Our Vision

The purpose of Clarion Forensics is to equip Christian home-school students to communicate effectively. The elements of competition and companionship are used to motivate students to perform to the best of their abilities, as they develop skill and confidence for speaking the truth in love. With training, young people can become gracious ambassadors of faith to the culture and to future generations.

1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom”

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.”

1 Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect …”

The 6 C’s of Clarion: Clarion is all about… 1.Christ 2.Communication 3.Companionship 4.Competition 5.Character 6.The Great Commission

Club Membership

——Membership fee: $30 per family (payable to Clarion Club).
—Participants: 12-18 yrs old for NCFCA-affiliated competition; under-12 students may participate in the local junior tournaments.

—Participating families who compete in NCFCA tournaments MUST become affiliates with NCFCA; to do so please go to their website: www.ncfca.org. Cost is $45 before December and $60 thereafter.

–Members are to be at least 51% home-schooled, to conform to NCFCA guidelines (see www.ncfca.org).

—Parental Involvement: Clarion Club is structured to accommodate whole families. Fathers and mothers will be utilized as much as possible during club for coaching and other jobs. At least one parent must accompany their children to club meetings, or get permission from a board member to make other arrangements. Younger siblings are welcome to observe and participate as they are able. Junior tournaments are held for their participation twice a year.

History

It all started in the Summer of 2004 at a homeschooling conference in Portland, Oregon. John Sleadd and his family went to a workshop done by Gregg Harris and his sons, Alex and Brett, about the benefits of speech club.

At that time, the Harris family was very involved in the NCFCA competition league and were members of the Rainmakers club there in Portland. John and his kids were very impressed by what they saw and wanted to start a club in Southern Oregon.

The Sleadds went home and asked other homeschooling friends if they would like to help start a Grants Pass club. One of the families’ (the Emmons) initial thought was ‘Well, we’re too busy as it is but since we like the Sleadds we’ll just come to the first few meetings to support them.’ Little did they know that they would end up joining and loving it.

So in November 2004, this little club, Clarion Forensics, began with 3 families. We’re very thankful to the Rainmakers club for helping us get started and showing us how things were down. Our first experience as speech competitors was at the Rainmakers tournament. We’re very proud to say that, starting from our very first year, we have sent at least one competitor to Nationals every year.

Rainmakers Tournament- February 2005
Year 1

Gopher Hill Tournament- March 2006
Year 2

2nd Rainmakers Tournament- April 2006
Year 2

Clarion Medford Tournament- March 2007
Year 3

2nd Clarion Medford Tournament- January 2008
Year 4

3rd Clarion Medford Tournament- January 2009
Year 5

To read more about Clarion, click here.