Membership

Annual Registration is Open Now

Membership Benefits

Participation in Stoa’s National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC) – if invited
Participation in any tournament requiring Stoa membership
Upload of results from Stoa tournaments to Speechranks
Qualification for optional liability insurance for clubs and tournaments
Vote for Board members
Vote for debate resolutions
Vote for Wildcard speech events
Vote on key organizational decisions
Periodic news updates (StoaBytes) from the Stoa Board
Access to LexisNexis® research database for only $40 per student per year (usually costs $2400 per year for a single user license.) Click here for details.
Staples and Office Depot Discount Programs
Learn about dual credit opportunities offered by our Stoa Sponsors
Club in a Box
Tournament in a Box

Cost of Membership

Family Registration on or before December 31st: $75.00 for families with at least one 12-18-year-old student competing at tournaments, regardless of the number of children. Early registration saves you $20.

Family Registration January 1st or later: $95.00 for families with at least one 12-18-year-old student competing at tournaments, regardless of the number of children.

Coaches Registration: $30.00 for Coaches/Parents/Alumni that do not have their own competing students.

Junior Registration: $30.00 for families with students 11 years old and younger competing at local tournaments. This registration is necessary for tournaments whose insurance requires that all competitors be Stoa members. This is only for families that do not have older students competing.

Dues are not refundable or transferable.

Eligibility

Stoa is organized to serve the privately educated, Christian homeschool community. Stoa recognizes and accepts that homeschooling families use a wide variety of homeschooling strategies and supports the parental right to direct the education of their children.

Eligibility for Stoa and the National Invitational Tournament of Champions (NITOC):

It is expected that a student registering for a tournament is able to compete the entire tournament season. Competitors joining Stoa 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 agree with the Statement of Faith.

There is one God eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14)
Man is sinful and therefore separated from God, who is holy and perfect.
(Isaiah 53:5-9, Romans 3:23, I Peter 1:15-16)
Jesus Christ paid the eternal penalties for our sin through His death on the cross
(Luke 24:46, I Peter 2:21)
Jesus Christ also resurrected bodily and ascended into heaven and will return one day to fulfill His kingdom. (Matthew 28:6, Revelation 19:11)
Only through Jesus Christ and the grace of His provision of salvation, may we be saved from eternal punishment, enter into God’s family and receive eternal life.
(Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:11, I John 1:9)
The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible and authoritative Word of God and the truth for Christian faith and practice.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, John 17:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Psalm 19:7-11, John 6:67-69)

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 home schooling, the student is classified as legally “homeschooled”; and

4) The student is not enrolled full-time in a public charter school or public school independent study program.

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 in a full-time college-level degree program.

Position Statement

Marriage and Gender

In order to indicate our position on issues related to marriage and gender, Stoa’s Board of Directors has chosen to affirm the Nashville Statement.