Parent and Student Requirements
Parents are Key! Vector Speech and Debate is a parent-led cooperative effort. This is not a drop-off activity, but instead requires a cooperative effort by our parents. Parents should:
- Attend and help run weekly meetings (icebreakers, speech drills, teaching and coaching)
- Attend the Novice Speech Camp-Orientation and/or Novice Debate Camp-Orientation offered by Vector coaches in early September to be trained to teach and coach.
- Judge at all tournaments in which your student participates. Usually 2 rounds of judging per student per event.
- Provide food items for each tournament in which your student participates.
- Help with recruiting community judges for each tournament in which your student participates.
- Attend the Vector Tournament Planning meeting (held in November)and take on a role in running our tournament at Patrick Henry College (Friday & Saturday, March 5-6, 2021).
- For all Vector-sponsored tournaments, parents are required to serve in a tournament job, and remain on site to help for the duration of the tournament.
Students — Participation in Vector can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience! There is a learning curve with speech and debate. In order for students to succeed, we strongly encourage student to do the following:
- (New students) Attend the Novice Camp & Orientation for Speech and/or Debate with at least one parent.
- Attend weekly meetings and complete assignments in a timely and excellent manner.
- Compete in a minimum of two tournaments for Speech and/or Debate. (i.e. Speech students will compete in two speech tournaments; Debate students will compete in two debate tournaments; students who are doing both will compete in a minimum 4 tournaments total during the year.)
- (Speech) Compete with at least one prepared scripted speech (Platform, Interp, and certain Wildcard events apply).
- (Veteran Speech) Compete in Extemporaneous Speech at a minimum of two tournaments. Ideally, this event is well suited for Juniors & Seniors as college prep.
- Varsity & Jr. Varsity Awards are available for those who excel in Speech or Debate or both. This can be impressive for scholarship and college applications.
Speech and Debate Award Requirements
Speech Award:
- Compete in at least three speech categories (Interpretive, Platform, & Limited Prep) at two Stoa tournaments. (All prepared speeches must be memorized)
- Record eight hours of club/speech community services inside or outside the club. This can include, but is not limited to, mentoring a novice student, working a job at a tournament, helping with administration for meetings, helping with a speech/debate camp, etc.
- Display leadership in the club, which can include but not limited to serving as an event captain, teaching a lesson, mentoring novice students, taking initiative in organizing limited prep files, leading a speech skills drill, etc.
- Speech Award Form
Debate Award:
- Compete in at least one form of debate, at two different tournaments (Team Policy, Lincoln Douglas, or Parliamentary)
- Perform a minimum of eight hours of Club Service, which can include but not limited to, mentoring a novice student, cleaning up after meetings, working a job at a tournament, performing with administration tasks for meetings, teaching a lesson, helping with debate camp, etc
- Demonstrates exceptional effort in skill development by participating in extra-club debates (debates outside of club time, not including tournaments)
- Debate Award Form
Excellence Award:
- Compete in three Stoa speech categories (Interpretive, Platform, & Limited Prep) in at least two Stoa tournaments.
- Compete in one type of debate (Team Policy, Lincoln Douglas, or Parliamentary) in at least two debate tournaments.
- Record eight hours of club/speech community services inside or outside the club.
- Excellence Award Form
Tournament Links
Links to register for tournaments will be posted here.