The Coolidge Texas Open has been postponed from January 24 to March 14, 2026, due to inclement weather. Please do not attempt to travel to Southern Methodist University on January 24.
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Tournament Tabroom.com Page
The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation is proud to announce its annual Coolidge Texas Open, a one-day debate tournament that will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. We are excited to bring a Coolidge Cup qualifying tournament to the Metroplex again this year!
Overview of the Tournament
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Times: A detailed schedule is available here. Please plan to arrive no later than 8:30 AM. Awards will conclude by 5:00 PM.
Format: Coolidge 1v1 “Singles” Debate.
Location: Southern Methodist University, Dallas Hall
Eligibility: All students currently enrolled in grades 6-12.
Cost: Free with lunch on Saturday provided.
Registration: Registration closes Tuesday, March 9, at 11:59 PM CST. Entries will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If and when we reach capacity, we will move to a waiting list ordered by time of entry.
Judges: Volunteer citizen judges are provided; attendees have no requirement to provide judges but are encouraged to provide judges at a ratio of one judge for every two competitors or fraction thereof.
Attire: Business professional.
Resolution and Research Brief
At this tournament, students will debate our spring 2026 topic, “Resolved: The United States federal government should repeal the Wagner Act.” We have prepared a research brief to assist students in their preparation, though students are welcome to make well researched, logical arguments beyond the material found in the brief.
Tournament Structure
Participants will begin Saturday with a topic seminar from a subject matter expert, followed by lunch and four rounds of competition for all competitors. Competitors will be paired randomly for round one, and paired high-low within brackets thereafter. To clarify, this means students debate an opponent with the same win-loss record as their own from round two onwards.
The top four finishers in the Open/Varsity division will each receive an invitation and paid travel to the 2026 Coolidge Cup, which is a national invitational speech and debate tournament sponsored by the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and held in President Coolidge’s historic hometown of Plymouth, Vermont, on July 2-4, 2026. Learn more about the Coolidge Cup.
Divisions
The tournament will have three divisions: Middle School, High School Novice, and High School Open/Varsity.
- All students in grades 6-8 must enter the Middle School division since they are not eligible to earn Coolidge Cup qualification. Only students in grades 6-8 may compete in the Middle School division.
- High school students with no experience or minimal experience may elect to participate in the Novice division. (We define a novice as a high school debater who is in their first year of any speech and debate competition.)
- High School students with experience debating in either the Coolidge Debate League or other leagues should participate in the Open/Varsity division. Any student in grades 9-12 may choose to enter the Open/Varsity division.
Format and Style
Students will compete in the Coolidge 1v1 debate format, the same format that is used at the Coolidge Cup. For those new to debating in this format, we highly recommend reviewing our debate education resources that provide information about this particular style and rules. Consistent with Coolidge debate’s mission, this tournament will recruit and use volunteer citizen judges. Schools are not required to provide judges for this tournament, but are encouraged to do so at a ratio of one judge for every two competitors or fraction thereof. Please ensure that any volunteer judges you recruit are familiar with the Coolidge format and its mission to remain accessible and persuasive for a broad, civic audience.
Judges
We need volunteer judges for our debate tournaments! We welcome citizen judges of all types, including parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, and other members of the community. Experience with debating or judging is not necessary. If you are interested, please take a look at our information for judges. On the morning of the tournament, we will hold a brief judge training session, where we will give you all the guidance you need for the day and will answer all of your questions. Register below to volunteer as a judge.
SMU Parking Information
Faculty parking is free and available for public use on Saturdays. Dr. Voth recommends Lot Q, shown on this map, which is the nearest parking lot to Dallas Hall (labeled 1, Google Maps pin), where debates will occur. Enter the lot labeled Q off of Daniel Avenue (Google Maps pin). Other buildings to note are the Umphrey Lee Center (labeled 10), where we will enjoy lunch in the dining hall courtesy of the Foundation, and Hyer Hall (labeled 39), where additional classrooms will be used for debates should tournament registration warrant it.
Questions
If you have any questions about the tournament, the Coolidge Cup, or about judging, please contact the Coolidge Foundation’s Director of Speech and Debate, Jonathan Peele.
Registration for Independent and Homeschool Competitors
Independent entries (students attending without the formal support of their school) and homeschool entries should register below using this form. If you need to make a change or cancel your registration, please reach out to [email protected]. For coaches of teams attending as a group officially representing your school, you must use this tournament’s page on Tabroom.com to add, change, or cancel your entries.
Registration for additional debaters at this tournament is now closed.