Welcome, War Eagle Speech and Debate Team!

Speech and Debate is a club for everyone. Beyond the improvements in their academic performance that prepare them to excel in college, speech and debate students change in ways that influence every aspect of their lives. It gives them the social and academic confidence they need to grow as individuals, achieve educational goals, pursue meaningful work, and improve the lives of others – and our world.

 Similar to athletic sports, speech and debate activities are challenging, competitive in nature, and require regular practice, coaching, dedication, and hard work.

Speech involves a presentation by one, two, or sometimes a group of students that is judged against a similar type of presentation by others in a round of competition. Speech events range from limited preparation events that require extensive knowledge of current events to dramatic and humorous interpretation, which challenge students to find powerful moments in literature and recreate them for an audience.

Debate involves an individual or a team of debaters working to effectively convince a judge that his or her side of a resolution is, as a general principle, more valid. To see what our students are currently debating, visit our Current Topics page. Students in debate come to thoroughly understand both sides of the resolution, having researched each extensively, and learn to think critically about every argument that could be made on each side.

Each event in speech and debate features a different form of public speaking and requires a unique skill set and talent. While students often develop a passion for specific events, many compete in multiple categories throughout the course of their academic careers. Learn more about the main competitive events here.*

• Join SFHS S&D on GroupMe: get signed up and receive up-to-date notifications and communications
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• Student competitors should register on TabRoom website for Tournament Listings and vital competition information (such as pairings) communicated during tournaments. 
• Local Competition Listings on Joy of Tournaments website.   *Please inform Mrs. Oxford-Bennett if you would like to attend one of the listed tournaments. If three or more students are planning to attend, participants may benefit from reduced application and judging costs.
• Club Meetings: Tuesday afternoons in the Media Center. We will not meet on the early release schedule.
• Dues: $35.00/year-start per student (includes t-shirt and goes towards National Forensics League membership fee).
• DUES MUST BE PAID ON My Payments Plus

Other costs: competition fees will be assessed when students sign-up to attend a competition. Judges fees and entry fees for each contest usually ranges from $20-$85/student. *costs determined by the host school and impacted by the number of judges a school may take to assist with the contest as well as the number of competing students from SFHS.

Contests are generally two day events held Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Some contests are only one day (Saturdays). Parent or self-transportation is expected. We may also take a bus when the number of students justifies the hourly expense to hire a bus driver (Mrs. Oxford-Bennett will determine transportation methods; assume parent transport unless otherwise communicated). 

Sponsor: Ms Oxford-Bennett (Rm. 406 West Hall)

Student participation is key to club membership. Students seeking membership should plan to compete at least twice during the school year at a NSDA sanctioned competition. The state contest is held in the spring semester. Opportunities to compete at the national level may come to those who score well at state. Students at SFHS specialize in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy Forum Debate, and Public (Extemporaneous) Speaking. However, Speech and Debate competitions in Georgia may include any of the events listed on the team Google Drive (see regulations document). Club Documents (Google Drive)