Florida Forensic League

Art Deco Regional 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 Art Deco 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 7 entries in each event will qualify to compete at the State Championship tournament, which will be held on March 6 and March 7 VIRTUALLY via 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 10 and 11, which will also be held virtually via SpeechWire and NSDA Campus.

 

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 7, 2021.

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 do not hesitate to contact us.  We look forward to seeing you online on February 6, 2021.

 

QUESTIONS 

 

  --Tournament Host – Kate Hamm – khamm@ransomeverglades.org

  --Entries, Fees, Drops, Rules:  Tournament Director – Kate Hamm khamm@ransomeverglades.org

  --Day of Tournament Emergencies:  Kate Hamm’s Cell (954) 901 - 1276

 

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.  You may send as many items of legislation as students who are entering.  Please send bills as a Word attachment and make sure they are in FFL format (see Student Congress manual) to Kate Hamm at khamm@ransomeverglades.org

 

Legislation is Due – Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

 

VIRTUAL TOURNAMENT 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

 

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 2020-2021 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

 

Policy Debate U.S. Extemp Dramatic Interp. Duo Interp.

Lincoln Douglas Debate         International Extemp Humorous Interp. Program Oral Interp.

Public Forum Debate Original Oratory Informative Student Congress

World Schools Debate

 

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT IF WE DO NOT HAVE 12 DUOS FOR THE STATE TOURNAMENT THEN WE WILL NOT RUN THE EVENT.

 

ENTRY LIMITS

 

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

 

Schools that purchased a membership supplement may enter up to four (4) additional entries per event, except in World Schools.  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 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, World Schools 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 address 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 email, 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. 

 

--Policy Debate will use the 2020-2021 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 January/February topic - Resolved: States ought to ban lethal autonomous weapons.

 

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

 

--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.com for Regional Qualifiers.

 

--Extemporaneous Speaking Events – Topic Areas Have Been Posted On The New FFL Website.

 

 

--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.  Online training available - http://www.manateedistrict.org/

 

2.  All judges should use a reliable digital timing device. 

 

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.  Each Duo Interpretation 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.

 

ENTRY FEES

 

Each Contestant: $12.00

This is a “per student” entry fee; thus events with 2 people per entry pay 2 fees; World Schools - pays as many entry fees as there are students in the group; 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. Mailin address for FFL Treasurer: Florida Forensic League, Inc., Jenny Sandman, 13424 Swansea Avenue, Windemere, FL 34786 FEES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN FRIDAY - FEBRUARY 12, 2021.

 

DROP FEES

 

Drops Fees are $10 per instance in addition to the forfeiture of entry fees. 

 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT & SCHEDULE

 

Final Registration: February 6, 7:30 am – 8:00 am. The Regional Director will send Zoom 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.

 

The format for each event will depend on the number of entries received.  The Tournament Director will publish the number of preliminary and elimination rounds (if any) along with any power-matching schemes at final registration.

 

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