2020/21 Season Team Practices
Each Wednesday night at 7 PM in Room 317 (accessible inside the ARC), team meetings/practices will be held. This is the time to sign up for tournaments, practice your events for your coach and fellow competitors, or have practice debates to get you ready to compete.
In addition to the Wednesday practices, students should schedule a weekly individual coaching time with me via Zoom. During that time I will review the progress of your events, and listen to your speeches. A calendar will be determined once the season gets up and running.
In addition to the Wednesday practices, students should schedule a weekly individual coaching time with me via Zoom. During that time I will review the progress of your events, and listen to your speeches. A calendar will be determined once the season gets up and running.
Speaking Resources
The following videos will help you learn how to write speeches, and better perform them.
Team Resources
Marist Sponsored Planned Absence Form - You must take this form to all your teachers prior to an absence for a tournament to make sure they understand you will be gone and pick up any required assignments. The form must also be signed by your parents and returned to me (Mr. Barth) before I can let you on the bus to travel to the event.
Parent Driver Insurance Information - to be filled out and returned to the front office by any parent that drives students (other than their own) to tournaments.
Parent Driver Insurance Information - to be filled out and returned to the front office by any parent that drives students (other than their own) to tournaments.
FAQ
Here is a short list of Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Is there a cost to participate in this club?
A. Just like any other sport at Marist, Speech and Debate is a program funded by the school, as far as tournament fees go. Parents will need to assist in transportation of kids to tournaments (none are very far away), and students will be responsible for their food during events, for paying for team t-shirts (or other apparel as decided upon by the team) and costs associated with preparing visual aids (for Informative speakers only). Those students who qualify for the state tournament will need to pool together to pay for hotel rooms for that event as well.
As with any Marist program, we are looking for donors to help pay for the activities and programs, and to help defray costs from the students. If you are interested in making a donation to the team to help us, please contact the Marist Development Office at 541-681-5470.
Q. Is this the same thing as the speech class, offered during the day?
A. No. The team is a separate entity from any speech related classes offered during school hours. And students taking speech classes are not considered part of the team. This is a separate, outside club, and taking the speech class is not required.
Q. Is the school affiliated with the National Forensics League (NFL) / National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA)?
A. Yes. We are a member, and as such students will be able to earn NFL points throughout the season, which can help them become nationally ranked and open up many college scholarship opportunities. Additional information will be provided during team practices.
Q. What is the dress code for speech & debate tournaments?
A. The easy answer is that student should dress like they would for an important job interview. The first impression an audience gets of presenters is their appearance. A student’s appearance should be professional and dignified, showing that he or she cares about the event. Just as in athletics or in a professional job, what one wears affects his/her performance. You want to be liked by your judges!
In speech and debate events, professional suits/blazers or dresses (rich/knee-length or below; not too busy), with conservative blouses/shirts should be worn. In interpretive events, performers may wear more “stylish” clothing, but it should avoid being too gaudy. Tasteful shoes (women: low heels; men: conservative with laces are best, loafters are acceptable). Accessories, such as ties/scarves should be subdued and not distracting.
Q. Do we need help from parents?
A. ABSOLUTELY! We will need help with tournament judging, and many other facets of running a successful team. Speech and Debate, while more academic in nature, is much like a sports team, and parents need to be involved! Please see Mr. Barth to coordinate how you can help us and help the team over all.
Right from the start, we need help establishing our extemp files. If you have subscriptions to news magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and others, please considering sending your copies (after you have read them, of course) so they can be filed in our extemp files for tournament use.
Q. WIll Marist also be participating in "Student Congress" events?
A. No. This team will just focus on the events listed on our "Event List" page. Student Congress is a very different activity with different tournaments.
Q. Is there a cost to participate in this club?
A. Just like any other sport at Marist, Speech and Debate is a program funded by the school, as far as tournament fees go. Parents will need to assist in transportation of kids to tournaments (none are very far away), and students will be responsible for their food during events, for paying for team t-shirts (or other apparel as decided upon by the team) and costs associated with preparing visual aids (for Informative speakers only). Those students who qualify for the state tournament will need to pool together to pay for hotel rooms for that event as well.
As with any Marist program, we are looking for donors to help pay for the activities and programs, and to help defray costs from the students. If you are interested in making a donation to the team to help us, please contact the Marist Development Office at 541-681-5470.
Q. Is this the same thing as the speech class, offered during the day?
A. No. The team is a separate entity from any speech related classes offered during school hours. And students taking speech classes are not considered part of the team. This is a separate, outside club, and taking the speech class is not required.
Q. Is the school affiliated with the National Forensics League (NFL) / National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA)?
A. Yes. We are a member, and as such students will be able to earn NFL points throughout the season, which can help them become nationally ranked and open up many college scholarship opportunities. Additional information will be provided during team practices.
Q. What is the dress code for speech & debate tournaments?
A. The easy answer is that student should dress like they would for an important job interview. The first impression an audience gets of presenters is their appearance. A student’s appearance should be professional and dignified, showing that he or she cares about the event. Just as in athletics or in a professional job, what one wears affects his/her performance. You want to be liked by your judges!
In speech and debate events, professional suits/blazers or dresses (rich/knee-length or below; not too busy), with conservative blouses/shirts should be worn. In interpretive events, performers may wear more “stylish” clothing, but it should avoid being too gaudy. Tasteful shoes (women: low heels; men: conservative with laces are best, loafters are acceptable). Accessories, such as ties/scarves should be subdued and not distracting.
Q. Do we need help from parents?
A. ABSOLUTELY! We will need help with tournament judging, and many other facets of running a successful team. Speech and Debate, while more academic in nature, is much like a sports team, and parents need to be involved! Please see Mr. Barth to coordinate how you can help us and help the team over all.
Right from the start, we need help establishing our extemp files. If you have subscriptions to news magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and others, please considering sending your copies (after you have read them, of course) so they can be filed in our extemp files for tournament use.
Q. WIll Marist also be participating in "Student Congress" events?
A. No. This team will just focus on the events listed on our "Event List" page. Student Congress is a very different activity with different tournaments.