SpeechWire is open and ready to begin accepting entries for the FFL Regional qualifier.

 

Florida Forensic League

Hurricane Regional Tournament

Saturday, February 4, 2023

 

Dear Coach,

 

Happy New Year!

 

The Hurricane Regional Tournament will be held at West Broward High School on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

West Broward High School Address: 500 NW 209th Ave, Pembroke Pines, FL 33029. 

 

This tournament is the gateway into participation in FFL activities for the remainder of the year.  The top 10 entries in each event will qualify to compete at the Varsity State Championship tournament, which will be held [TBD] Saturday and Sunday, March 4 and 5. 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.

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 next year!

3.  Every student you enter into the Regional 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 at the FFL Varsity State Tournament.

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.  

 

QUESTIONS 

 

--Entries, Fees, Drops, Rules:  Tournament Director –Ryan Levesque - ryan.levesque@ahschool.com 

--Day-of Tournament Emergencies: Ryan Levesque's Cell - 615-812-6121

 

 

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 Ryan Levesque at ryan.levesque@ahschool.com.  Legislation is Due Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

 

DEADLINES

Wednesday, January 18: Congress Legislation submitted to ryan.hubbard@ahschool.com

Wednesday, February 1: Coach-of-the-Year Nominations emailed to ryan.hubbard@ahschool.com

Wednesday, February 1: Entry/Changes Deadline on SpeechWire

Thursday, February 2: ALL Judge Obligations should be fulfilled and entered on SpeechWire (complete with accurate names)

 

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT & SCHOOL-SANCTIONED ADULT

 

Only schools who have completed the Membership Application & submitted payment by the registration deadline 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.

 

 

ENTRY LIMITS

 

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

 

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 are 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 not allowed.

 

 

EVENT REMINDERS

 

Electronic Devices are permitted in debate, but students may not use the internet. The use of internet in extemp prep is at the discretion of the Regional Director.  If internet in extemp prep his prohibited, any student found accessing the internet during rounds or in the extemp prep room may be disqualified.

 

In Extemporaneous Speaking, competitors will be permitted to use the internet at all FFL Sanctioned Tournaments when internet access is publicly available. 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.

 

--Policy Debate will use the 2022-2023 topic.

 

--Lincoln-Douglas Debate will use the January/February topic.

 

--Public Forum Debate will use the February topic.

 

--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 Regional website tournament week.

 

--World Schools Debate: See rules and procedures outlined in document sent by Carol Cecil. Each school may enter 1 team of 3-5 students. These students may not double-enter. The top 2 teams from the Regional tournament qualifies to the State tournament. Prepared Motions will be released in advance. Impromptu Motions will be released prior to rounds during the tournament. 

 

--Extemporaneous Speaking Events – 

Topic Areas 

IX: Asia & the Middle East, The Americas, US Foreign Policy, Europe, Africa, Global Institutions. 

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

 

--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.  In the event of a protest, all contestants must have a copy of their piece/speech 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 the 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.  The piece on the website must be used at BOTH regionals and state.  The penalty for changing pieces at either Regional or State competition is an immediate disqualification.

 

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.

 

 

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. All judges should bring a reliable device to access, complete, and submit their electronic ballots on Speechwire.com. 

 

4.  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 team counts as one entry only.

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

 

The Tournament Director reserves the right to disqualify students from any school that is unable to meet its judging quota.

 

ENTRY FEES

 

Each Contestant: $35.00. 

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

The host school CANNOT accept personal checks and will not be able to provide food for anyone who has not paid. 

 

Extra Lunches: $5.00 each (purchase for all coaches, judges, observers, etc.)

 

Fees are due at registration; no exceptions!  School checks should be made payable to "West Broward School." Remember, no personal checks will be accepted! 

 

DROP FEES

 

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

 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT & SCHEDULE

 

Final Registration: 7:00am - 7:30m.  Any school not registered at 7:30 pm will be eliminated from the competition.  

 

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. This year, we will have our Regional Tournament in one day instead of two. Thus, it is imperative that ALL schools provide ALL required judges for the competition. 

 

Plan for an awards ceremony following the completion of the last rounds where all state qualifiers will be announced. 

 

MEALS

 

Contestant meals are included in the cost of entry.  Additional meals for coaches, judges, parents, observers, etc. are $7.00 each and must be ordered on speechwire.com as well.

 

Student Food:(from 2022 - 2023 Menu Items will be shared closer to the tournament date)

Breakfast for purchase (donuts, bagels, and Raw Juice)

Lunch: Variety of options

PM Snacks: Concessions

 

Adult/Judge Food:

Breakfast: Bagels, Donuts, Fruit, Coffee

Lunch: A beautiful spread sure to make your stomachs happy

PM Snacks: Chips, veggies + Hummus, cookies, fruit, Chips/Salsa etc.

 

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

 

Manager contact information

 

Ryan Levesque

ryan.levesque@ahschool.com

Phone: 615-812-6121