If you have ever spent a weekend trapped in a high school cafeteria wearing an ill-fitting suit, drinking lukewarm coffee, and talking to walls, you know the specific brand of chaos that is Speech and Debate.
It’s a world with its own language. We talk about “breaking,” “cutting cards,” and “spreading.” But then there are the events themselves. Some are universal. Oratory is everywhere. Extemp is everywhere. But then you stumble upon something called Original Advocacy (OA), and things get a little weird.
It usually happens when a student from Texas or New York moves to the West Coast, or when a California kid travels to Nationals. They look at the tournament schedule and ask the big question: Wait, where is OA?
So, let’s rip the band-aid off right now. Is Original Advocacy a California only event?
Basically, yes. But the “why” and the “sort of” are what make this interesting.
The California Bubble
For the uninitiated, Original Advocacy is a public speaking event where the student writes a speech identifying a problem and offering a specific legislative solution. It’s like Original Oratory’s nerdy cousin who watches C-SPAN for fun.
In California, specifically under the California High School Speech Association (CHSSA), OA is a huge deal. It’s a state championship event. Thousands of kids compete in it every year. They research bills, they propose amendments, they get incredibly passionate about zoning laws or plastic straw bans.
But once you cross the Sierra Nevada mountains? It effectively vanishes.
If you go to a tournament in Florida, they probably won’t know what you’re talking about. If you go to the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament—the Super Bowl of this activity—Original Advocacy is nowhere to be found on the main stage.
It is a distinct creature of the West Coast ecosystem. It’s kind of like In-N-Out Burger; sure, people know about it elsewhere, and maybe you can find a knock-off version in another state, but the real thing is fundamentally Californian.
Why Just California?
History in the speech world is a bit murky, usually stored in the memories of coaches who have been teaching since the 80s. But generally, California has always liked to do its own thing.
The state is massive. Because the competitive circuit in California is so big—we are talking about a state that has arguably the most competitive leagues in the country—they have the population to sustain niche events.
In smaller states, you barely have enough judges to cover the basics like Lincoln-Douglas Debate or Dramatic Interp. Adding an event that requires judges to understand legislative feasibility? That’s a tall order.
OA requires a judge to not just evaluate how you speak, but the actual viability of your law. In California, where the political culture is very active and students are often heavily engaged in civic issues, it fits.
You can actually see the current rules and ballots for the event on the CHSSA website, which highlights just how specific the criteria are compared to a standard persuasive speech.
The “Cousins” of Original Advocacy
Now, just because the specific title “Original Advocacy” doesn’t exist elsewhere, doesn’t mean the skill doesn’t exist.
If you are a student who loves OA but you move to Ohio, you aren’t totally out of luck. You just have to rebrand.
Original Oratory (OO)
This is the big one. In OO, you identify a problem and offer solutions. However, the vibe is different. Oratory is often more emotional, more cultural. It’s about changing hearts and minds. OA is about changing policy. But, plenty of advocacy speeches have been tweaked to become winning oratories on the national circuit.
Congressional Debate
This is the closest structural sibling. In Congress, you are literally debating bills. You aren’t giving a memorized ten-minute speech, but you are using the same research muscles. You are looking at the nuts and bolts of legislation.
Informative Speaking
Sometimes, an Advocacy speech can be retooled into an Informative speech (Info). The goal shifts from “we should pass this law” to “here is how this law works and why it’s broken.”
Is It Ever Contested Nationally?
Here is where I have to add a slight asterisk to the “California Only” rule.
Sometimes, invitational tournaments—these are big private tournaments run by universities like Harvard, Berkeley, or Stanford—will host varying events. Since Berkeley and Stanford are in California, they obviously run OA.
But occasionally, you will see a “supplemental” event at a national tournament that looks suspiciously like Advocacy. The NSDA sometimes trials new events or brings back old ones for fun. They have had events like “Prose,” “Poetry,” and “Expository” rotate in and out.
However, as a main event? No. You cannot become the NSDA National Champion in Original Advocacy. You can only become the California State Champion.
Why OA is Actually Kind of Special
There is a charm to the fact that Original Advocacy is a California only event.
It changes the tone of the speech. In Original Oratory, you can get away with platitudes. You can end a speech by saying, “So, let’s just be kinder to one another.” And the judges might cry and give you the 1.
In Advocacy, you can’t do that. You have to say, “Therefore, we must pass House Bill 405 to amend the code regarding…”
It forces high schoolers to stop complaining about problems and start thinking about how the government actually works. It turns teenagers into policy wonks. I’ve seen 16-year-olds give speeches on water rights legislation that were more coherent than actual city council meetings.
There is a level of grounded realism in OA that you don’t always get in other events.
What Should You Do if You Love OA?
If you are reading this and you are a California student who loves Advocacy, cherish it. You are in a unique bubble.
If you are thinking about competing in college, know that OA doesn’t really exist in the college circuit either (college forensics is a whole other beast with events like Communication Analysis).
But the skills transfer. The ability to look at a systemic issue, find the legislative bottleneck, and propose a fix? That is a life skill. That’s pre-law training. That is future-senator training.
For those outside California who are curious, you can sometimes find videos of final rounds online. It’s worth watching just to see the difference. The structure is rigid—Intro, Problem, Cause, Solution (Legislative), Conclusion. It’s a formula, but when it’s done well, it’s persuasive as hell.
If you want to look at the broader scope of speech events nationwide, the National Speech & Debate Association has resources on all the “standard” events that everyone else plays by.
The Verdict
So, to circle back: Is Original Advocacy a California only event?
Yes. It is the In-N-Out Burger, the Hollywood sign, the Pacific Coast Highway of the speech world. It is homegrown, specific, and fiercely defended by the people who compete in it.
It might be confusing to outsiders, and it might make transferring to a school in Kansas difficult, but it creates a specific type of speaker—one who knows that changing the world requires more than just passion; it requires paperwork.
FAQs
1. Can I qualify for Nationals in Original Advocacy?
No, you cannot qualify for the main NSDA National Tournament in Original Advocacy because it is not a national event. However, you can qualify for the California State Championship (CHSSA).
2. What is the difference between Original Oratory and Original Advocacy?
Original Oratory (OO) persuades the audience to change their mindset or behavior regarding a societal issue. Original Advocacy (OA) identifies a problem and proposes a specific legislative or regulatory solution to fix it.
3. Do any colleges offer scholarships for Original Advocacy?
Since college speech teams don’t compete in OA, you won’t get a scholarship specifically for that event. However, the skills you learn in OA (research, persuasion) make you a great recruit for college events like Persuasion or Extemp.
4. Can I use my Advocacy speech in an Oratory round?
Technically, yes, but you would likely need to rewrite the ending. Oratory judges usually look for social/personal solutions, whereas Advocacy judges look for legislative ones. A direct copy-paste might not score well.
5. Why doesn’t the NSDA adopt Original Advocacy?
The NSDA tries to streamline events to keep the National Tournament manageable. Adding another prepared speech event would require more rooms, more judges, and more logistics. Plus, finding judges qualified to evaluate specific laws from 50 different states would be a nightmare.