Overview

We are excited your student is interested in joining the Fairview Speech and Debate team -- or already has! Coaches, alumni and current students think we have something really unique: the Fairview Speech & Debate Team is one of the most competitive teams in the state, one that is driven by student desires to succeed and grow, and one where students truly say they love the community!

We encourage you first to check out some key resources:

• Details on joining, including our team philosophy, agreement, and policies

• Tournament overview and event details to learn more about the logistics of the team

• Our "why join" page featuring comments from alumni and community members

We hope you takeaway our extreme commitment to this team and your students: we view this team as an opportunity for students to learn, grow, have leadership opportunities, meet challenges head on, and truly get out what they put into the event.

A Note on Communication and Coaching

Coaches are committed to supporting all students on the team. Because of the limited time we have with students and the logistics of running tournaments, even in an "in-person" world, we focus many of our communications on email, team-chat and, as needed, phone communication. Coaches will frequently provide a cell-phone number in the case of emergency.

We trust students to ensure that all communication with one another and with coaches is respectful and appropriate. We ask students to follow-up with coaches if they are running late to a tournament, need to change their registration, or otherwise need to connect with coaches. In general we encourage students to use email (fhsdebate@gmail.com) and team-chat to contact coaches, and to use cell-phones only in the case of an emergency. Students should also only share the contact information of other students in the case of an emergency.

Finally, for parents, please know that coaches do their best to monitor email to fhsdebate@gmail.com throughout the day; however, coaches are not engaged as teachers during the day and do not have planning periods. We will do our best to follow up with all emails as soon as possible and thank you for your patience.

Running the Fairview Speech & Debate team is a true community effort! It takes student participation and communication and parent engagement.

As you get started with the team:

• Please consider a voluntary contribution to support the team. See details for how to make this donation on our "Joining" page.

• Get to know more about the event your student is participating in -- ask questions, offer to watch practice, and be encouraging!

Getting more engaged:

• Consider signing up to judging -- this is the #1 way you can help the team!

• Volunteer for to help with the tournament we host

• Participate in other fundraisers and events, like our end of the year celebration