Home     LIVE!     Features     Order     Calendar     Results     Your account     Manager login         

FCDI Gulf Coast Regional Tournament #1

SubscribeGeneral informationSchematicsFiles for downloadTournament scheduleFeesRegistration handbook

General information

This is a High School tournament in Florida.

View manager contact information

CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICANE MILTON

We look forward to seeing everyone at Gulf Coast #2 on 11/16 at the Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences!

 

FCDI GULF COAST REGIONAL TOURNAMENT #1

This is a Middle/High School tournament in St Petersburg, FL.

You are cordially invited to the Gulf Coast Florida Civics & Debate Initiative Tournament #1, to be held October 19 at Tyrone Middle School, 2375 66th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33710. This tournament will be live, in person.

This Gulf Coast FCDI Tournament offers middle school (can include 5th 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 3 rounds of a prearranged schedule, except Legislative Debate where there are 2 rounds.

The tournament will begin at 8:00am Eastern time. We hope to finish awards by 4:00pm, but please be flexible regarding the end time of the event.

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

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 6:00PM 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:

  • LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE (LD)
  • PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE (PF)
  • EXTEMPORANEOUS DEBATE (EXD)
  • LEGISLATIVE DEBATE (LEG)
  • DECLAMATION SPEAKING (DEC)
  • IMPROMPTU SPEAKING (IMP)
  • DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE (DP)
  • INFORMATIVE SPEAKING (INF)
  • ORIGINAL ORATORY (OO)

All observers are allowed but must be registered.

 

TOPICS: Topics for some events may be pre-announced (see below). Participants should familiarize themselves with potential topics/resolutions and prepare accordingly. IMPORTANT: If numbers force divisions to be combined in Lincoln-Douglas (LD) or Public Forum (PF) debate, all competitors will debate using the novice/middle school resolutions.

Lincoln-Douglas Middle/Novice Topic: Resolved: States should have the authority to set their own policies on social issues rather than having to follow federal mandates.

Lincoln-Douglas Varsity Topic: Resolved: The United States should prioritize a balanced federal budget over increased social welfare spending. 

Public Forum Middle/Novice Topic: Resolved: Students should be required to learn financial literacy to prepare for future personal financial responsibilities.

Public Forum Varsity Topic: Resolved: Environmental regulations should be evaluated on their economic impact on communities and their potential environmental benefits.

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: Civics Terms, Founding Quotes, Free and Fair Elections

Extemporaneous Debate Topics: Elections, Foreign Policy, Education

Legislative Debate Topics: Bills in the Files for Download Tab

 

JUDGES: FCDI JUDGING REQUIREMENTS

Because tournaments rely on volunteer judges, recruiting and training judges is vital. The FCDI requires teams provide judges proportional to the number of students they have registered for a given tournament. The FCDI divides judges into two types: speech and debate. Speech judges can judge OO, INF, IMP, DEC, DP, and LEG. Debate judges can judge EXD, PF, and LD. Experienced varsity competitors may be entered as "student" judges and may judge middle school events if they are not themselves competing in this tournament. 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.

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

For every five speech entries or five legislative debate 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.

Additional speech, debate, and judging resources can be found here: FCDI Handbook 24-25.

            LD = Pages 39-41, and the rubric on page 38

            PF = Pages 42-44, and the rubric on page 38

            EXD = Pages 45-46, and the rurbic on page 38

            LEG = Pages 47-53

            DP = Pages 65-69

            DEC = Pages 55-58

            IMP = Pages 59-64

            INF = Pages 70-73

            OO = Pages 74-78

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: Coaches must be available for the duration of the tournament. If a coach needs a proxy, they must notify the region’s Ambassador.

 

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.

Online fee payment link: TBA

Or, please make checks payable to and mail to:

Florida Debate Initiative, Inc.

87 Geneva Drive

Oviedo, FL 32765

 

TOURNAMENT CONTACTS: (Please text/email BOTH of us before or after tournament for the quickest response). 

Daniel Klemm 
Gulf Coast Regional Ambassador

Email address: dklemm@floridadebate.org
Phone number: 386-316-5623 - Please give this number to all of your judges to contact the day of the tournament for any questions or issues they have before, during, after a round. Texting is best. Call for emergencies. 

Liz Shannon
Gulf Coast Regional Ambassador

Email address: eshannon@floridadebate.org
Phone number: 941-914-0724 - Coaches please use this number the day of the tournament for any non-judging questions like parking, food, etc. Texting is best. Call for emergencies. 

 

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

Mailing address

Florida Debate Initiative, Inc.
87 Geneva Drive
Oviedo, Florida 32765

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

 

TOURNAMENT OPERATIONS CONTACT INFORMATION:

Abraham López
President, Florida Debate Initiative

Email address: alopez@floridadebate.org
Phone number: 201-892-6371

Mailing address

Florida Debate Initiative, Inc.
87 Geneva Drive
Oviedo, Florida 32765

 

Florida Civics and Debate Initiative Handbook

Click here to view the FCDI handbook

Manager contact information

Elizabeth Shannon
Email address: eshannon@floridadebate.org
Phone number: (941) 914-0724

Mailing address

87 Geneva Drive
Oviedo, FL 32765

SpeechWire Tournament Services - Copyright 2004-2024 Ben Stewart. All Rights Reserved. Terms of use - Privacy and Security Policy
(vr24)