Verity Speech & Debate Policies and Registration

• WHERE:                     KingsWay Community Church - 14111 Sovereign Grace Drive - Midlothian VA 23114                  
  CLUB MEETINGS:     Wednesdays, beginning September 11, 2024. Our school year wraps up in early April.
  TIMES:                       12:00 -12:55  PM  Social hour (optional) and approximately monthly parent meetings (not optional)
                                       1:00 - 1:30   PM  Devotions  & announcements                        
                                       1:30 - 4:30   PM  Speech & debate training and practice (breakout groups will form & move frequently)
                                       4:30 - Clean up
  BREAKS:                     We take off the typical holiday weeks. (Check the calendar tab on our website for specifics.)
  TOURNAMENTS:        Local tournaments are tentatively scheduled for early January and late March / early April.

Attendance:

Club meetings:

Because we rely on our parent and legal guardian volunteers, with each absence, we will need to adjust our teaching line-up to assign someone to cover your spot if you’re unable to come. For all planned vacations, please alert the group a week in advance through our Discord. For all unplanned absences, please alert us ASAP that you will have to miss. 

Parent meetings:

All parents are expected to attend all parent meetings. Exceptions must be requested by 12:00 noon the Tuesday before. Decisions directly related to club and tournament issues will be discussed and sometimes made during parent meetings. We strongly encourage parental participation at EVERY meeting to ask questions and share thoughts and ideas with the group. We depend on heavy parental involvement to make the club a success and parent meetings are the only way we can share and collaborate as a group. Parent meetings are scheduled throughout the year and dates can be found on the club calendar. If parents cannot attend, please take the time to find out what was discussed from another Verity member.

Special training sessions:

Please attend as you’re able. Sometimes you will be asked to provide the training, so communicating in advance is key.

Tournaments:

Parents and volunteers work hard to host tournaments for our students to participate. Students from all over the country attend these events. We need all families to commit to these tournaments so we can successfully host these events. We need a firm commitment from parents that they will participate at least 3 months before any tournaments. Tournament fees are not included in your registration fees and are charged when you register for the tournament. Please see our Tournament section for more details on these events.

Dress Code

Club meetings: “business casual”: 

• Girls: Modestly-fitted dress OR dressy pants OR below-knee length skirt with a modest modestly-fitted top, nice shoes. Leggings and tights may not be worn as pants. Optional: blazer, suit, jewelry, scarf.
• Boys: Modestly-fitted dress pants, collared shirt, leather belt, socks, leather shoes. Optional: Suit, jacket, dress shirt, tie, vest, cardigan, watch.
• Everyone: Jeans, t-shirts, shorts, athletic shoes, hoodies, flips. Crocs, boots are all not allowed.
•  

Tournament attire:

During competitions and awards ceremony, students must dress in modest, professional business attire.

• Professional business attire for Gentlemen: Suit, or slacks and blazer jacket. Collared shirt and tie. Professional dress shoes and socks.
• Professional business attire for Ladies: Skirt suit or pant suit; or professional slacks, skirt or dress with a blazer or a jacket. Leggings and tights are not to be worn as pants. Dress / skirt hemlines and slits should be no higher than the middle of the knee. Hose are not required. Business professional dress shoes.

"Extra Days" (setup/parties/extra practice) Casual attire:

• Modestly-fitted play clothes and shoes. Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, athletic shoes, or flips are all fine. Socks are not required.

DRESS CODE FOR ADULTS: Parents and adult volunteers usually come dressed in business casual clothing, for example nice slacks, dresses, and even nice jeans are ok. While Verity has no specific dress code for adults, parents are encouraged to set an example for the students.