026–27
- First-year dues
- $150 for new schools or schools returning after an extended absence. Later years scale with the previous year's entries
- Student entry fees
- None at preliminary tournaments. $10 per student at MetroFinals
- Events
- 8 speech and 4 debate formats. Attend as many or as few tournaments as you wish
- On site
- A school-authorized adult for the whole tournament, plus trained judges in proportion to your entries
- Middle schools
- Compete independently or with the high school they feed into
Join WASDL
All public and private middle and high schools in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area are invited to join! WASDL is a membership-based organization. The team coach must complete an application, approved by the school principal, to join the league. The WASDL geographic boundaries encompass the District of Columbia, southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Middle schools can compete either independently or as members of the high school they would normally feed into.
WASDL administers tournaments in eight different speech and four different debate formats. Schools can attend as many or as few tournaments as they wish. Visit our competition event page to learn more about the different formats offered.
WASDL requires each team to have a school-authorized adult on-site for the entirety of each tournament. Usually this is the team coach, but school principals can authorize additional people to be the tournament-day chaperone. These designated adults are there to address any student emergencies that may arise, such as an illness or accident. Schools must also supply trained adult judges for each tournament, proportional to the number of student entries.
Entry level membership dues are offered to schools that are joining for the first time or rejoining after an extended absence. For subsequent years, dues scale based on the number of student entries for the previous year. Annual dues cover tournament hosting costs, lunch for judges, and awards for students.
Tournament communications. By joining WASDL as a coach or school representative, or by registering to judge, you agree that WASDL and its tournament officials may contact you by email, phone and text message about tournament operations, such as assignments, schedule changes, delays and follow-up on issues. These are never marketing messages. Message frequency varies; message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any text to opt out, or HELP for help. See our Privacy Policy and Text Message Terms.
Get in touch
Any questions? Let us know. We'll get back to you promptly.