Volunteering

How to help

1. Judging: Judging help is always greatly appreciated. Beyond helping reduce our fees significantly (often by thousands of dollars), judging gives you unique insight into what your student is up to in Speech & Debate. Regardless of how qualified you feel to judge, I’ve seen parents of all different language and professional backgrounds come to love being a part of their child’s weekend in a meaningful way. It meant a lot to me, way back when, the weekends that my parents would judge a Speech & Debate tournament. I know for our students it means the same. If you are interested in helping, feel free to fill out the Judge Signup Form and check out the "Judge Info & Training" page!

2. Snacks: While many tournaments offer concessions, they are often both pricey and inconsistent in supply. When possible, the team provides snacks for the team to make sure the students are well fed and able to focus on their rounds. If you are ever able to send your student to a local tournament with snacks, you will receive further information in logistics emails for tournaments your student attends. 

3. Booster Club: WHS Speech & Debate has an amazing parent organization that supports our students in numerous ways including funding the salaries of our fabulous team of consultants. If you are interested in joining this community of parents, please consider joining the WHS Speech & Debate Booster Club. 

4. Donations: Sometimes, very generous parents are willing to provide additional monetary assistance to the Westlake Speech & Debate team. These contributions allow the team to attend more tournaments, acquire additional coaching support for our students, and more easily provide scholarships opportunities for students that face financial barriers in the activity.

If you are interested in making a tax-exempt donation to the Westlake Speech & Debate team, please reach out to our bookkeeper Judith Kimmler for more information at jkimler@eanesisd.net.