Florida Forensic League

Macaw Region (4) Tournament

Saturday, February 6, 2021

 

Dear Coach,

 

Happy New Year!

 

As you return to school from a (hopefully) restful holiday break, it is time to plan your entry for the 2021 Florida Forensic League Macaw Region Qualifying Tournament! This event will be held VIRTUALLY via SPEECHWIRE AND NSDA CAMPUS on Saturday, February 6, 2021.

 

This tournament is the gateway into participation in FFL activities for the remainder of the year. The top 5 entries in each event will qualify to compete at the State Championship tournament, which will be held on March 6 and 7 virtually using SpeechWire and NSDA Campus. Whether or not your students qualify to the State Championship, participation at the Regional Tournament will allow your school to enter the Novice State Tournament in April - scheduled for April 10th and 11th.

 

Here are the 4 most important things you need to know when planning your entry:

 

1. If your school fails to enter the Regional Tournament, it forfeits the opportunity to attend Novice State and participate in Coach of the Year voting.

2. The number of qualifiers in each event is based on the number of schools that participate in the previous year’s Regional Tournament. Thus, it is imperative that every member school in the region send at least one student to compete at the qualifying tournament. If only a few schools in our region fail to participate, we could lose qualifying spots in 2022!

3. Every student you enter into the Regional Qualifying Tournament must be available to compete at the State Championship Tournament if he/she qualifies. There are substantial financial penalties for dropping from the State Tournament. Thus, you should make sure that every student from your school who wants to enter this tournament is available to compete on March 6 and March 7.

4. First-year students are welcome to attend the Regional Tournament and are eligible to qualify for the State Championship. They WILL NOT lose their eligibility to compete at Novice State. In theory, a novice could win the State Championship and still compete at Novice State the following month!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact your Regional Director.

 

QUESTIONS

 

-- Entries, Fees, Drops, Rules: Tournament Director Traci Lowe-traci.lowe@palmbeachschools.org

-- Day of Tournament Emergencies: Angie Anyzeski (561) 371-6890

 

ENTRY PROCESS

 

Entry will take place on www.speechwire.com You must have a SpeechWire account to register for any of the FFL Tournaments.

 

***If you are entering Student Congress, you must submit at least one bill/resolution for the agenda. Please send bills as a Word attachment and make sure they are in FFL format (see Student Congress manual) to pbcflcongress@gmail.com  Legislation is Due – Friday, January 22nd, 2021.  

 

VIRTUAL TOURNAMNET REQUIREMENTS

 

SpeechWire student accounts are required for participation at the Regional Qualifiers and all State Tournaments. Here are some helpful videos for addressing this task.

Creating student accounts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcGivaEKSuk 

Judges will have to complete ballots online. Completing electronic ballots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJXxeVS-KgM

Preview & Test NSDA Campus here: https://campus.speechanddebate.org

 

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT & SCHOOL-SANCTIONED ADULT

Only schools that are members of the league for 2019-20 may participate at this tournament. Also, please remember that a school-approved adult must accompany students to the tournament(yes even a virtual tournament) and remain on site for the entire competition. If the school-approved adult is NOT the Head Coach or Assistant Coach on record with the league, then a letter signed by the school principal and printed on school stationery MUST be submitted with the school’s entry. The letter needs to specifically name the adult in charge. The penalty for failing to submit this document is disqualification of all contestants from the school involved.

 

EVENTS OFFERED

World Schools                    U.S. Extemp                    Dramatic Interp.

Lincoln Douglas Debate     International Extemp       Humorous Interp.

Public Forum Debate         Original Oratory               Informative

Student Congress              Duo Interp.                      Program Oral Interp

 

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT IF WE DO NOT HAVE 12 DUOS FOR THE STATE TOURNAMENT THEN WE WILL NOT RUN THE EVENT.  DUO WILL BE THE ONLY ASYNCHRONOUS EVENT.  DUO'S MUST BE SPLIT SCREEN.

 

ENTRY LIMITS

Each member school may submit up to six (6) entries per event, except for World Schools. (1 entry per event).

Schools that purchased a membership supplement may enter up to four (4) additional entries per event. All entries on the supplement must be students in grades 6 – 8 (for middle school supplement) or 9 (for ninth grade supplement). Entering students in grades 10-12 on the supplemental form will result in automatic disqualification of those students. Enter mixed teams/units (eg: a 9th grader and 11th grader on a Policy Debate team) on the high school form.

 

DOUBLE ENTRY

Double entry and double qualification is permitted, except in Policy Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Student Congress. Also, cross-entry between U.S. Extemp and International Extemp is prohibited.

 

EVENT REMINDERS

The By Laws and Standing Rules of Florida Forensic League, Inc. shall govern the operation of this event. All coaches and students are responsible for reviewing the rules in the Governing Documents. Questions about rules should be addressed to the President, who serves as the Tournament Director for the State Championship.

 

All Events:

Laptop Computers 

The use of laptop computers shall be permitted in all debate events at all FFL sanctioned Events during the 2020-2021 season. During debate rounds access, use of e-mail, instant messaging, or other means of receiving information from sources inside or outside the “competition room” are prohibited. (This does not prohibit non-electronic communication between debate partners during prep time). Contestants found to have violated the provisions above may face the following actions: forfeit the round of competition and receive zero points or disqualification from the tournament and forfeiture of all rounds.

 

Availability of Evidence: The FFL will be following the NSDA Rules in regards to evidence in debate events.  

 

Rules in A Nutshell – Regarding Evidence

- Debaters are responsible for the validity of all evidence that they introduce in the debate.

- Evidence must be provided orally or written and must include primary author(s) and year of publication.  Any other information such as qualifications etc… may be given, but not required.

- Judges are responsible for resolving disputes between debaters – both oral and written sources.

- Judge decisions may not be appealed unless – judge misapplied, misinterpreted, or ignored the rule.

- EVIDENCE CHALLENGES DO NOT GUARANTEE A DECISION REVERSAL

 

Extemporaneous Speaking: 

In Extemporaneous Speaking, students will be permitted to use WiFi.  They must report on time to the virtual Extemp Prep Room and follow all instructions given to them by the Extemp Prep Room personnel.  

 

IX 

Asia 

Europe 

Middle East 

Africa 

Latin America 

International Economies 

World Leaders 

 

DX 

Biden Administration 

Congress 

US Economy 

Education 

Infrastructure 

Environment 

Social Issues  

Policy Debate: Prep time is 8 minutes per team. The tournament will use the 2020-2021 National Topic - Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing.

Lincoln Douglas Debate: Prep time is 4 minutes per debater. The tournament will use the NSDA January/February topic. Resolved: States ought to ban lethal autonomous weapons

Public Forum Debate: Prep time is 3 minutes per team. The tournament will use the NSDA February topic. Resolved: On balance, the benefits of urbanization in West Africa outweigh the harms.

World Schools Debate: Prepared topics TBD

Student Congress will follow the FFL Congress Manual. Entries will determine the number of chambers; if there are two or more chambers, there will be a Super Congress. All schools must submit legislation (see ENTRY PROCESS above). Legislation will be available on the SpeechWire site for Regional Qualifiers.

 

All Speech/Interpretation Events:

1. There is a 30-second grace period in these events. A contestant who goes beyond the grace period may not be ranked first in that round.

2. All contestants must have a copy of their piece/oration available for review by tournament officials.  Failure to present a copy of the applicable document and evidence of publication will result in disqualification.

 

RULES COMPLIANCE

Reviewing the following documents in advance of the tournament will help to ensure that your students comply with all FFL rules and regulations. Questions regarding these rules should be addressed to the Tournament Director.

 

All of the following documents are available online at https://floridaforensicsleague.com/

1. FFL Governing Documents: You should review the general tournament rules with your students.

2. FFL Civility Code: This document prescribes rules of behavior that are generally observed by all contestants and adults at forensic contests. If you have inexperienced contestants and/or judges, you should give them a copy of this document.

3. Student Congress Manual: You should give a copy of this document to each of your contestants in Student Congress.

4. Judging: Share this link with your judges – they can obtain online judge training - http://www.manateedistrict.org/ 

 

JUDGES & REQUIREMENTS

 

1. All judges should be properly trained using the statewide judging manual.

2. All judges should bring and use a reliable digital timer.

3. The following judge requirements are in place for this tournament:

        --Policy Debate: One judge for every two teams or fraction thereof

        --Lincoln Douglas Debate: One judge for every two debaters or fraction thereof

        --Public Forum Debate: One judge for every two teams or fraction thereof

        --Speech/IE, Including Congress:  One judge for every five entries or fraction thereof. EachDuo/Group Interpretation team counts as one entry only.

The Tournament Director reserves the right to disqualify students from any school that is unable to meet its judging quota. Judges must be in Speechwire by 3pm Thursday, February 4.

 

ENTRY FEES:

Each Contestant: $12.00. ($12.00 for FFL) This is a “per student” entry fee; thus events with 2 people per entry pay 2 fees; THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL FEE FOR DOUBLE ENTRY

 

NEW FEE PROCEDURE FOR VIRTUAL TOURNAMENT

Fees are to be mailed to the FFL Treasurer – We Will Also Accept Venmo – Email Carol Cecil – ccecil@dadeschools.net if you plan to pay via Venmo and she will send you the link.  Mailing Address For FFL Treasurer.  Fees are due no later than FRIDAY – FEBRUARY 12, 2021

 

Florida Forensic League, Inc.

Jenny Sandman

13424 Swansea Avenue

Windermere, FL 34786

 

DROP FEES

Drops Fees are $10 per instance in addition to the forfeiture of entry fees. Drop fees go into effect Thursday, February 4, at 3pm.

 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT & SCHEDULE

Final Registration: 7:30 am – 8:00 am. The Regional Director Will send links for a virtual coach/judge lounge, AND Extemp Prep Room. Any school not registered at 8:00 am will be eliminated from competition. Round One will begin shortly after 8:00 am.

(vr)