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FFL Region 4 Qualifier

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General information

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

Macaw Regional (Region 4) Tournament

Saturday, February 4, 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 Macaw Regional Qualifying Tournament! 


This event will be held at Wellington High School on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

2101 Greenview Shores Blvd, Wellington, FL 33414


DIRECTIONS TO WELLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

TBA


OVERVIEW

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 Saturday, March 4th and Sunday, March 5th (Location TBD).


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.


4 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER 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 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 4th and 5th.

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 - Bo Lint (bobby.lint@ahschool.com or 561-602-8937).


MACAW REGION COACH OF THE YEAR BALLOT

The COY Google Form was emailed to coaches directly.

EACH COACH MUST VOTE BY THE MORNING OF THE TOURNAMENT!


QUESTIONS

  • Meals and Directions - Tournament Host 

Paul Gaba (paul.gaba@palmbeachschools.org)

 

  • Entries, Fees, Drops, Rules - Tournament Director

Bo Lint (bobby.lint@ahschool.com)

 

  • Day of Tournament Emergencies - Tournament Director

Bo Lint (bobby.lint@ahschool.com)


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 Bo Lint (bobby.lint@ahschool.com) by Monday, January 23rd. The legislation packet will be published by Wednesday, January 25th. If there is not enough legislation, I will supplement with legislation from other FFL regions.

 

ENTRY DEADLINES

Tuesday, January 31st, 3:00 PM is the deadline for entering students and meals.

Wednesday, February 1st, 3:00 PM is the deadline for entering judges.

**The drop fees go into effect on Thursday, February 2nd, 3:00 PM.**

 

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 onsite 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

After Dinner Speaking (ADS)

Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking (DX)

Dramatic Interpretation (DI)

Duo Interpretation (DUO)

Humorous Interpretation (HI)

Impromptu Speaking (IMP)

Informative Speaking (INF)

International Extemporaneous Speaking (IX)

Lincoln Douglas Debate (LD)

Original Oratory (OO)

Policy Debate (CX)

Program Oral Interpretation (POI)

Public Forum Debate (PF)

Student Congress (SC)

World Schools Debate (WSD)

 

**FFL rules for After Dinner Speaking and Impromptu Speaking, both new(er) events, are posted under “Files for Download.”**


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, except in World Schools. All entries on the supplement must be students in 9th grade (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 Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking and International Extemporaneous Speaking is prohibited.


EVENT REMINDERS

The Bylaws 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

Internet Access and Laptop Use

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. (This does not prohibit non-electronic communication between debate partners during prep time.) Contestants found to have violated these provisions may face the following actions: forfeit the round of competition and receive zero points or disqualification from the tournament and forfeiture of all rounds.


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. 


Evidence

Availability of Evidence: Contestants electing to use computers shall have the responsibility to promptly provide a copy of any evidence read in a speech for inspection by the judge or opponent. Printers may be used. Evidence may be printed in the round or produced electronically, but must be provided in a format readable by the opposing team and the judge.


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!

Student Congress

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 under “Files for Download” and the Palm Beach/Martin Debate Portal (www.pbcfl.net) for Regional Qualifiers.


Speech/Interpretation Events

  • 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.
  • All contestants (or their coaches) must have a copy of their piece/speech available for review by tournament officials. Failure to present a copy of the applicable document(s) and evidence of publication (if applicable) will result in disqualification.

TOPICS

DX: Education and Health Care, The Biden Administration, U.S. Foreign Policy, Economics and Business, Military and Defense, and Judicial Concerns


IX: Asia and the Middle East, The Americas, U.S. Foreign Policy, Europe, Africa, and Global Institutions


IMP: Quotations, Proverbs, Words, 2022 In Memoriam, Oscar Contenders, Recently in Stuff


World Schools Debate Motions:

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

Round 5 Prepared Motion - This house supports the politicization of Met Gala.


PF: February Topic - Resolved: In the United States, right-to-work laws do more harm than good.


LD: January/February Topic - Resolved: Justice requires open borders for human migration.


Policy: 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.


SC: Please send legislation to Bo Lint (bobby.lint@ahschool.com) by Monday, January 23rd. The legislation packet will be published by Wednesday, January 25th. If there is not enough legislation, I will supplement with legislation from other FFL regions.


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. 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 make available a copy of this document to each of your contestants in Student Congress.


JUDGES & REQUIREMENTS

1. All judges should be properly trained using the FFL Judging Manual. Judging resources are available at https://pbcfl.net/judging/

2. All judges should bring a laptop or tablet to complete eBallots on SpeechWire.

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

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

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

World Schools Debate: One judge for every team

Speech/IE: One judge for every five entries, or fraction thereof

Congress: One judge for every five entries, or fraction thereof.


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 2nd.


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; World Schools, pays as many entry fees as there are students in the group; THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL FEE FOR DOUBLE ENTRY


Extra Lunches: $10 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. Drop fees go into effect Thursday, February 2nd, at 3pm.


MEALS

Contestant meals are included in the cost of entry. Additional meals for coaches, judges, parents, observers, etc. are $10 each and must be ordered on SpeechWire as well.


The tournament will be “closed campus.” Any contestant found leaving campus is subject to disqualification.


STUDENT MEAL OPTIONS:

Cheese Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza

Gluten-Free Cheese Pizza

Salad


ADULT MEAL OPTIONS: 

Buffet


CONCESSIONS

Concessions will be cashless - Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle ONLY! All items will be $1.


TOURNAMENT FORMAT & SCHEDULE

Final Registration: 7:30 - 8:00 AM

Any school not registered by 8:00 AM will be eliminated from competition. 


The first round 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.


Plan for an awards ceremony beginning in the late afternoon or early evening.

Important tournament rooms

Extemp Prep Room - 2-112
Tab Room - 5-117 (Chorus)
Judge Lounge - Lecture Hall

Manager contact information

Carol Cecil
Email address: flforensicleague@gmail.com
Phone number: 561-602-8937

Mailing address

Wellington High School, Speech & Debate
2101 Greenview Shores Blvd
Wellington, FL 33414

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