The text line for speech & debate tournaments
Every question at your tournament, answered by text.
TabDesk gives your tournament one phone number. Competitors, judges and coaches text it. Maps, WiFi and room directions go back in seconds, and everything else lands on your tab staff's screen as one clear card, so nobody has to run to the tab room to ask.
$795 per season · every tournament your league runs · any phone, no app
Built and run at Washington Area Speech and Debate League tournaments since October 2026.
- Public Forum
- Lincoln-Douglas
- Policy
- Congress
- Speech events
Saturday, 7:45 AM. Hundreds of competitors, dozens of rooms, one tab room.
How it works
From a text to a fixed problem, without anyone leaving their room.
Every message follows the same four steps. Simple questions never reach a person. Real problems reach the right person with everything they need.
Anyone texts your number
Competitors, judges, coaches and parents use the phone they already have. No app, no account, no QR code to find.
"no judge in 118"TabDesk sorts it
It recognizes the kind of problem and asks only for what's missing, at most two short questions: the room, the round, the flight.
"Which flight, A or B?"Tab sees one card
The whole conversation becomes one card on the tab staff screen, with the type, room and sender. One phone is one card, never a pile of fragments.
Missing judge · PF R2 · 118 · Flight AThe texter hears back
Questions with known answers are replied to instantly. For the rest, tab staff claim the card and reply by text from the screen.
"Tab staff are on it now."What you get
Everything a tab room needs on tournament morning.
Instant answers
Building maps, WiFi, restrooms, lounges and the tab room go back in seconds, from the answers your host school entered.
Room directions
Upload a simple sheet of walking directions and "where is room B214?" gets real directions, not just a map.
Safety first
A medical or safety message is flagged urgent the moment it arrives, before anything else happens, and goes to the top of the screen.
The tab staff screen
A live queue on any laptop or phone. Claim a card, reply by text, use quick replies, page a judge or message every staff member at once.
Host setup form
The host school fills in buildings, maps, WiFi and answers through one link. A day-before check lists anything still missing.
Venues remembered
Every building you've hosted at keeps its map and answers from season to season. A new tournament just picks the venue.
Judges know their name
Load your judges and coaches once. A text from a known number shows who sent it and from which school, and the line never asks a judge for their name.
Replies you control
Decide what the line says for each kind of message, and try a message to see exactly how it will respond before the tournament.
Several buildings, several events
Split events across two buildings, each with its own map and answers, and texters get the answers for their building.
For tab staff
One screen. Nothing falls through.
- Urgent cards come first. Medical and safety messages are marked in red and sorted to the top.
- Claim it so nobody doubles up. Everyone sees who has each card, live, on every device.
- Reply without picking up a phone. Type on the screen and the texter gets it from your tournament's number.
- Staff sign in with the tournament passcode. No accounts to create for volunteers.
Example cards. Names and schools are made up.
Privacy and control
Built for events full of students.
Most texters are high school students. TabDesk keeps only what a tournament needs, for as long as it needs it.
Deleted after
Message text, names and phone numbers are removed a few days after each tournament ends.
Your own line
Every league gets its own number and its own TabDesk. No other league ever sees your data.
One switch
Turn the AI off or close the line from one screen, any time, and texts still reach tab staff.
Nothing sold
No ads, no marketing texts, no data shared. The line only replies to people who text it.
Pricing
One price. Your whole season.
No per-text charges, no per-tournament fees, no seats to count.
Every tournament your league runs during the season, with its own phone number and its own TabDesk.
Pay $795 with StripeCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe's secure checkout. Need an invoice for a school or league treasurer? Email mbiddick@sharkofoundation.org.
- Your league's own toll-free number, set up and approved for you
- Texting costs included, for every tournament in the season
- Tab staff screen, host setup form and day-before check
- Venues, judges and replies kept from tournament to tournament
- Admin accounts for your league officers, with two-step sign-in
- A setup call before your first tournament
You pay. We email you within one business day to start your number.
Carriers approve your number. Meanwhile we set up your league and your first admin sign-in.
Load your venue and judges, print the number on your signs, and open the line.
Who makes TabDesk
Made by a speech and debate nonprofit, for tournaments like yours.
TabDesk was created by the Sharon Sharko Speech and Debate Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It was built for the tournaments of the Washington Area Speech and Debate League, by people who run them, to fix what we saw every Saturday: lines at the tab room door, judges who couldn't find their rooms, and urgent messages lost in a group chat.
Every season a league buys supports speech and debate students in the Washington area.
Questions
Before you ask.
Does TabDesk replace Tabroom.com?
No. Tabroom.com runs pairings, ballots and results. TabDesk handles the questions and problems that come up during the day, and works alongside it.
Do competitors or judges need to download anything?
No. They text a regular phone number from the phone they already have. Put the number on your signs, postings and judge instructions.
How far ahead do we need to sign up?
About three weeks before your first tournament. Phone carriers take around two weeks to approve a new toll-free number for texting.
What does "season" mean?
Your league's competition year, from your first tournament to your last. Every tournament in between is included.
Who can see the messages?
Your tab staff during the tournament, and your league's admins. Message text, names and phone numbers are deleted a few days after each tournament.
What happens if the AI gets something wrong?
The AI only sorts messages and asks for missing details. It never makes decisions for your tournament. Anything it can't sort goes to tab staff as a card, and you can switch the AI off from one screen.
Who runs TabDesk?
TabDesk was created by the Sharon Sharko Speech and Debate Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Every season you buy supports the Washington Area Speech and Debate League.