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FFL Region 5 Qualifier

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This information is from a tournament in a past season!

This is a High School tournament in Florida.

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Florida Forensic League

Art Deco Region 5 Tournament

Saturday, February 04, 2023
 
Dear Coach,
 
Happy New Year!
 
As you return to school from a (hopefully) restful holiday break, it’s time to plan your entry for the 2023 Florida Forensic League Art Deco Region Qualifying Tournament! This event will be held at North Miami Senior HS 13110 NE 8th Ave, North Miami, FL 33161 on Saturday, February 04, 2023.
 
This tournament is the gateway into participation in FFL activities for the remainder of the year.  The top 6 entries in each event will qualify to compete at the State Championship tournament, which will be held on March 4 and 5 at a location to be announced.  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.
 
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. Must only enter (1) one student at Regional Quals.
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 2024!
3.  Every student you enter into the Regional Qualifying Tournament must be available to compete at the State Championship Tournament if they qualify. 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 4 and 5.
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 us.  We look forward to seeing you on the 4th of February at North Miami Senior HS .
 
QUESTIONS 
 
-- Meals and Directions:  Tournament Host – Patricia Lewis – plewis1@dadeschools.net  
--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 – (if no packet), January 25, 2023. 
 
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT & SCHOOL-SANCTIONED ADULT
 
Only schools that are members of the league for 2022-2023 may participate at this tournament. Also, please remember that a school-approved adult must accompany students to the 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 World Schools Debate U.S. Extemp Dramatic Interp.
Lincoln Douglas Debate         International Extemp Humorous Interp. Program Oral Interp.
Public Forum Debate Original Oratory Informative Speaking Impromptu
Student Congress Duo Interp. After Dinner Speaking
 
 
ENTRY LIMITS
 
Each member school may submit up to six (6) entries per event, except in World Schools Debate. (1 entry per school, 2 with supplement).  
 
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, World Schools Debate, and Student Congress.  Also, cross-entry between U.S. Extemp and International Extemp is prohibited.
 
 
 
 
EVENT REMINDERS
 
--In Extemporaneous Speaking, students can access information on jump drives, which will be screened by a tournament official/extemp prep room proctor. Competitors will be permitted to use the Internet at all FFL Sanctioned Tournaments when internet access is publicly available. Publicly available being defined as – WiFi Internet access is available to all students competing or all competitors will have access to desktop computers with internet availability. In the event that internet access cannot be made avail- able to all competitors, contestants shall be prohibited from the use of any electronic retrieval system (recording or information retrieval system) now known or to be invented during any round in any event at any FFLsanctioned tournament including the Extemporaneous Speaking preparation room(s), except that electric or electronic devices that are incapable of sending or receiving information between persons may be used for the sole purpose of keeping time. 
 
--The League will make accommodations for students with disabilities in regards to the use of technology. Documentation of the disability must be provided ten days prior to the Regional Tournament and State Tournaments. The documentation must be available for review by the Executive Board. 
 
--The use of laptop computers shall be permitted in all debate events at all FFL sanctioned events. During debate rounds computers or other electronic devices may not be used to receive information from any source (coaches or assistants included) outside the room in which the competition occurs. During debate rounds Internet access, use of e-mail, instant messaging, or other means of receiving information from sources outside the debate round is prohibited.
 
--Policy Debate will use the 2022-2023 topic - Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.
 
--Lincoln-Douglas Debate will use the January/February topic - Resolved: Justice requires open borders for human migration.
 
--Public Forum Debate will use the February topic  Resolved: In the United States, right-to-work laws do more harm than good.
 
--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 website after noon on January 27, 2023.
 
--World Schools Debate will use the topics provided below. The impromptu motions will be announced 1 hour before the round begins.
 
Round 1 Prepared Motion 
This house supports Sanctuary Cities in the United States.
 
Round 2 Impromptu Motion
 
Round 3 Prepared Motion
This house believes that the USA should give South Korea independent control of a nuclear arsenal.
 
Round 4 Impromptu Motion (only if needed)
 
Round 5 Prepared Motion
This house supports the politicization of Met Gala (only if needed)
 
--Extemporaneous Speaking Events – 
USX:
Education and Health Care
The Biden Administration
U.S. Foreign Policy
Education and Business
Military and Defense
Judicial Concerns
 
FX:
Asia and the Middle East
The Americas
U.S. Foreign Policy
Europe
Africa
Global Institutions
 
--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.
3.  FFL has enacted many changes during the Fall Vote.  The membership needs to be aware of all of rule changes.  These rule changes are listed on the FFL Home Page under “Results.”  FFL is actively 
working to update the Governing Documents, however coaches should review/familiarize themselves with these changes.
4.  The name of each contestant’s piece/oration must be recorded on SpeechWire.com  A student may change their piece between Regional Quals and Varsity State
 
ANTI-VANDALISM REQUIREMENTS
 
To protect the property of our host school, the following rules are in effect:
 
1.  No contestant or student observer shall enter or remain in a contest room without a judge present. The penalty for violation of this regulation shall be immediate disqualification from the tournament.
2.  One room will be designated for Policy debaters to prep between rounds.  An adult proctor will supervise that room.
3.  Vandalism of property by any person at an FFL tournament shall result in immediate notification of school and/or local police authorities. The Board of Directors shall notify the principal of the school associated with the vandal(s) in writing and insist upon appropriate remuneration.  In the case of vandalism by a contestant, the additional penalty of immediate disqualification from the tournament shall also apply.  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; it is strongly recommended that you ALSO print a copy of the event-specific rules and give them to your students so that they can make sure they are in compliance.
 
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.  State of Florida Uniform Judging Manual
 
You should give a copy of this document to each of your judges.  There will be no copies available at the tournament.
 
5.  Ballots for debate events, speech master ballots, speech contestant critique sheets, and protest forms are also available for download from the above web page.  However, we will be doing all balloting online. Your judges will need to bring a computer, tablet, phone, or internet connected device.
 
JUDGES & REQUIREMENTS
 
1.  All judges should be properly trained using the statewide judging manual.  Please make sure that each of your judges has their own copy; the tournament will not provide them.
 
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
-- World Schools 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 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.
 
ENTRY FEES
 
Each Contestant: $25.00 ($7 for FFL; $18 for meals / regional expenses)
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
 
Extra Lunches: $10.00 each (purchase for all coaches, judges, observers, etc.)
 
Fees are due at registration; no exceptions!  Please check with the Tournament Director regarding check payments and to whom the checks should be made payable.
 
DROP FEES
 
Drops Fees are $10 per instance in addition to the forfeiture of entry fees. 
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT & SCHEDULE
 
Final Registration: 7:15 am – 7:45 am.  Any school not registered at 8:00 am will be eliminated from competition.  Congress, session 1 and Extemp Draw will begin at 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.
 
 
MEALS
 
Contestant meals are included in the cost of entry.  Additional meals for coaches, judges, parents, observers, etc. are $10.00 each and must be ordered on speechwire.com as well.
 
The tournament will be “closed campus.”  Any contestant found leaving campus is subject to disqualification.
 

Manager contact information

Kate Hamm
Email address: khamm@ransomeverglades.org
Phone number: 9549011276

Mailing address

3575 Main Highway
C/O Ransom Everglades School
Coconut Grove, FL 33133-0000

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