FCDI Virtual Tournament #1

Registration	Subscribe	General information	Files for download	Tournament schedule	Fees	Registration handbook

General information

This is a High School tournament in Florida.

View manager contact information

 This is a Middle/High School Virtual Tournamnet.

You are cordially invited to the Florida Civics & Debate Initiative Virtual Tournament #1, to be held October 30. This will be a virtual asynchronous tournamnet. 

This FCDI Tournament offers middle school, high school novice, and high school varsity competition. All schools are welcome to compete in this tournament.

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

REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30th, 11:59PM EST. Video links must be uploaded by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1st, 8:00AM EST

BALLOTS WILL BE RELEASED TO JUDGES AT 10:00AM FRIDAY. JUDGES MUST SUBMIT THEIR BALLOTS BY 5:00PM SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd. JUDGES MAY BE REASSIGNED A BALLOT AFTER 5:00PM SATURDAY

Tournament results will be posted and sent on Monday, November 3.

A video tutorial on how to create and upload student video links can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j8BBSKMOJrOe6CRZyy2DZ41UjBshCbPy/view?usp=drive_link

EVENTS and DIVISIONS: We offer middle school, novice, and varsity divisions. If numbers allow, we will offer separate middle school and novice divisions. We reserve the right to combine divisions. No Double Entry.  If a coach submits the same student for two events, that student will be automatically disqualified for both events.

EVENTS INCLUDE:

• PRO/CON CHALLENGE: Students will write a 3-5 minute affirmative case and a 3-5 minute negative case on their respective resolution
• LEGISLATIVE/CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE AUTHORSHIP CHALLENGE: Competitors use the piece of legislation we have provided (Located in Files for Download Tab) and construct one authorship speeches 3-5 minutes in length, and one negative speech 3-5 minutes in length. They will read both of those speeches within a time limit of 10 minutes and submit it through the recording process. Students record both Congress speeches as a single video. It does not matter in what order they are recorded.
• DECLAMATION SPEAKING (DEC)
• DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE (DP)
• INFORMATIVE SPEAKING (INF)
• ORIGINAL ORATORY (OO)

TOPICS: Participants should familiarize themselves with potential topics/resolutions and prepare accordingly.

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

TOPICS: STUDENTS SHOULD PREPARE SPEECHES ON THE TOPIC OF THEIR EVENT/DIVISION 

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

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. 

For every five entries, one 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

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

            PF = Pages 42-46, and page 38

            EXD = Pages 45-46, and page 38

            LEG = Pages 47-53

            DP = Pages 65-69

            DEC = Pages 55-58

            IMP = Pages 59-64

            INFO = 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.

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

Please make checks payable to and mail to:

Florida Debate Initiative, Inc.

87 Geneva Drive

Oviedo, FL 32765

DAY OF TOURNAMENT CONTACTS:

David Fechtel, dfechtel@floridadebate.org, (813) 295-4079

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 oversees our tournament operations and manages the Regional Ambassadors who help bring our mission to life.

Florida Civics and Debate Initiative Handbook

Click here to view the FCDI handbook

Manager contact information

Abraham Lopez
Email address: alopez@floridadebate.org
Phone number: 4079296712

Mailing address

Florida Debate Initiative
87 Geneva Drive
Oviedo, FL 32765