2025 FCSAA Forensics State Championship

 

 

Dear Directors and Coaches,

 

On behalf of the FCSAA Executive Committee, it is my pleasure to invite you and your

forensics team to participate in the annual FCSAA state championship. The tournament will take place Feb. 7-8, 2025 via the Zoom platform (Passcode: Forensics). Please enter your entries on Speechwire.com prior to 5:00 PM on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Tournament registration and administration will take place through Speechwire.

 

We again have scheduled debate to run concurrently with the individual events. Students in parliamentary debate and IPDA may not compete in any other events in their respective flights. We have the latitude to move events to different flights so that we may accommodate any speeches which your students have already prepared.  If you are planning on entering students in debate, please review the schedule immediately and let me know if there are any conflicts with their individual events.

 

Also, all coaches and judges must be available for all rounds beginning on Friday morning.  Even if you don’t have students in any Flight A events, you may be scheduled as a judge during those times.

 

There are a few things to remember that make this tournament different from some others:

• For your students to be eligible to compete in this tournament, you must email a PDF a signed and certified copy of the Certificate of Eligibility, which is found in Appendix B of the constitution.  I have also attached it for your convenience.

• Before the beginning of the tournament, please have a student representative selected to discuss this year’s Shira Brownstein award (see below).

• Teams are limited to five entries per event (individual events and debate) and one readers’ theatre.

• As we are running debate and the individual events concurrently, judges may be called upon to judge debate even if they only have individual events entries.

 

Miami Dade College is delighted to be hosting this tournament! Please don’t hesitate to contact me at

wmurphy1@mdc.edu, (786) 877-8723 (cell) or (305) 237-2483 (office) if you have any questions. See you in February!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. William Murphy

FCSAA State Forensics Advisor

Miami Dade College

 

 

 

 

 

FCSAA Tournament Schedule 2025

 

Please note that all times are Eastern Standard Time

 

Friday, February 9                                                                  Flight A

9:00                 Technical Check                                             Extemporaneous Speaking                

9:30                 Extemp Draw                                                  Impromptu Speaking

10:00               Round 1A                                                        Persuasive Speaking

11:15               Extemp Draw                                                  Informative Speaking

11:45               Round 2A                                                        Poetry Interpretation

1:00                 Extemp Draw             

1:30                 Round 3A                                                        Flight B

2:45                 Round 1B                                                        IPDA

4:00                 Round 2B                                                        Dramatic Interpretation

5:15                 Round 3B                                                        Program Oral Interpretation

                                                                                   

 

                                                                                                Flight C

Saturday, February 10                                                            Duo Interpretation     

8:45                 Round 1C                                                        Parliamentary Debate

10:00               Round 2C                                                        Communication Analysis

11:15               Round 3C                                                        After Dinner Speaking

12:30               Lunch Break / Brownstein Fellowship Mtg.  Prose Interpretation

1:00                 Finals (if needed)                               

2:15                 Finals (if needed)

3:30                 Readers’ Theatre (if needed)

4:30                 Awards (Awards will occur ASAP after the conclusion of Reader’s Theatre)

 

Registration Information

Please submit your entries on Speechwire.com prior to 5 PM on Monday, February 3. Remember that a school may only field 5 entries for each event and one Readers Theatre. Please indicate your novice entries so they may be considered for the Jennifer Pickman Award. Checks for registration should be made out to Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA). Please mail checks to: Kelly Warren, Executive Director Florida College System Activities Association, PO Box 8, Tallahassee FL 32302.

 

Registration Fees

School Entry Fee: $25

$7 per Individual Events slot

$8 per uncovered* Individual Events slot

$15 per Debate slot

$25 per uncovered* Debate slot

$10 per dropped slot after noon on Wednesday, February 5**

$50 per dropped slot after 8:00 AM on Friday, February 7**

**Drop fees are assessed in addition to the standing fees.

*Each judge brought to the tournament covers two entries in debate or six entries in individual events.

 

Registration Platform and Virtual Platform

Please register your entries on Speechwire.com. That platform will also tabulate your entry fees for the tournament. We will be using Zoom for the event. The Zoom link to the tournament is available above.

 

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU MUST EMAIL A SIGNED STUDENT ELIGIBILITY FORM PRIOR TO THE START OF THE TOURNAMENT. Guidelines are clearly explained in the constitution, but please note that the form must be certified by your registrar or appropriate school official.

 

Impromptu

Topics will be quotations in all rounds.

 

Shira Brownstein Award

2024 will be the thirteenth year the FCSAA awards the Shira Brownstein Fellowship Award. This award shall be given to the student who best emulates the spirit of fellowship, generosity, humility, and overall service to the greater forensics community. This award is presented in memory of Tallahassee Community College forensics team member, Shira Brownstein, who lost her battle with scleroderma in March 2011. Ms. Brownstein was noted by many college coaches and competitors for possessing these attributes. Each college shall select one student representative to formally meet with other student representatives. Each representative shall nominate a student that best embodies the spirit of overall fellowship, generosity, humility, and service to the greater forensics community. After a group discussion, student representatives will vote for one of the nominees, but may not vote for a student from their own team.

 

Coaches’ Meeting

We will convene our annual coaches’ meeting during the tournament. We will try to schedule it during the last round on Friday or the first round on Saturday if possible. If not, we’ll convene during the lunch break on Saturday.

 

Statement of Inclusion

It is the policy of the Forensics Division of FCSAA that each member, visitor, employee and student be allowed to participate fully in Forensics programs, activities and employment in a discrimination and harassment free environment.  Discrimination and harassment of any nature based on one’s race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender and gender identity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or genetic information is strictly prohibited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FCSAA Debate Judge Philosophy Form - 2025

 

 

Judge: __________________________                     School: _______________________

 

Please comment on the elements of debate that you value and prefer in competition.