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You are cordially invited to the Gulf Coast Florida Civics & Debate Initiative Tournament #3, to be held December 14 at SLAM Apollo Beach, 5150 N US Hwy. 41, Apollo Beach, FL 33572. 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.

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.

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.

Public Forum Middle/Novice Topic: Resolved: Tax cuts are more effective than government spending in boosting the economy.

Public Forum Varsity Topic: Resolved: Tax cuts are a more effective means of stimulating economic growth than increased government spending.

Lincoln-Douglas Middle/Novice Topic: Resolved: The United States ought to maintain a strong military presence around the world to prevent international conflicts.

Lincoln-Douglas Varsity Topic: Resolved: The United States ought to maintain a strong military presence globally to ensure international stability and protect national interests.

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.

Extemporaneous Debate Topics: House of Representatives, Remote Work, Christmas

Legislative Debate Topics: Legislation will be found in the "Files for Download" tab when released.

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.

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.

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

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.

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:

Mailing address

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:

Mailing address

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

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