Registration for 2024-2025

Parents / Family:

Registration: Each family must complete registration process and agree to each section of the registration form: Eligibility Qualifications, Tournament Requirements, Statement of Faith, Member Covenant, Relationships in Club, and Dress Code Agreement.

Membership Fees:

• The cost for SOPHOS is $100 per family for the school year. This can be paid online or by check/cash at the first club meeting.
• Also, each family must join Stoa (the organization under which our club competes). Membership with Stoa is $95 for the current competitive season.

Club Meetings: Club Meetings: SOPHOS is a fully “parent volunteer” run club and is designed for parents to attend, participate, serve, and lead to enable a successful and healthy SOPHOS Club each year. As such, it is expected that at least one parent attends with your student(s) and should be ready to actively participate at each club meeting, unless arranged with Club Leadership prior to club. Active parent participation can be providing feedback on student’s prospective speech topics, listening and providing suggestions as they practice, teaching/presenting certain topics to club, being present to speak encouragement to students throughout meetings, and/or facilitating logistical support to the club among other things. After the first year of membership, returning parents should be willing to help mentor new families for their understanding and success.

Siblings Not Registered for Club: Sophos is a family club, run by families for families. As such we recognize there will often be cases where your family has other siblings outside those registered and participating in club. Except in intentional cases of an extended invite to siblings or in cases of special permission from club leaders, siblings not in club are not to be in the room during club. There is a level of comfort and accountability that club members have knowing all students in the room are being challenged and stretched in the same ways, so as a club we want to honor that feeling that all students in the room during club are “in the same boat” together.

Stoa competitors are age 12 – 18 by January 1st of the competition year. Younger siblings interested in possibly being involved in Stoa tournaments with a Junior Division or preparing to compete in the future may be welcomed to participate in certain portions of some club meetings. If you would like your future club member to have additional preparation or junior training, please reach out to club leaders to see what resources can be made available. Otherwise, parents should provide other care for younger siblings (either at home or in another room at club) so as to not distract from the focus of club meetings.

Tournaments: Parents are required to assist in judging and/or timing at any event for which the family is registered. Please see “Tournament Requirements” for more specifics.

Students:

Club Meetings: While at club, students should be fully present and participating. Phones, games, and other personal electronics should remain put away and not distracting to students or those around them during club. Club leaders will help students remember this commitment, but as Club Members, you are committing to this responsibility as well.

Student members who do not come to club meetings two times in a row without a valid excuse discussed with club leaders (illness, family emergency, vacation, etc.) may be put on probation and/or asked to discontinue the season to allow another family a chance to join.

Speech Writing: Each student must select and actively prepare for one tournament event (platform speech, interp event, debate event, limited prep event). First-year students are encouraged to prepare a platform speech. As you craft your speech, carefully check that your script meets the submission requirements as listed in the rules, available at www.stoausa.org. A SOPHOS advisor is available for consultation on all prepared speeches before they are presented at the tournament level. The earlier a prepared work is edited, the better it is for the student as fewer corrections will be necessary later in the process before script submission due dates for local tournaments. Although we value the work and the God-given creativity of the student, we discourage students from making major changes to a speech just before a tournament without having had the opportunity to receive club feedback.

Tournaments: Each student must register for and compete in two tournaments as part of the SOPHOS team. We have traditionally emphasized the Christmas Colloquim one-day tournament in Riverside in early December and the Concordia Challenge in Irvine in the Spring as two of our key tournaments due to their locations and timing. Should this tournament not be available for the current season, SOPHOS leadership will assist in locating alternative club events.

Tournament Awards Ceremonies: As part of being a good teammate, attendance, in speech attire is required for all tournaments entered to be of support to all of our team. Even if your student does not feel they will be recognized during the ceremony, your presence to cheer and support the rest of the team is expected for tournaments at which your students have participated.

SOPHOS’ purpose is to teach, train and build up the speaking skills of our Christian young men and women in order to honor and profess Christ and His Kingdom. Participants will be families with a qualified competitor.

Our club meetings prepare our members to compete in Stoa tournaments; therefore, all Sophos members must be Stoa members. Stoa eligibility requirements are listed below.

STOA QUALIFICATIONS

Competitors accepting invitations for the STOA National Invitational Tournament of Champions shall meet the following criteria:

1. Age – Competitors shall be ages 12 to 18 on October 1st of the current season.

2. Statement of Faith – The parent member(s) must support the Stoa Statement of Faith (https://stoausa.org/events/membership-registration/) 3. Home Educated – If the following statements can be affirmed with a yes, the student shall be deemed privately home educated for Stoa purposes:

1) Parent or legal guardian(s) direct the educational choices for the student, including the use of dual credit, online/offline courses, cooperative courses, private tutored courses, and other parent directed methods that support the student’s educational plan; and

2) Parent is the authority to award the Stoa competitor junior high or high school credits and grades; and

3) Under the laws of your state, if your state defines homeschooling, the student is classified as legally “homeschooled”; or if your state does not define homeschooling, the student is not enrolled in a public charter school or any type of K-12 public school educational program; and

4) Parent or legal guardian(s) are not the direct recipient of public funds (whether local, state, or federal) whose purpose is to cover the student’s education-related expenses.

5. Level of Education:

Stoa student is classified as actively homeschooling as a junior high or high school student, and

1) not previously graduated,

2) nor taking college classes full time or the equivalent of full time (e.g. 12 hours/semester or 9 hours/quarter)

All Stoa tournaments are put on by parent volunteers. Parents are not only needed to fulfill their minimum judging requirements at tournaments, they also are needed to assist with the following:

• Set up rooms before the tournament
• Work with the check in table, lunch distribution, timer table, ballot push, tabulation, room organization, or refreshments
• Put rooms back together again
• Clean up at the end.

Enjoy your first year by only judging and watching rounds to learn. The best way to learn what is required for speech is to judge as many different events as possible. Experienced SOPHOS parents are encouraged to offer at least one service in addition to your judging responsibilities. If your extra service is not needed, you can serve by judging extra rounds during the evenings and finals where judges are usually lacking.

At some tournaments throughout the year, SOPHOS families may be given the opportunity for early registration as part of participation in help co-host the tournament together. For those tournaments at least one SOPHOS parent from each family is expected to be present during the entirety of the tournament. Please manage other family conflicts so that every SOPHOS family participating in the tournament has an adult there to help, especially the last day.

Tournament ballots are given out only at the very end of the awards ceremony. A parent is expected to stay for the ceremony and collect their ballots – tournaments do not mail ballots. The purpose of the ceremony is for your students to support and celebrate with the students being awarded for their hard work. When you register for a tournament, please plan on attending the ceremony, even if your student may not place. The schedule is posted on each tournament link so you can plan accordingly.

We believe the Bible, Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired and infallible Word of God. The Bible is God’s true, authoritative word and is our only authority for faith and conduct.

We believe there is one God who was and is eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We believe Jesus Christ was God incarnate, come in human flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, being fully God and fully man, yet without sin.

We believe that “all have sinned.” All men are under God’s condemnation because of sin. We believe that Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for man’s sin for all who believe.

We believe in Jesus Christ’s visible and bodily resurrection.

We believe salvation is a free gift to all. The gift must be received individually by faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ alone without trusting in personal works.

We believe that “faith without works is dead.” As believers in and followers of Jesus Christ our lives must witness, by word and deed, the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.

We believe that the church is God’s central means and instrument through which He intends to carry out His work in the world.

We would like to make this clear from the beginning lest some affection should develop over time, for all the reasons set forth below and the benefit to the club as a whole, we ask that students not have romantic relationships with others in club during their tenure in SOPHOS.

– Romantic pairing is by definition exclusive cutting others out and reduces the couples need for outside relationships.

– Romantic couples rarely look outside their pairing to the needs of others and are distracted by their attraction.

– Romantic relationships cause drama in the club and defeat the purpose of working together.

– Break ups can damage the threads that tie the club together.

– Exclusive relationships disrupt the peace and progress of the club.

– Different families have different standards for courtship and dating. Romantic relationships magnify those differences in a close-knit group like a club.

(Taken from Coaching a Club by Kim Anderson)

Members are to maintain neat and proper dress in order to refrain from attracting undue attention to themselves during all speech meetings and tournaments. The dress code includes but is not limited to the following guidelines:

– No clothing with messages that are not in line with Christian principles.

– No exposed midriffs, backs, undergarments or inappropriately revealing clothing.

– No distractingly baggy, tight, or low-cut clothing.

– No extra-short shorts or skirts.

– No exposed tattoos, bare feet, knives or weapons.

– Hair should be neat, clean, combed and off the face. Hair should not attract undue attention.

This dress code is not all-inclusive. We are more concerned with the underlying principles of modesty and respect than with itemizing rules. Any specific situation not addressed here will be resolved by administrative director(s) in accordance with the general intent and purpose of the code.

Again, we are more concerned with the underlying principles of modesty and respect than with itemizing rules.

The Stoa Tournament Dress Code can be found in Appendix 6 and on the Stoa website (www.stoausa.org). This dress code is followed for all tournaments.

Members who change out of tournament dress during a tournament (when they are no longer competing) must follow the SOPHOS club dress code.

Members are required to wear full competition dress when attending tournament awards ceremonies.

After Reading about the success and failures of speech clubs, we have also learned that problems can arise more often between parents than students. We need to make it clear that when parents come to club meetings their focus must be present here with the members and their student without distractions so please:

Keep cell phones on silent and only text or make outside calls for rare emergencies.

Please do not take care of making appointments, business contacts, or work related calls while at the club.

Students should only use their phones for communicating with parents on the rare occasion that they should attend without their parent.

We encourage fellowship between parents during the meetings but will need to keep in mind that most of the rooms will be used for practicing speeches and even quiet conversation can be distracting to the speakers. If possible, we will make time for fellowship in the beginning and end of each meeting.

Please do not attend if you or your students are ill.

Please coordinate with other families when bringing children under age 10 to club meetings.

Remember to help tidy up Magnolia’s lovely facility at the end of each club meeting.

The purpose of SOPHOS Speech & Debate Club is to pursue excellence in speech and communications. It is a Christian affiliation with the purpose of preparing its members to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within them, as described in I Peter 3:15. The following Member Covenant is a personal commitment of the heart between the student and the Lord.

Member Covenant

As a Christian, I will remember that I am representing Christ by my words and actions, and that to misrepresent Him damages his reputation and the reputation of other Christians, particularly other members of our Speech and Debate Club. Therefore, I will commit to the following principles:

Toward God
– I will pursue knowledge and wisdom through Christ, for His glory alone.

– I will refrain from any activity that demonstrates unChrist-like behavior, in word or action.

– I will not lie, cheat, steal, gossip, or spread slander.

– I will honor my commitments.

Toward Others
– I will guard my tongue, speaking that which is wholesome and edifying including: 1) maintaining an obedient and respectful attitude toward all leaders and adults and 2) refraining from complaining when things don’t go the way I wish.

– I will guard my thoughts, striving to maintain a pure and blameless mind. Likewise, I will help others to do the same by wearing clothing that is modest, respectable, and appropriate for the occasion at hand.

– I will guard my heart, being careful not to defraud others in my relationships, refraining from public displays of affection that indicate a romantic interest and maintaining an educational atmosphere at club.

– I will develop and maintain a servant’s attitude toward all teammates and adults; and I will resolve conflicts directly and humbly, speaking the truth in love.

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2

I am willing to be held accountable and will hold my fellow students accountable to these tenets.