The Edge Speech and Debate Club
Information Letter
Dear The Edge families and interested families:
We hope you are all having a great summer! We’re thrilled that you’re considering joining us as we continue the adventure of a speech and debate club. We plan to hold speech meetings on alternate Mondays and debate meetings every Monday at Faith Community Church. Our email address for questions or for more information is TheEdgeSpeechandDebate@gmail.com.
Our Mission:
The Edge Speech and Debate Club exists to equip homeschooled students to effectively communicate, to develop critical thinking skills, and to better serve and glorify God. The Edge competes in the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA). We strive to provide young people with skills to clearly express and tactfully defend ideas to a variety of audiences, to teach students how to speak to audiences in a way that persuades, delights, entertains, or educates, and to provide an environment in which students and parents develop a sense of teamwork and relationships based on a love for Jesus Christ and others.
About Us:
Club Meetings: For Junior Speech (ages 8-11), Varsity Speech (ages 12-18), and Varsity Extemporaneous Speech we meet every other Monday. Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate meets every Monday.
When we gather, we meet at:
Faith Community Church 1306 Riedel Rd Gambrills, MD 21054
We offer the following sessions:
• Junior Speech: 1:00 – 4:00 PM At an age appropriate level (ages 8-11), students develop research, writing, memorization and delivery skills for a variety of speech categories. These students have an opportunity to show their skills at a special Junior Speak-Out program at the end of the semester (usually December). Junior Speech will be offered with priority for siblings of participating The Edge varsity students. **Note that junior speech only runs for one semester, from September 11th– December 18th with the Junior Speak-Out presentation tentatively scheduled for December. There may be discussions of continuance in the Spring semester if more juniors are interested in junior competitions in the Spring where those juniors wanting to compete could get extra practice and feedback.
Junior-only families who do not have siblings old enough to compete (age 12 by 1/1/24) may participate in Junior Speech if we have space available. Please complete and submit the registration documents but do not send any fees. We will contact you after the deadline (8/30/24) to let you know if we have room for your children. Fees will be collected by 9/6/24.
• Varsity Level Speech: 1:00 – 4:00 PM Varsity speech is for students ages 12-18 by 1/1/24 who will participate in at least one NCFCA tournament. Students will be exposed to a variety of types of speeches. NCFCA has 3 broad categories of speeches: platform, limited-preparation, and interpretive. Apologetics is part of the limited-preparation speech category and is specifically designed to help students defend their faith and compete in the NCFCA Apologetics category. Some apologetics instruction will be held during each speech meeting. Speech club meetings (see calendar for specific dates) are at Faith Community Church. Varsity speech meetings will be held every other Monday from 1:00-4:00 PM. If you have questions about speech or debate, contact theedgespeechanddebate@gmail.com and someone from the board will contact you.
Varsity speech students develop research, writing, memorization, and delivery skills for a variety of speech categories. The special emphasis on Apologetics is specifically designed to motivate students to study the core issues of the Christian faith and be prepared to articulate a defense of what they believe and skills that every believer should possess. First year students learn the basics without a requirement to compete in this speech category. Advanced students develop skills to compete in the NCFCA limited preparation Apologetics category.
• Varsity LD Debate and Team Policy 4:00-6:00 PM (ages 12-18) Students will develop research, writing, memorization, and delivery skills to enable them to participate in a Lincoln-Douglas Debate format. The goal in this time is to develop students’ rhetoric and logic skills in the context of competitive dialogue.
We plan to offer Lincoln Douglas Value and Team Policy Debate this season. Debate will follow speech from 4:00 - 6:00 PM. Students participating in debate are also required to participate in speech. **All debaters are highly encouraged to attend a summer camp/training opportunity. Contact www.ncfca.org for details.
2024- 2025 Board Members:
Lead Speech Coach: Debbie Jarvis
Junior Speech Coach: Marlene Meza and Glenda Contreras
Lead LD Debate Coach:
Club Leader: Debbie Jarvis
Club Secretary: Marlene Meza
Club Treasurer: Glenda Contreras
Participation Information:
• Because The Edge is a cooperative effort and parents are their students’ primary coaches, a parent of each student is required to attend and actively participate in all club meetings and varsity parents need to assist for three full days if our club hosts a Maryland tournament (dates to be determined). We are sharing our passion for speech and debate with you, family to family. Special considerations can be discussed with The Edge Board.
• Families are required to affiliate with NCFCA prior joining the Edge (see shop.ncfca.org ) Affiliate application opens approximately 6/1/24. Please forward your email proof of your affiliate status to theedgespeechanddebate@gmail.com. Affiliate application and information on the different types of speeches are available at www.ncfca.org under the resources tab. Local Region IX tournaments are typically held within a five-hour radius and run for three full days. Tournament dates will be announced as soon as they become available.
• Each varsity student (ages 12-18) in The Edge will be required to compete in a minimum of one Region IX qualifying tournament. To that end, each family in The Edge is required to be an affiliate of NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communication Association) before the first meeting begins.
• Students need to commit to completing and submitting assignments on time. During the first semester, expect homework assignments to take a minimum of 2-3 hours per week. During the second semester students will polish and practice speeches and participate in practice debate rounds in preparation for tournament competition. Junior speakers have a lighter load.
• Debate and specialized speech categories require additional time commitments.
• Active participation and teachable attitudes are expected, with a goal of excellence.
• The dress code for club meetings is modest business casual (no jeans, athletic shoes, or flip-flops). The point of the dress code is to give the students enough opportunity to become so used to their business clothes that in an interview or presentation they won't feel distracted.
• Membership fees are $150 per competitive family per year and $100 for junior-only family. Additional expenses may be associated with each course. Also, NCFCA affiliation and tournaments require additional fees as set forth by NCFCA. This is not a fee for taking a class; it is used for purposes such as facility fees, copies and any other expenses incurred in running the club. Our coaches are volunteers, donating their time to our families.
If you plan to participate in speech and/or debate, the best thing you can do is read! Reading high quality books is the best way to find high quality interpretive scripts. Use the ideas gained from your reading as jumping off points for your platform speeches. Ask your family members to be “scouting” for you also.
To Join:
• Prior to joining The Edge, affiliate with NCFCA at shop.ncfca.org
Please make sure to get onto www.ncfca.org mailing list by creating an account first to receive valuable information, especially the Parent Handbook under the resources tab.
If a junior-only family, affiliate first, then ask for a scholarship and list “Junior only family” as a reason.
• Complete the Application form (theedge-ncfca.org) Read all remaining documents and use the checklist. You may elect to hit “Submit registration now button” instead of printing paper forms and mailing them.
• Submit the Application form, send a copy of the NCFCA affilliation email receipt to theedgespeechanddebate@gmail.com, and send membership fees by Sept. 30, 2024. Zelle is the preferred method of electronic payment and can be sent to: Theedgespeechanddebate@gmail.com . For other arrangements, please contact the club leader.
Additional Information:
Please read all documents thoroughly and consider your commitment carefully. Your application will be considered complete once all documents and fees have been received. No refunds will be issued.
Tax deductible donations can be accepted at TheEdgeSpeechandDebate@gmail.com