National Qualifying Events
Competitive events that can be competed at the regional, state and national level.
Reference the Copyright Policy for our official guidelines on copyright.
A student may enter only one National Qualifying Event on-site CAD contest.
Rule Modification Policy
Due to time limits and other extenuating circumstances, Texas TSA reserves the rights to make modifications on how it conducts National Qualifying Events (NQEs) at Texas TSA State Contest. Individual event coordinators must have any such modifications approved by the NQE coordinator at state contest. These may include the following:
- Shortening the contest time or interview time allowed
- Only having 1 round for public performance style events
- Limiting the number of teams interviewed in the final round
Rule modifications should be procedural only and not affect the intent of the competition rules.
General Guidelines
Nationals Dress Code will be enforced in all NQE events.
Dress code is as follows:
- Official TSA Blue Competition Shirt, gray pants, black socks and black shoes
- Females may opt to wear skirts and/or hosiery in lieu of pants and socks
Chapter Team must wear official TSA blazers, with patch, nad the red TSA tie (males). Per National TSA, females will not be penalized for wearing the tie, but it is optional for them.
Ignorance of the rules and/or misunderstanding of the rules is not an excuse for a protest or additional consideration.
If you are unsure of the wording of a rule, have a question, or need clarification, please email the NQE Managers at nqe@texastsa.org.
Competitive Events
Middle School NQE
| Event | Team | Entries / region | State Chapter Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biotechnology Design | Team | 3 | NA |
| Computer-Aided Design Foundations | Individual | 3 | 2 |
| Career Prep | Individual | 3 | 1 |
| Challenging Technology Issues | Team | 3 | NA |
| Chapter Team | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Children's Stories | Team | 3 | NA |
| Coding | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Community Service Video | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Construction Challenge | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Cyber Security | Individual | 3 | 1 |
| Data Science and Analytics | Team | 3 | NA |
| Digital Photography | Individual | 3 | NA |
| Dragster | Individual | 6 | 2 |
| Electrical Applications | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Essays on Technology | IndividuaL | 2 | NA |
| Flight | Individual | 6 | 2 |
| Forensic Technology | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Inventions and Innovations | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Junior Solar Sprint | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Leadership Strategies | Team | 3 | NA |
| Mass Production | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Medical Technology Issues | Team | 3 | NA |
| Microcontroller Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Off The Grid | Team | 3 | NA |
| Prepared Speech | Individual | 3 | NA |
| Problem Solving | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Promotional Marketing | Individual | 3 | 1 |
| STEM Animation | Team | 3 | NA |
| Structural Engineering | Team | 3 | 1 |
| System Control Technology | Team | 3 | NA |
| Tech Bowl | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Technical Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Video Game Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Vlogging | Team | 3 | 2 |
| Website Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
High School NQE
| Event | Team | Entries / region | State Chapter Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animatronics | Team | 3 | NA |
| Architectural Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Audio Podcasting | Team | 3 | NA |
| Biotechnology Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Board Game Design | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Chapter Team | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Children's Stories | Team | 3 | NA |
| Coding | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Computer-Aided Design, Architecture | Individual | 3 | 2 |
| Computer-Aided Design, Engineering | Individual | 3 | 2 |
| Data Science & Analytics | Team | 3 | NA |
| Debating Technological Issues Team | Team | 2 | NA |
| Digital Video Production | Team | 3 | NA |
| Dragster Design | Individual | 6 | 2 |
| Drone Challenge (UAV) | Team | 3 | NA |
| Engineering Design | Team | 3 | NA |
| Essays on Technology | Individual | 2 | NA |
| Extemporaneous Speech | Individual | 2 | NA |
| Fashion Design & Technology | Team | 3 | NA |
| Flight Endurance | Individual | 6 | 2 |
| Forensic Science | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Future Technology & Engineering Teacher | Individual | 3 | 3 |
| Geospatial Technology | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Manufacturing Prototype | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Music Production | Team | 3 | NA |
| On Demand Video | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Photographic Technology | Individual | 3 | 1 |
| Prepared Presentation | Individual | 2 | NA |
| Promotional Design | Individual | 3 | NA |
| Senior Solar Sprint | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Software Development | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Structural Design & Engineering | Team | 3 | 1 |
| System Control Technology | Team | 3 | 2 |
| Technology Bowl | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Technology Problem Solving | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Transportation Modeling | Individual | 3 | 1 |
| Video Game Design | Team | 3 | NA |
| Virtual Reality (VR) | Team | 3 | 1 |
| Webmaster | Team | 3 | 1 |