Verity Speech & Debate Policies and Registration
Policies
Welcome to Verity Speech & Debate 2024 - 2025
Please read through our policies in full before completing your registration. Registration and payment will be finalized after our policy pages. For any questions, please contact us before completing your registration.
Verity is a speech and debate club, formed in 2012 to provide training and competitive opportunities for home-educated students in the Richmond area to participate in the time-honored skills of public speaking and academic debate.
Our club is currently associated with the regional league, Christian Communicators of the Southeast (CCofSE) and the national league, Stoa. Our students compete in both of these leagues throughout the year.
Please take the time to read the Stoa Statement-of-Faith which Verity upholds.
Requirements for participation
Verity requires that you contact us and register yearly in order to participate. Family registration with Stoa each year is also required to participate in Verity. Each family will be required to join Stoa before attending the first meeting of the year due to our insurance requirements. The cost to join Stoa is not included in your Verity Speech & Debate Club Registration.
We are a registered non-profit without any paid employees. We can provide families with the opportunity to learn and compete in Speech and Debate thanks to the parents and volunteers who willingly and graciously serve. Each year we have many wonderful parents serving in various roles. We rely on parents learning our processes and then volunteering to work either leading or assisting each week as well as during tournaments.
A parent or legal guardian is required to attend each time their children are present for a club meeting and remain in club and serve in various roles for the entirety of each meeting. Due to insurance and liability concerns, we can no longer make any exceptions to this rule.
For security purposes, we require an up-to-date background check for all adult members & regular volunteers.
For safety, Verity has a firm policy that no fewer than 2-adults may ever be alone with one Verity students during all Verity club discussions, classes, coaching sessions, or breakout groups.
Without the dedication of parents and our volunteer coaches, we would not be able to succeed as a club. Parent responsibilities include some of the following:
- Coaching/Instructor Role – Parents will serve as a parent coach/instructor/judge during club meetings. Verity will guide you in these roles so please do not feel intimidated. New parents will be paired with more experienced parents to not only help the students, but also so parents can learn and be able to help not only their own children but others. All parents have valuable feedback to give to the students.
Tournament Volunteer – Parents will serve at each tournament hosted by our club in a capacity that will be coordinated with them by the tournament director. Tournaments are very exciting for the students but do take many volunteers to ensure a successful event. We so appreciate and need your help in order to be able to offer this opportunity to our students.
At Home Assistance – Parents are expected to work with their student(s) at home on their speech & debate preparations and assignments. This is very important to help your child succeed, especially for novices. Students typically spend 2-6 hours per week at home on their speeches/debate –researching, writing, revising, and practicing. This is a rough guideline. Sometimes students spend more time, sometimes less,
depending on what needs to be done on their speeches.