Welcome to our 1st AST Novice High School Tournament

on Wednesday, September 17th at Fort Lauderdale High School.

 

LOCATION:

Fort Lauderdale High School

1600 NE 4th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305

 

ARRIVAL:

-You MUST arrive for the tournament between 1:15pm and 2:15pm. If you arrive after 2:15 you will get caught in Fort Lauderdale's dismissal traffic and could miss/forfeit the first round.

-Please see the Metal Detector and ID video in the Tournament Procedures section of the Canvas Coach Corner.

-Coaches need to check-in their team by reviewing and returning their entry confirmation page at the check-in table on the second floor of the cafeteria. If coaches are listed as a judge, they must also check-in at the judge table.

*Students cannot be allowed onto FLHS Campus prior to 1:15pm. They also must go directly to the cafeteria as soon as they are allowed onto the property as several students were “exploring” the campus which cannot be allowed. Students must remain in the cafeteria when they are not in round and keep their area clean.

 

COMPETITORS:

-ASTs are for NOVICE debaters in their first year of high school speech and debate (9-12).

-Competitor lounge is the first floor of the cafeteria. Schools are responsible for keeping their area clean and throwing away their trash.

 

IMPORTANT PROCEDURES FOR COACHES:

-Coaches must accompany their students to the tournament or designate a proxy BCPS teacher or coach. Notify district staff prior to the tournament.

-Coaches must have hard copies of the field trip forms with them in case of an emergency. Coaches should not be leaving campus with students without permission forms. Having access to their information online will not work when Wi-Fi is slow or there is no service.

-If there is a student who may need medicine at a tournament, coaches must let district staff know. We need to be aware of who needs medicine and who has it in case there is an emergency.

 

REGISTERING ENTRIES:

ENTRY CAPS:

-Remember, each school may only initially enter FIVE students in all events except Congress, in which you can enter TEN. Any entries over that number will go on the waitlist, which will be cleared pending available space at Fort Lauderdale High and sufficient judge numbers.

-No double or cross entries are allowed.

 

DEADLINES:

-Registration for NEW ENTRIES and MEALS (student lunch pizza pie pre-orders) close on WEDNESDAY, September 10th.

At that time, we will begin releasing competitors off the waitlist if team judge numbers and room space allow.

-Competitor changes (drops or name changes only) and judge drops/name changes/adds can be made until the day of the tournament.

***NO LATE ADDS. Do not bring competitors who are not registered to the tournament.***

 

JUDGES: 

-Judges are required for any tournament to run, and schools are required to cover their entries. (1 judge covers 2 debate entries, or 1 judge covers any combination of 5 speech/congress entries.)

-Please make sure you do not bring more students than you have judges to cover. Reach out to competitors' family members, teachers, and mentors for judge help. Coaches can judge too.

-It is not appropriate for judges to include their contact information of any kind, including social media on their ballot feedback.

-Novice coaches (0-3yrs) are required to judge at least one round.

 

VARSITY JUDGES:

Varsity debaters with at least 150 NSDA points, currently enrolled and competing in debate, and who are not in their first year of high school debate are welcome to attend and judge.

***Proof of NSDA record is required. Please email sarah.beauchamp@browardschools.com a PDF or screenshot, or enter the NSDA record for any varsity judges you are using.

***If you have varsity debaters who can judge and/or P.O. for Congressional Debate, please email sarah.beauchamp@browardschools.com directly with their names and put it into the notes section of the judge.

***If you have competitors who can P.O. as a novice, please email sarah.beauchamp@browardschools.com directly with their names.

 

Judge Check-In:  2nd Floor of the Cafeteria, Arrival is between 1:15-2:15.

-First-time judge:  You should have received an email from Speechwire to follow and create an account.

-Judged before:  It is important to make sure you have logged into live.speechwire.com and are able to sign in with the same email address you used previously. Once signed in, please make sure the cell number is correct/added to your account.

-In order to have a smoother start to the tournament, it is a huge help for all judges to arrive on time, have checked-in, and have logged into live.speechwire.com prior to coming to the tournament. If for whatever reason you cannot initially log in, click "Forgot Password" but use the same email you entered.

-Electronic Device: All ballots are electronic, so judges will need to bring a working, charged, smart phone, tablet, or laptop (preferably with a keyboard) to complete the eballots.

 

Judge During Round:

-Click "Start Round" after they confirm the correct competitors are in the room with them.

-Type comments while students are speaking, which will expedite the tournament. Comments are open for editing overnight, but results must be submitted asap.

-Save/submit ranks, points, and decisions when the round is finished. We cannot move on to the next round or close the tournament until all ballots are submitted.

 

PRE-ORDERED MEALS: (NEW!) School Issued Checks Only!

-NO OUTSIDE FOOD DELIVERIES (i.e. DoorDash/UberEats).

-Lunch Pizza Pie Pre-Orders close on Wednesday, September 10th. 

-Pre-order pizza pies for student lunch are 1 pie at $16 per every 4 kids (2 slices and a bottle of water per kid).

-Pizza is not sold by the slice at concessions.

-Concession prices vary due to the concessions being a fundraiser for the host school’s program.

-We will not hold the tournament rounds from starting if the concession lines are long.

-Add pre-ordered pizza pies by clicking “Tournament home” on the left column, then click “Update your meal order” in the middle of the screen.

-Print your final invoice to request a check from your school under “Current Invoice” on the left column of Speechwire. Make school checks payable to “Fort Lauderdale Debate”.

 

TOPICS:

Public Forum (PF) Debate – 2025 Sept/Oct. Topic:

“Resolved: The United Kingdom should rejoin the European Union.”

 

Lincoln Douglas (LD) Debate - 2025 Novice Topic:

“Resolved: In the United States, national service ought to be mandatory.”

 Starting Nov./Dec. AST LD Topic will follow the varsity/NSDA topics for the rest of the year.

 

Big Questions (BQ) Debate – 2025/2026 Topic:

“Resolved: Religious belief is a prerequisite for morality.”

 

Policy Debate (CX): Policy Debate is no longer offered at ASTs.

 

Extemp (EX) topic areas will be "U.S. Economy” and “International Controversies”

              -Competitors move to the Extemp. Prep. Room 506 at 2:50pm for round one draw.

              -Competitors return to the Extemp. Prep. Room 506 after round one to draw for round two.

              -Students may use the provided index card (they may not use their own or paper) during their speech, but should not be reading directly from it.

              -Students must remain in Room 302 for prep. They are not allowed to draw and go prepare anywhere else.

 

Impromptu (IMP) topic areas will be released at the tournament.

 

Congressional (CD) Debate:

Congress legislation for the entire first semester was sent in email updates and is posted in the BCPS Coach Corner Canvas course. It is also accessible electronically here in Speechwire under the "Files for Download" section. Per usual, chambers might not debate all 4 bills if time does not allow.

 

Interpretation (DI, DUO, HI, POI) and Declamation (DEC):

Once you have updated your entries, go to the left column on Speechwire called “Piece Registration”. For each INTERP and/or DEC entry, you are required to include the Entry Title in the “title” section and the website or ISBN number in the “author” section.

 

More information may be sent out as the tournament approaches.

 

 

 

 

 

(vr24)