(402) 310-4153 Info@nietoc.com







Let’s welcome the new speech season!



2019 NIETOC Champions
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year and speech season! From all of us on the executive committee we wish you a successful season!
NIETOC Executive Board
Matt Heimes – President
Joni Anker – Vice President
Karen Gossett – Secretary
Rachel Warnecke – Treasurer
On behalf of the NIETOC Executive Board, I would like to offer you a belated ‘Welcome Back’ to the school year! Many of you have already attended tournaments and earned bids, while the rest of you are busy planning and preparing for another competitive season. We hope that you will join the 220+ teams who gathered in Omaha last May for NIETOC 2020!
As an organization, we strive to provide a weekend of high-caliber competition in an atmosphere of caring and camaraderie. We want students to understand the power of their voices to make the world a better place and we want coaches to feel energized and empowered to continue the daunting task of educating tomorrow’s leaders.
This year’s most significant change is the addition of Extemporaneous Speaking to our line-up of main events. We are also allowing host school students, if allowed to compete, to earn bids at those ‘home’ tournaments. Those changes are detailed in this month’s newsletter and will be further explained on our website. We are continuing to develop a schedule that allows for the maximum number of preliminary rounds given the time constraints of the building and weekend. We will release that on our website soon.
We are looking forward to returning to the great state of Texas for the 2020 tournament. Andrew Barrett and his J. Frank Dobie HS team are working diligently to make Houston another wonderful experience for all of our attendees.
We hope to see you in May!
Matt Heimes, President
2018 Tournament Recap
What’s New –
You Spoke! We listened!
We are very excited to announce two new changes for 2020.
1)
We are excited to add Extemporaneous Speaking as a main event. Speakers will be competing in one combined division, with topics alternating between domestic and international themes from round to round. At the qualifying tournaments, extemp bids can be offered to separate divisions or to a single combined division. In either situation, the total number of contestants will determine the bid level. Rules and additional details will be available on our website soon.
2)
Students of the bid tournament host school, if permitted to fully participate in the tournament, may earn bids based on their final round placement.
How to Qualify for NIETOC
There are three ways to qualify
.
Follow this link
 

and read about each under How To Qualify.
Bid Tournaments
A list of Bid Tournaments may be found on our
website
.
Perfect Performance
Each year, we recognize the top performing student at the tournament with The Perfect Performance Award, named in honor of our founder, Demond Wilson. The 2019 recipient was John Duncan of Harlingen High South in TX coached by Maegan Conley and Steven Kalich. John is pictured with Demond Wilson, NIETOC Founder and Producer.
“The most beautiful thing about the NIETOC tournament is that it reminds high school students of what it means to tell a story. Competing at the tournament was an incredible reminder that the story I had to share mattered, and that who I was as a performer mattered. My experience at the NIETOC tournament made me feel like I could do anything, and was an incredible catalyst as I headed towards the NSDA National Tournament.” 
– John Duncan

Josephine Dukes Teacher of the Year Award
Do you know an outstanding coach who deserves recognition for their dedication to speech education? Begin the process my nominating a worthy individual with your

application here.
Sarah Rosenberg from Democracy Prep, NY was the 2019 recipient.
NIETOC Tournament Ads
Would you like to showcase your program’s achievements? Invite other programs to attend your tournament? Show an organization’s support for national speech competition? If so, please consider placing an advertisement in the 2020 tournament booklet. If you know of supportive businesses looking for a way to support this activity, please have them contact us for more information. Please email
info@nietoc.com
with questions or for additional details.
Workshops at NIETOC
We would like to continue to offer workshops for coaches and students in Houston. We plan to offer what you want to learn! Please send suggestions to
jonianker50@gmail.com.
Site for 2020 NIETOC
Frank Dobie High School in Houston, Texas looks forward to
hosting the 2020 NIETOC!
Hotel Information
Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport– 9100 Gulf Freeway, Houston, Texas 77017.
Phone: Marriott Reservations Main Line – 
1 (800) 228-9290
Or
Houston Hotel Direct – 
713-943-7979
Call In Codes: NIENIEA (Double Rooms) or NIENIEB (King Room)
See you in Houston 2020!