Dear Parent/guardian:

Participating in debate has shown to improve test scores, graduation rates, attendance rates and overall improvement in academic performance.  Debate teaches the skills of public speaking, critical analysis, and research while developing students who are well-informed and thoughtful citizens.

Your child’s high school has given Triangle Debate League (TDL) the opportunity to work with students on Congressional Debate on a weekly basis, participate in three to four TDL tournaments and/or Dogwood Speech and Debate League tournaments throughout the 2020-21 academic year.  Participation includes at least one weekly training session with TDL’s college debate coaches, as well as other workshops with our college coaches and peer high school debaters from around the area.  Through spring of 2021, at least, all coaching sessions, workshops, and tournaments will be conducted virtually, using TDL’s website, the National Speech and Debate Association virtual campus. Tabroom.com, and the Zoom video conferencing platform.  Coaches and program staff may also need to communicate with students, regarding sanctioned TDL activities, using email and text messaging.

During the course of these training sessions and competitions, students may be photographed or videotaped by either the Triangle Debate League, the Dogwood Speech and Debate League or other tournament sponsors.  TDL may use these images for sanctioned promotional or educational materials.

While TDL and its partners will take reasonable steps to insure safe and well-supervised online venues for training and competition, they cannot eliminate risk in the physical environment, from property damage, illness, bodily injury, disability or death.  Parents and guardians should understand this and accept responsibility for the physical safety and wellbeing of their child during their online participation, and for their online safety outside of TDL sanctioned venues.

To further maximize student safety, TDL requires that you provide a way to communicate with you should we believe that your child may be at risk from circumstances beyond our immediate control.  No student will not be allowed to participate in the program without the consent, email address and cellphone number of their parent(s) or guardian(s), which you may provide by completing the form below.  

By completing this form, you are providing your consent  
(1) for your child to participate in all TDL-sanctioned activities, online or in school, for the 200-21 academic year;
(2) for program staff to communicate with your child on subjects related to TDL activities,  using sanctioned TDL online platforms, email, or text messaging;
(3) for images or videos of your child participating in sanctioned TDL activities to be used in sanctioned TDL promotional and educational materials.