2025 Kickoff Challenge

• Setup:

  This status is used while the tournament is still being setup.

• Open:

  This status means tournament registration is open. Families can register for the tournament.

• Drops Only:

  This status means only registration drops are allowed. There are no new entries allowed but families can drop entries.

• Closed:

  This status means registration is currently closed for the tournament. There are no adds or drops allowed. Please contact the tournament director with any questions.

• Completed:

  This status means the tournament is completed.

Harding University has a hotel conveniently locate on campus called the Heritage Inn. We have a block of rooms available to us at a discounted rate. They also have a house that could serve multiple families and some RV slots that may be reserved. You can find the hotel information and reservation link here: Heritage Inn  The reservation code for our group is STOA25. Many of us have found it easier to make reservations and use the reservation code by calling the hotel directly. The number is at the link provided.

If you prefer to stay off campus, there are several nearby hotels:

Holiday Inn Express
3660 Ferren Trail, Searcy, AR 72143

Best Western Plus
501 Willow St, Searcy, AR 72143

Microtel Inn & Suites
3668 Ferren Trail, Searcy, AR 72143

LaQuinta Inn & Suites
504 N Poplar St, Searcy, AR 72143

Hampton Inn
209 S Poplar St, Searcy, AR 72143

Safety

Parents or supervising adults, please plan to remain on campus while your student is present throughout the tournament. Your student's safety and positive experience is of utmost importance. This is a college campus, so it will not be a closed environment like many of the churches where we compete. We will have volunteers posted at each of the campus buildings that we are using to assist with questions and any issues that arrise.

Importance of Parent Judges

Thank you for understanding that a sizable pool of parent judges is critical for providing a quality tournament for all competitors. With that in mind, your minimum requirement is to judge the rounds for which you registered. You also need to check in with Ballot Admin at the beginning of each round in case there are any unexpected judging needs.  Many parents have found that the more rounds they judge, the better equipped they are to help their students succeed.

Visitors

To keep everyone safe, all adults at the tournament need to check in and wear a name badge. If you don't receive a name badge at student & parent check-in, please stop by the Judge Greeter desk to get one.

Photos and Video

The Stoa Marketing Committee would like to feature our tournament on social media in a short video reel. We also will be putting together a slide show for our tournament. We will have a photographer onsite taking photos and videos throughout the weekend. This will be a fun way to remember Kickoff Challenge and to attract new families to Stoa. If you would like to opt out of the photos and videos, please email the tournament director to make your wishes known. We have included the standart Stoa Photo/Video release information in another tab on the tournament home page.

Harding University is located in Searcy, Arkansas, just north of Little Rock.

The address is: 915 E. Market Ave.
Searcy, AR 72149

The hub of our tournament, including check-in, judge hospitality, the student room, and all meals will be located in the Burks American Heritage Building, #21 on the Harding Campus Map. The hotel is also in that building. Our competition rooms will be in the Mabee Building, #7 on the map. The map page also has helpful travel information.

Parking information:

When you arrive on campus, you will want to come in on East Market St. The best entrance into the Burks American Heritage Building is through the Heritage Inn entrance. So the best place to park will be the lot across the street from that entrance. Most parking is open on campus, so if the lot is full when you arrive, there are several others nearby.

Check In for both Students and Parents will be Thursday, October 9 at 2:00 pm
Speech-only students may also check in Friday, October 10 from 7:45-8:00 right after announcements and devotional

Check In is located on the second floor of Burks American Heritage Building

Students will pick up their check in packet and it will contain a name badge and any debate tents that are needed.

Parents must also check in! Parent packets will contain the meal tickets. Each year we have students who can't find their meal tickets and it is because the parent did not pick up their check in packet. If your student comes with another adult, they should ask for your packet to get meal tickets.

It is very important to check in on time! If you will be late please communicate with us so we will know not to drop you from the tournament. Thanks!

Mark Pruitt at Harding University has invited each of you to register for a campus visit while you are at Harding for the tournament. The day begins at 8:00 am, includes the 9:00 am campus chapel service which all students attend each day, and then continues on from there with a tour of campus, academic appointments, presentations, etc. They will even treat you to lunch! If you are a high school student and would like to sign up, fill out the form at https://www.harding.edu/admissions/visit and they will get that set up for you. What a great opportunity to check out a wonderful school!

Registration opens: 8/29/25 at 8:00 am

Registration closes: 9/19/25 at 11:59 pm

*At this point you may still drop events by logging into your registration and dropping them. However, once registration closes on 9/19, there will be NO refunds for event fees.

Drop period closes: 9/28/25 at 11:59 pm

*At this point you will have to contact the tournament to drop an event. Because we will be within two weeks of the start of the tournament, there will be a $20 drop fee assessed.

Communication is Key! We are happy to help you with your registration. But we ask that you log in to your account first to see if it is something you can change/fix yourself. StoaHub is great about giving you access to your events, meals, etc. to change on your own up until we close the tournament.

Check with your partners before registering for debate! You register as a team, so if you need to change partners you will have to drop the event and start over. Also, if you put a partner down on your registration, you actually start a registration for that family as well. So check with your partners first.

We will publish the list of debaters coming to the tournament once registration closes.

Because our tournament is so early in the season, we will be sharing our categories with you to aid in your preparation. 

Apologetics 

Categories 1, 3, 5, and 4

Mars Hill

Current Film & TV, Current Music, Classic Media, and Cultural Voices

Adult/Minor Modeling Participant Release

In consideration of my membership in Stoa, which includes the membership of all my dependent minor children, I hereby grant to Stoa and to its sponsors, and those acting with Stoa's authority and permission, the irrevocable and unrestricted right and permission to take, use, reuse, publish, and republish photographic portraits or pictures, videos or recordings of me or of my minor children, or in which I or my minor children may be included, in whole or in part, made through any and all media now or hereafter known. I also consent to the use of any printed matter in conjunction therewith or the use of my name and/or the name(s) of my minor children, in connection therewith if Stoa so decides.

I consent to the use of my name or the name(s) of my minor children for the purposes of posting tournament results and point accrual to a Stoa designated online database.

I hereby waive any right that I or my minor children may have to inspect or approve the finished product or products.

I hereby release, discharge and agree to save harmless Stoa and its sponsors and all persons acting under its permission or authority from any liability including any claims for libel or invasion of privacy, rights of publicity, copyright or otherwise. I hereby warrant that I am a legal competent adult and that I have every right to contract for myself and/or the minor in the above regard. I state further that I have read the above authorization, release, and agreement, prior to its execution, and that I am fully familiar with the contents of it.