In order for a student to be placed into one of the different competitions that RMS S&D participates in, there are certain criteria that the child must fulfill, and specific responsibilities the aspiring speaker must adhere to. Depending on which group (Speech or Debate) the student wishes to pursue, he/she must be aware of the different expectations they must meet, if they wish to participate in any of the competitions.
Consistent attendance before and after the registration deadline: Students are expected to attend every practice or to email Walker and Alysson before practice to explain an absence and be caught up on work. After registering for a tournament, if a student misses a class without notifying Alysson or Walker or repeatedly comes to practice without making an honest effort on their assigned work, the coaches reserve the right to ask the student not to participate in the tournament.
Turn in all paperwork required by the tournament on time.
Both cases (Pro and Con) sent to Walker and Alysson at least one week before the tournament: The sooner cases are sent, the more feedback we can provide and the more practice rounds students can have. Students should keep in mind that preparing for a tournament involves both writing offensive arguments (their cases) and defensive arguments (pre-empting responses), so putting off writing the former until the last minute leaves no time to develop the latter.
Participate in at least one practice round on the current topic before the tournament: The intention behind practice rounds is for students to encounter arguments they have not yet prepared for so that they can then research those new arguments before the tournament. Therefore, the sooner students can practice, the more time they will have to encounter and write responses to new arguments.