FCDI Northcentral Regional Qualifier #1

Registration	General information	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Registration handbook

General information

This is a High School tournament in Florida.

View manager contact information

FCDI Northcentral Regional Qualifier #1

THIS IS A NO-PREP TOURNAMENT

This is a Middle/High School tournament in Gainesville.

You are cordially invited to the Florida Civics & Debate Initiative - Northcentral Regional Qualifier #1, to be held September 20th, 2025 at Gainesville High School, 1900 NW 13th St, Gainesville, FL 32609. This tournament will be live, in person.

This FCDI Tournament offers Middle School (5^th – 8^th grade), high school novice (first year competing ever), and high school varsity (has competed for more than one year) competition. All schools are welcome to compete.

All competitors will compete in 4 rounds of a prearranged schedule.

Coach check-in begins at 7:30am Eastern Time. The tournament will begin at 8:00am Eastern time. We hope to finish awards by 5:00pm, but please be flexible regarding the end time of the event.  We value your time, please be assured that we are always striving to stick to the schedule.

The full schedule can be found in the Schedule tab on the Speechwire registration page for the tournament.

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE FRIDAY, September 12, 2025 @ 11:59PM EST.

EVENTS and DIVISIONS: We offer middle school (M), novice (N), and varsity (V) divisions. If numbers allow, we will offer separate middle school and novice divisions. We reserve the right to combine divisions. If we combine divisions, there will be a Middle and Novice winner also chosen. 

No Double Entry.  If a coach submits the same student for two events, that student will be automatically disqualified for both events.

EVENTS INCLUDE:

• EXTEMPORANEOUS DEBATE (EXTD)
• IMPROMPTU SPEAKING (IMP)
• EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING (EXT)

Observers are allowed.

TOPICS: Topic areas for events will be pre-announced (see below).

NOTE: Students who compete in debate events must be ready to argue both sides of an issue. Academic debate is an intellectual activity and is not about personal advocacy.

Impromptu Topics: Topic Areas: TOPIC AREAS TBA

Extemporaneous Debate Topic Areas: TOPIC AREAS TBA

Extemporaneous Speaking Topic Areas: TOPIC AREAS TBA

JUDGES: FCDI JUDGING REQUIREMENTS

Should the tournament need judges of a specific type, judges may have to take a ballot in an event type for which they were not registered.

Because tournaments rely on volunteer judges, recruiting and training judges is vital.  Judges must be trained via the Canvas courses provided by FDI to fulfill your judge obligations.  If you bring judges that are not trained, the missing judge fee will apply. The FCDI requires teams provide judges proportional to the number of students they have registered for a given tournament.

The FCDI divides judges into four types:

• Speech (Can judge IMP, EXT)
• Debate (Can judge EXD)          

Experienced varsity competitors may be entered as "student" judges and may judge middle school events if they are not themselves competing in this tournament.  If divisions are collapsed and include high school students, student judges cannot judge the event.

For every two debate entries (individuals or teams), one debate judge must be registered.

For every five speech entries one speech judge must be registered.

Teams who do not have the required number of judges will incur a fee of $10.00 per judge short and/or may have their competitors dropped from the tournament. New teams will not incur this fee during their first year (but still must bring judges, if no other judges exist, the coach will be expected to judge at a minimum)

Additional speech, debate, and judging resources can be found here: HANDBOOK LINK

Adults and coaches may judge any division. FCDI alumni and qualified varsity students may judge the middle school and novice divisions. Judges must be trained. It is the affirmative duty of the coach to ensure that all judges (except students) must be approved as vetted volunteers through their district’s volunteer system.

At every FCDI tournament, a team member will present a judge orientation, event overview, and answer any final questions judges may have. On-site judge training will always be available to any judge that needs assistance one hour before the tournament begins. Please encourage new judges to arrive early to take advantage of this training.

If a judge misses a round, other than in the case of an emergency, the team they are representing will be charged a $100.00 missed round fee.

CONCESSIONS: Concessions (pizza, snacks, drinks, etc.) will be available for purchase. NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR BEVERAGES PERMITTED. Host schools use concessions as a fundraiser. Support your tournament host by purchasing food on site.

COACHES: All teams must have either a coach or assistant coach present at every event the team participates in for the duration of the tournament. If an FCDI registered coach cannot attend the tournament, coaches may designate a proxy coach on a per tournament basis. This change must be asked for in writing and approved by the FCDI. Proxy coach requests must be submitted with a letter from the principal stating that the proxy coach is approved to supervise the students. Any team found in violation of this rule will be disqualified from the tournament and asked to leave. A letter will also be sent to the school principal notifying them of this rule violation

FEES: FCDI member schools pay no general registration fees. Non-FCDI schools pay $5.00/student. All schools may incur a late drop fee after the registration deadline.

Please make checks payable to and mail to:

The Florida Education Foundation

Attn: Florida Civics and Debate Initiative

325 West Gaines Street Suite 1524

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400

TOURNAMENT CONTACTS:

Claude Smith
FCDI Program Manager
Email: claude.smith@fldoe.org
Phone: 352-210-9825

Regional Ambassador Name
Regional Ambassador
Email:
Phone:

FLORIDA CIVICS AND DEBATE INITIATIVE CONTACT INFORMATION:

John Duebel
Director, Florida Civics and Debate Initiative 

Email address: John.Duebel1@fldoe.org
Phone number: 850-245-0504

The Florida Civics and Debate Initiative is proud to partner with the Florida Debate Initiative, which manages the Regional Ambassadors who facilitate our tournaments and help bring our mission to life.

Florida Civics and Debate Initiative Handbook

Click here to view the FCDI handbook

Manager contact information

Claude Smith
Email address: Claude.Smith@fldoe.org
Phone number: (352)210-9825

Mailing address

325 W.Gaines St., Suite 1524
Tallahassee, FL 32399