McClintock HS Speech and Debate Team Fee
Why does my student have to pay a team fee?
This activity is pretty expensive. We have to pay for tournaments, for resources, for memberships, for travel, and all sorts of stuff.
The good news is that we try to pass on as little of that expense as we can reasonably do. We run a tournament at McClintock High School in October that raises a significant chunk of funding for our tournament schedule during the season.
We charge a $100 team fee for the year, which can be paid to the bookstore. If you choose to pay by check, the check should be made out to McClintock High School. This team fee is the lowest we can make it so that we can pay for entry costs at tournaments for our entire team. We take pride in being one of the most affordable and inclusive teams in the Phoenix area. Our tournament, The Jim Fountain Classic, enables us to fundraise most of the rest of the money we need to fund all of our tournaments entries without selling candy, candles, etc. The school will also collect a $50 Activity Fee that is separate and apart from the team fee. This will be assessed by the school, and is mandatory, though they are somewhat inconsistent about when they collect this fee.
The deadline to turn in the $100 team fee is October 15th
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the fees, please contact Mr. Cornwell by email or phone! We are understanding, and will find a solution, but we need to know so that your child still gets to compete!
We also welcome donations through the Arizona Tax Credit program for extracurricular activities (See under Fundraising for more info). Those donations go to your student account, and enable us to further support travel, resources, and materials for the season.
Other Possible Expenses
Each year we take students who wish to go to the Harvard Invitational Tournament at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. If your student wishes to join us for this prestigious national tournament, we do ask that the student raise enough to cover travel and lodging expenses. That money can be collected through Tax Credit donations, or other means. More information will be forthcoming in November and December as we begin to prepare for that trip. (It takes place over President’s Day Weekend in February).
Students need suits for competition. Debaters and Extempers should probably have access to a laptop computer. If those things are outside your budget, or there is some difficulty in obtaining the stuff they’re going to need to be successful, please let us know.
If there’s one thing we hate, it’s the idea that this activity is inaccessible to anybody because of financial reasons. We want to make sure everybody has the opportunity to play, and get the benefit of participating in such a great activity. We are a part of an enormously generous community, and we can almost always find a way.