Group Leader - Steubenville Atlantic Information

Group leaders are a key part of our Steubenville Atlantic team!

From an administrative standpoint, leading up to the conference, a group leader takes responsibility for registering the group online, purchasing the correct number of spots, ensuring all payments are received on time, organizing chaperones, and other group administration. During the conference, group leaders serve as chaperones for the group, overseeing the group in general as necessary.

From a pastoral perspective, group leaders are the key connection back to the home parish. Conference weekends are fantastic experiences but your presence and relationship throughout the course of the year is more important than anything a speaker says on stage.

All registration is done on our website.

To register a group, select that option and follow the instructions as you go. You will be asked to give your group a name – make sure it is something descriptive and easy to remember, as all your participants will need to select that group from a list of group names when they register. When registering a group you can purchase as many spots in it as you would like. A $50 deposit for each spot is due immediately – you can either pay online by credit card or send a cheque by mail.

At this point, you don't need to have contact information yet for all your participants – you purchase empty spots, and then participants fill those spots by going online themselves to register and provide their personal information. Once your group is registered, you will receive an email confirming registration and asking you to register yourself as the group leader. This is a separate step – don't skip this step or you will not actually be registered to attend the conference yourself!

Individual participants (group leaders, chaperones, peer leaders, and youth), or their legal guardian if under 18, must complete an online registration form.

Once your group is registered and spots are purchased you can begin signing up participants! All payments are made by you, the group leader. Individual participants do not need to make any financial transactions when registering. Rather, their registration process is mostly about holding a place for them and collecting all necessary information (youth and parents contact information, emergency details, medical information). The easiest thing to do is to direct your participants and their parents to our website where they can register using the appropriate option. Make sure they know your group name, as they will have to select it to complete the registration process.

The registration form includes a waiver that must be approved by a legal guardian for all participants who are under 18.

Yes!

To cancel spots you must do so in writing by Wed May 10, 2024. 

All deposits are non-refundable. 

All spots booked as of Thurs May 11, 2024 are confirmed and require full payment whether or not the participant attends the conference.

Yes!

Click here to download our 2022 Group Leader Manual (pdf).

We highly recommend you take our online training program for group leaders and chaperones. The program is free and can be viewed whenever, wherever you want. Click here to sign up online.

Steubenville Atlantic
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Introduction
Meet Our Key Volunteers - First Aid
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Hospitality
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Security
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Prayer Ministry
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Responsible Ministry

Steubenville Conferences are an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville. The conferences serve nearly 50,000 high school youth and their leaders at 25 different conferences across North America every summer. The conferences seek to invite teens into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church, empowering them to live as his disciples. These conferences are high energy events featuring inspiring talks, dynamic worship, and profound encounters with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and sacrament of reconciliation.

Steubenville Atlantic is sponsored and organized by the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth and brings together groups from across Atlantic Canada.

The weekend conference is open to high school students aged 14-18 (generally, those entering grade nine in the coming school year and this year's high school graduates) and their chaperones (aged 21+). We also need volunteers (aged 19+) to help everything go smoothly. if you’re between 18 and 21, you can attend as a peer leader! Peer leaders come as part of a group and can attend all the conference sessions (unlike volunteers). For more information, see Peer Leaders.

This year's Steubenville Atlantic Conference is July 5-7, 2024.
Check-in opens at 1:00 pm on Friday and the conference ends at 12:00 pm on Sunday.

The conference is held at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, NS.
Main sessions are in McNally Main Auditorium.
Workshops and small groups are held in various spaces on the campus.

Meals take place in Dockside Dining Hall.
Participants remain on campus for the duration of the weekend.

Our 2024 conference t-shirt is available for pre-order until June 7, 2024 for $20.00.
Pre-ordered shirts will be ready for pickup in our conference bookstore.
Some will also be available for sale during the conference. 

However, we recommend pre-ordering to guarantee you get a shirt.

Registration for youth participants, group leaders, and chaperones is $250 per person. All registrations include all talks and sessions, residence accommodations for the weekend Saint Mary’s University, and five meals over the weekend (Friday dinner through Sunday breakfast). A $50 per person deposit is due immediately upon registration. Last day to register, and final payment due date, is June 7, 2024.

Registration is Now Opening

Regular registration is $250

Registration closes June 7, 2024

Late registration (after June 7, 2024) is sometimes possible. A $20 service fee applies to all late registrations.

You must be part of a participating group to attend Steubenville Atlantic. Many parishes, communities, or dioceses form groups to attend the conference. If you are already part of a group you can register on our website.

If you would like to attend Steubenville Atlantic and there is no group in your home parish contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make arrangements!

Conference chaperones play two very important roles on our team.

Firstly, you help us to ensure a safe environment. Steubenville Atlantic abides by the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth's Responsible Ministry and Safe Environment Policy (RMSEP). This policy requires one chaperone for every five youth. Chaperones must be the same gender as youth to accommodate supervision in residences.

As a chaperone, you will attend the conference and all sessions with your group. You will be responsible for supervising your youth at all times, but also for facilitating small group conversations and helping the youth get the most out of the conference talks and sessions.

During the weekend, chaperones have more one on one time with the youth than any of the conference speakers or musicians. Therefore, the chaperone role is more than just babysitting – it's an opportunity to introduce young people to Jesus and our faith in an approachable, compelling way.

Chaperones attend the conference with a particular group. If there is a participating group in your parish or community, speak to the group leader about volunteering as a chaperone.
If you are already a part of a group you can register on our website.

If you would like to bring youth to a conference and there is no group in your region, consider forming your own group and being the group leader! A group doesn't need to be large and you don't need to have attended a Steubenville conference in the past to be a group leader.
To get more information on registering a group visit our group leader page.

If you have any questions about whether a group already exists in your area or how to form your own group contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Providing a safe environment is a key component of protecting the human dignity of our participants. 
Check out a video overview from our diocesan Responsibly Ministry Coordinator.

Chaperones, Group Leaders, and Volunteers from Parishes in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
 are required to complete the following documents and return them to their Parish Responsible Ministry Coordinator.

• Volunteer Information Form
• Reference Document
• Covenant of Care
• Obtain a Criminal Records Check and Vulnerable Sector Search (or have had one completed within the past three years)

Chaperones, Group Leaders, and Volunteers from Parishes outside of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
are required to complete the following documents and return them to the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth Responsible Ministry Coordinator.

• Volunteer Information Form
• Certificate of Approval

Priests or Clergy attending Steubenville from outside of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
are required to complete the following documents and return them to the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth Responsible Ministry Coordinator. These documents must be completed in order for the Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth to grant faculties for ministry.

• Appendix X111 – Certificate of Approval to perform ministry in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth
• Information and Contact Document

More information and forms can be found at: here

We highly recommend you take our online chaperone training program. The program is free and can be viewed whenever, wherever you want. Click here to sign up online.

We also have some "what to expect at Steubenville Atlantic" videos produced by our volunteers. Additionally, our partners at Franciscan University of Steubenville have prepared resources for group leaders and chaperones.

Steubenville Atlantic
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Introduction
Meet Our Key Volunteers - First Aid
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Hospitality
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Security
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Prayer Ministry
Meet Our Key Volunteers - Responsible Ministry