Debate team banquet week is the highest-margin apparel window of the season. Seniors graduating, varsity debaters cycling out of the program, alumni dropping in for the awards, parents buying everything they can to send their senior off properly. A program store stocked with banquet-specific items earns more in two weeks than the entire November-through-January stretch. Here is what to stock for the banquet and the senior class.
A slightly more upscale variant of the regular program polo. Use the Gildan Mens or Womens Premium Cotton Pique Polo in a different team-color combination than the regular tournament polo (often white or charcoal instead of the standard team color). Add a sleeve hit with the year ("2026") and a back band with "Senior Class" or the program name and graduating year. Reads as the awards-night version of the uniform. Pulls $17 to $23 of margin per sale.
A distinct hoodie design for the graduating class. Champion Performance Hoodie or Bear Grips Comfort Soft Hoodie with the program name on the front and a senior class roster printed on the back. List every graduating debater name. The roster turns the hoodie into a permanent keepsake that the senior wears through college and the parents keep folded in a drawer for decades.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.A cleaner, more refined banquet-specific tee. Next Level Premium Triblend Crew or Premium CVC Jersey Tee with a single chest emblem and the year on the sleeve. Less is more. The tee should photograph well at the banquet and live in the senior closet through college. Lower-cost than the hoodie or polo, so parents and grandparents buy multiple as gifts.
An optional add. Same design as the senior class hoodie but with "Senior Parent" or the parent name on the back. Parents who have watched four years of tournaments love the keepsake. Programs that stock the parent banquet hoodie typically see 30 to 50 percent of senior parents purchase one.
| Item | Avg Buyers (per 20 seniors) | Margin per Sale | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banquet polo | 15 | $20 | $300 |
| Senior class hoodie | 17 | $20 | $340 |
| Banquet tee | 25 (includes parents) | $13 | $325 |
| Parent banquet hoodie | 9 | $20 | $180 |
Total banquet-week margin from a 20-senior class: about $1,145. This is on top of the rest of the season program apparel revenue, in a two-week window.
Stock senior class hoodies, banquet polos, and keepsake tees. Free program store, every parent and senior orders direct.
Start FreeSix to eight weeks before banquet night. Seniors and parents need time to find the listing, choose sizes, and have the items arrive before the event. April 1 is the typical launch date for a mid-May banquet.
Yes. The class roster back-print is a standard option. The program submits the senior name list once and every hoodie ships with the same back-print roster. Some programs sort the names alphabetically, others by years in the program.
Most banquet orders ship from US print facilities within 3 to 5 business days and arrive in about a week. Programs that launch six weeks ahead give every buyer plenty of margin.
Yes. Banquet apparel uses a distinct design, often a different color combination, and adds class year personalization. The goal is to make the banquet items keepsakes the seniors and parents keep for life.
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