Welcome to our 3rd AST Novice High School Tournament on Thursday, November 13th 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 1:45pm. If you arrive after 1:45 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.

-No observers. Please do not tell your parents or non-competing students that they can watch rounds. There are no spectators.

-No competitors in the judge lounge. Coaches and parent judges can go to the student lounge to see meet their competitors.

-Students must wear their IDs at all times!

 

IMPORTANT PROCEDURES FOR COACHES:

ARRIVAL

-Coaches make sure your varsity judges are in the judge lounge by 2:30pm to hear judge instructions and/or hear if their name is called for IMP bags. Many of you have your varsity judges helping your novices and they do not come upstairs for ballot release.

-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.

-Coaches should assist your competitors in finding their rooms on schematics when each round is released.

DEPARTURE

-Coaches do not leave your students unattended at the bus loop. Stay with them whether they are waiting for a bus, ride-share, or parent. Please know ahead of time how each of your students is getting home.

-Coaches do not leave your students at the school to Uber/Lyft home. You must wait with them the same way you would wait if a parent were picking them up. If you are riding a bus, please ask a coach who is not riding a bus to wait with your student(s). Please make sure you arrange this ahead of time and give that coach the necessary emergency contact information too.

-Coaches do not linger in the cafeteria after round 2. Once you have collected your students, please make your way to the bus loop asap. The host school is trying to clean and clear campus.

-Coaches should have "check in/out" or "attendance" procedures to ensure you are bringing the correct students in the correct events that you registered them for. You may want to use the entry confirmation sheet sent by Speechwire for an attendance check on/off the bus.

 

 

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 close on THURSDAY, November 6^th.

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

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

***Check your names/events with the emailed Speechwire confirmation sheets. NO LATE ADDS. Do not bring competitors who are not registered to the tournament.***

 

 

JUDGES: 

-"Adult Judges" must be over 18yrs, out of high school, and speak English.

-"Varsity Judges" must be active in speech/debate, not a first year high school competitor, and have +150 recorded NSDA points.

-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.

-No verbal feedback. Put all comments on the typed ballots.

-Judges are not permitted to disclose decisions (W/L, points, and ranks).

-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 in the “notes” section 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 1:15-1:45pm.

-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.

 

PIZZA & CONCESSIONS:

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

-Pizza is sold by the slice and snacks/chips/candy at concession

-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.

 

BUSES:

Bus assignments will be sent in an email confirmation closer to tournament date for BCPS schools who requested a bus. 

1. If your bus is running late, first call your bus buddy to see if they made that stop first. 

2. If they have not, the phone number for your terminal is in this email below, in Coach Corner, and on the cover of your yellow debate folder from the Back to Debate meeting. 

3. Make sure to get your driver's number so you can check on the return at the end of the tournament. 

DO NOT leave without your Bus Buddy!

 

TOPICS:

Public Forum (PF) Debate – 2025 Nov/Dec. Topic:

"Resolved: The United States federal government should require technology companies to provide lawful access to encrypted communications."

 

Lincoln Douglas (LD) Debate - 2025 Nov/Dec. Topic:

“Resolved: The United States ought to rewild substantial tracts of land.” 

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: (NSDA Wording Updated October 2025)

"Resolved: Moral systems rooted in theism are preferable to non-theistic moral systems."

 

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

 

Extemp (EX) topic areas will be "U.S. Education” and “Asia”

              -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 506 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)