Team Information
INTERESTED IN JOINING NATICK SPEECH & DEBATE?
The team meets in the Lecture Hall every Wednesday night from 7:00 until 9:00pm when school is in session. A typical meeting consists of a 30 minute briefing about upcoming events, fundraisers, and general information, is followed by a 1 hour work session where you have the opportunity to collaborate with others or work individually, and the night ends with “circle” where we get to share a little snippet of what we worked on with the team. Click here to read our informational packet. We hope to see you on a Wednesday night soon!
2023-2024 Board Members
- President: Clara Duckworth
- Vice President: Nathan Moldover
- Communications Coordinator: Christa Belev
- Fundraising Coordinator: Adam Pochobut
- Membership Coordinator: Doris Yu
- Publicity Coordinator: Sanji Das
Coaching
During a coaching session, you have the opportunity to work one-on-one or in small groups with a coach or a returning member (a peer coach). You deliver your material, or a section of it, and we help you with ideas for making it even better – finding the appropriate volume, character voices, staging, using gestures and facial expression, making eye contact with your listeners, etc. It is up to you to arrange your coaching sessions, please talk to a coach to make an appointment. We encourage you to get coaching a few times with a new piece and before attending tournaments.
Sarah, Joyce, and Amanda are the coaches of Natick Speech & Debate. They are all alums of the program and great resources for all things speech related! They work outside the school system, so coaching sessions generally happen on weeknights. Please reach out to them. They love speech & debate and will do whatever they can to help you love speech & debate too!
Sarah, Joyce, and Amanda are the coaches of Natick Speech & Debate. They are all alums of the program and great resources for all things speech related! They work outside the school system, so coaching sessions generally happen on weeknights. Please reach out to them. They love speech & debate and will do whatever they can to help you love speech & debate too!
Tournament Overview & Attire
TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW
Tournaments are held a few times a month from October through early April. Most are just Saturday, although a few require multiple day commitments. We encourage members to attend as many tournaments as they are able, with a minimum expectation of three per school year. Our tournaments do require a full day commitment. We'll meet at a local high school between 7:30-8:00 AM and will generally be wrapping up the day between 7:30-8:00 PM. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from tournaments.
TOURNAMENT ATTIRE
The overall guideline to keep in mind when selecting tournament attire is that you want to be remembered for your presentation, not your outfit. We compete in professional attire. The kind of clothing you'd wear to a job interview or an important business meeting where you want to make a good impression. All clothing should be clean, neat, ironed, and professional. Suits, dresses, dress pants or skirts, blouses, shells, sweaters, or button down shirts are all generally acceptable. Ties, belts, and dress socks/stockings are great. Dress shoes should also be worn. It is advisable to avoid bright patterns, large jewelry, skirts or dresses that are shorter than knee length, heavy makeup, and bright nail polish. Feel free to contact any of the coaches or board members with questions.
Tournaments are held a few times a month from October through early April. Most are just Saturday, although a few require multiple day commitments. We encourage members to attend as many tournaments as they are able, with a minimum expectation of three per school year. Our tournaments do require a full day commitment. We'll meet at a local high school between 7:30-8:00 AM and will generally be wrapping up the day between 7:30-8:00 PM. Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from tournaments.
TOURNAMENT ATTIRE
The overall guideline to keep in mind when selecting tournament attire is that you want to be remembered for your presentation, not your outfit. We compete in professional attire. The kind of clothing you'd wear to a job interview or an important business meeting where you want to make a good impression. All clothing should be clean, neat, ironed, and professional. Suits, dresses, dress pants or skirts, blouses, shells, sweaters, or button down shirts are all generally acceptable. Ties, belts, and dress socks/stockings are great. Dress shoes should also be worn. It is advisable to avoid bright patterns, large jewelry, skirts or dresses that are shorter than knee length, heavy makeup, and bright nail polish. Feel free to contact any of the coaches or board members with questions.
Forms & Fees
2023-2024 FORMS
TEAM DUES
The Natick Speech & Debate Team charges annual membership dues to participate and help cover league membership fees, tournament registration fees, and other team expenses for the year. Checks for $125 can be made out to "Natick Speech & Debate Team" and given to Amanda during a Wednesday night meeting. If you have any questions about team dues please talk to one of the coaches.
Dues and forms must be submitted by 9/27/23 or within 2 weeks of joining the team.
TEAM DUES
The Natick Speech & Debate Team charges annual membership dues to participate and help cover league membership fees, tournament registration fees, and other team expenses for the year. Checks for $125 can be made out to "Natick Speech & Debate Team" and given to Amanda during a Wednesday night meeting. If you have any questions about team dues please talk to one of the coaches.
Dues and forms must be submitted by 9/27/23 or within 2 weeks of joining the team.
Leagues
Natick Speech & Debate competes at a number of tournaments each year. Each tournament has different rules and most are governed by one of three leagues. Be sure you know the event rules for the league you are competing in, as they can be different. We will mention this at meetings, but here are the links to the individual league sites, which will help you learn more.
- Massachusetts Speech & Debate League (MSDL) - The MSDL is our local league, and governs the majority of tournaments we attend.
- National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL)
- National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA)