Reminder:  students must register as league members before they’re eligible to compete.

Logos Forensics Association
1 Peter 3:15 / Proverbs 27:17

Equipping Leaders For Christ

Christian School Speech & Debate

Join the LFA

Speech and Debate is one of the most powerful activities a student can participate in.  It trains the next generation in logic, rhetoric, research, and public speaking.  These skills produce lifelong benefits and are essential to engage the world.  Coupled with a focus on character and biblical worldview, competitive speech and debate is one of the best ways to prepare students to be world-changers for Christ.

Membership Information

Eligibility

Speech and debate is primarily a high school activity for freshmen through seniors (grades 9-12).  However, junior high students (grades 7-8) can participate as well.

Please note that there is not a novice and varsity division. Nor is there a junior high and high school division. All students compete together no matter their grade or age.

Only private Christian schools that agree with the league statements of faith are eligible to become members.

Registration

Each school and participating student must submit a complete membership application and pay appropriate membership dues to compete in the league.

School membership dues must be paid before students can compete. Students must register prior to entry in tournaments.

Schools complete a PDF application.  Students fill out an online form.

During registration, each student completes a survey and signs a liability release form.

Duration

Memberships are valid for the entire speech and debate season, which runs the length of the academic school year.  Tournament competition occurs October – April.

School and student memberships are renewed annually.

Once membership is complete, coaches and students are eligible to participate in league tournaments and access league services. ​

Deadlines

School applications are due by June 30 for priority enrollment.  After that, the waitlist opens.  School membership fees are due by September 30.

For students, there is a separate deadline for each semester. The first semester deadline for student registration is October 31. The second semester deadline for student registration is January 31.

Invoices for student membership dues will be sent out after each deadline. Please note that your school will be invoiced for each student that registers regardless of their competition status.

Member Schools
Pricing

There are three different ways to achieve a 25% discount on school membership dues. Please see the FAQ’s listed below for more details.

Testimonies
FAQ's
Why is competitive speech and debate important?

The LFA assists Christian schools with speech and debate competition because the forensic activity provides a plethora of lifelong benefits in training students to be leaders for Christ.  Additionally, debate involves students in public policy discussions helping them better understand civics and become informed citizens.  Lastly, the difference this activity can make in a student’s life is quite remarkable, especially in terms of skillset, character, leadership, and worldview development. 

 

Competition specifically is valuable because it challenges students on a deeper level, develops skillsets faster, and motivates students to work harder.  In essence, competition is the “iron sharpening iron” process that refines better than instruction alone.  Similarly, interscholastic competition is superior to in-house competition.  Students work harder when they compete against a broad spectrum of skillsets and opponents versus their classmates only.

Who can participate?

Membership is exclusive to Christian schools (and their students) who apply, pay dues, and agree with the league statement of faith.  However, Christian homeschool families, co-ops, PSP’s, ISP’s, and other private Christian education structures are not necessarily precluded.  As long as a Christian homeschool student is affiliated with a private Christian school, he or she is gladly welcome to compete in the LFA (pending registration, etc.).  For confirmation on your scenario, please call the LFA office.

 

Regarding age, speech and debate is primarily a high school activity (grades 9-12).  However, junior high students (grades 7-8) can participate as well.  Please note though that there isn’t a novice and varsity division.  Nor is there a junior high and high school division.  All students compete together no matter their grade or age.  While harder at first for younger students, this sets a higher bar of excellence to aspire to while building character.

How many students are needed to start a speech and/or debate program?

For debate, two students constitute a team.  For speech, only one student is necessary as those are individual events.  You can have as little or as many competitors as is suitable to your school.  A large club is not necessary to compete.  Some schools only have a handful of competitors.  However, speech and debate can become a popular activity.  You may find that you will need to put a limit on how many students can participate at a time.

 

Should speech and debate be offered as a course or as an extra-curricular activity?

It could be offered as either.  Some schools offer speech and debate as an elective class in the school schedule.  Others incorporate it as a noncredit activity either before or after school.  It’s up to you and whatever works best for your school and students.  Members of the league do it both ways.  You may start forensics as an extra-curricular program and later work it into a credited class in future years.  Schools with a classical educational model tend to make a “Debate, Logic, & Rhetoric” class part of the academic schedule.

What events can students compete in?

Within the league, there are several events.  Students can participate is as many events as they choose.  To reference each available event, please use the “Speech” and “Debate” tabs in the menu header.

When does the competition season begin and how many tournaments are there?

The tournament season begins in October and concludes at the end of April.  Tournaments are hosted by both the league and by member schools.  Tournaments occur at least once a month throughout the season.

As a league, the LFA hosts several virtual tournaments each semester as well as the season ending championship tournament, which is in-person.  The LFA utilizes a hybrid format to make tournaments more accessible and to ease travel costs.

Outside of league hosted tournaments, individual member schools also host in-person tournaments.  Each member school is encouraged to host at least one tournament per season.  You can view these tournaments as “home games” which are valuable to host.  As far as travel, that is up to each school.  You can travel to as many as tournaments as you desire or can afford.  The more students compete, the faster they become articulate leaders.

What do tournaments look like?

A traditional debate tournament is held on a Saturday and consists of four debate rounds along with two speech rounds.  Any number of students may attend.  Each round usually takes 60-90 minutes to complete.  Three rounds happen before lunch, and three after lunch.  A large tournament consists of two days (Friday afternoon and Saturday) in order to have extra rounds for finals.  Once the rounds are completed, awards are presented to the top teams (4 or more depending on the size of the tournament).  Sample schedules are available for a variety of tournament formats that include both speech and debate or just one category.

Who will our students compete against?

Your school will compete against other Christian schools who are members of LFA.  Tournaments are held between two or more schools.  As the league continues to grow, there will be larger, state-wide tournaments, regional tournaments, and eventually, a national championship tournament for Christian schools all over the country.

If we're new to the activity, what training can we expect?

To help new members get started, the season kicks-off with an online Coaches Academy before the school year begins.  This introductory training academy best prepares schools for a successful program.  Additionally, each coach is provided with a 5th edition Rhetoric Through Policy Debate workbook, a syllabus, quizzes, access to recordings, online instruction, printed documents, and personal one-on-one support.  Essentially, everything a coach (or teacher) needs to launch the forensics activity.

What does it cost to join the league?

All the above listed benefits and services are included with membership.  There are annual membership dues for both schools and students.  Reference the pricing table on this webpage for up-to-date information.

Tip:  Your school can charge your students more than the LFA membership price and keep the difference.  For example, some member schools charge students $150 each to participate in speech and debate for the year and keep the remaining $90 difference ($150-$60) per student to offset program, coaching, and/or travel costs.

Once your student roster is complete, the LFA office will send you an invoice for the number of competitors you have in your club.  What you charge families upfront though is entirely up to you.

Are there other costs besides membership dues?

Only for tournaments you participate in and if you decide to order debate textbooks. 

 

Tournaments fees are set by the tournament host and any profit made is kept by the host.  So, if your school hosts a tournament, you set the price for entry.  Registration fees help offset facility costs, food, trophies and awards, and any paid judges.  Average tournament fees range from $15-$30 per category (speech or debate) per student.

 

Rhetoric Through Policy Debate textbooks are $20 per copy.  One free copy is included with membership.  There is a bulk price discount of 20% when ordering 10 or more copies, which brings the price down to $16 per unit.  You’re welcome to supplement with any other materials you’d like.  We can offer additional recommendations for materials as well.

What are the steps to join and compete?

Here’s what you’ll need to do to join the LFA and get started with speech and debate:

  1. Review, complete, and submit the school membership application
  2. Pay membership dues
  3. Decide who will facilitate the program at your school
  4. Decide on format (club or class)
  5. Promote the activity to your students
  6. Have your coach/assistant coach attend the Coaches Academy (included with membership)
  7. Start meeting as a club or class
  8. Register students
  9. Utilize resources on the league website
  10. Attend tournaments!
What if the cost is a problem for my school?

Every school’s budget is tight with limited funds, but compared to other expenditures in your budget, you’ll find that speech and debate has an excellent cost-to-benefit ratio.  Sports teams and other extra-curricular activities usually involve far greater expenses than the debate activity.  After all, no field, locker rooms, or equipment is needed for speech and debate.  All you need is a classroom to meet in.

 

If the expense is a problem, it is likely that your school has contributors or parents who would be glad to help underwrite the cost once they understand the power of this activity.  It is also possible to divide all or some of the cost among the families of participating students.  If 10 students participate in speech and debate, each family could contribute $100 and cover the school’s cost for the year (referring to required membership dues).  It’s up to you to determine the registration price for your participating families.

 

If financial hardship is still an issue, please contact the LFA office for possible assistance.  Fee waivers are occasionally offered.

How do we recruit students to participate?

Some students will be interested right away, but other students need to be persuaded to join speech and debate.   Most often, students are recruited into the activity by other students.  Secondarily, parents are a driving force behind student participation.

 

Here are three promotional steps you can try:

  1. Introduce the activity to parents with a letter or packet of material that explains speech and debate. Example correspondence is available.
  2. Bring in high school debaters from other schools or leagues to talk about debate at a school assembly, chapel, or in specific classrooms.
  3. The sponsoring teacher or coach can “talk it up” to students.

 

Speech and debate is a fun activity.  Once the pump is primed with a few participating students, the word gets out and many other students want to participate.

What if our school doesn’t have anyone with debate experience to teach or coach the activity?

That’s ok.  Very few schools have someone with debate experience.  The LFA provides all of the teacher training and materials necessary to get started.  In addition, coaches can attend an annual training academy to excel in this subject area.

How do we find a debate teacher/coach?

The debate coach for your school can be a teacher, a parent, or any other school staff member.  Government, History, Economics, and English teachers are good candidates for the debate coach job, but any responsible adult can coach your team.  If your school is interested in starting a debate program, but does not have a willing coach, we can help.  Someone from our team can come and make a presentation (depending on travel distance) to your faculty designed to create interest in debate.  This usually creates excitement about the activity and dispels the normal concerns about coaching a new activity.  This can be done at a faculty meeting, before school, over lunch, or at any time when the staff can gather.  Alternatively, we can schedule one-on-one phone or virtual meetings to answer questions and address concerns.

When is my school ready to start this program?

Anytime.  Because of the flexible nature of speech and debate, the program can be incorporated into your school’s activities at any time.  It’s best to develop interest over the summer months and start the program with the fall semester, but you could begin during the spring semester too.  After you start the activity, it generally runs for the majority of the school year.

 

Can we "try before we buy"?

Yes!  You can try competing in the league for the fall semester without charge (excluding tournament entry fees). If you like your experience, you can pay membership dues in spring to continue competing for the remainder of the season.

Are there any discounts?

There are three different ways to achieve a 25% discount on school membership dues:

1. Early Registration

If your school applies and pays school membership dues before June 30, you’ll receive a 25% discount.

2. Referrals

The league offers a win-win referral discount. Both the recruiter and the recruit receive a 25% discount on school membership dues for one season. Each referral is applied as a credit on your account to offset membership dues, tournament fees, and textbook sales. Referrals are limited to one use per season.

3. Association Affiliation

The league collaborates with school associations to offer special discounts. If you are a member of a Christian School Association that works with our league, make sure to list that on your membership application to receive a one-time discount.


Discounts cannot be combined. The association discount can only be used once.