33rdAnnual Florida Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament
Tournament Rules Packet
This packet contains the official rules governing the Florida Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament at the University of Florida. The tournament uses the National Speech & Debate Association rules. Issues that are unclear, inadequately addressed, or not covered in this packet, will be left up to the sole discretion of the tournament chairperson.
Please note: Many questions that we receive in our office are spelled out in the tournament rules or on the website. Please read the entire invitation, as we have changed many things this year from previous years.
ELIGIBILITY
Competitors must be high school students in grades 9-12 and in good standing.With permission from the Tournament Chairman, Middle School students may be permitted to attend.All entries in Duo Interpretation, Public Forum, and Policy Debate, must consist of two students who attend the same school. We will not accept the registration of one person teams or “mavericks” in Policy Debate. Independent or unaffiliated entries will be accepted, so long as there is no objection from their school.
Debate Events
Event TOC Bid Level
Public Forum Debate (PF)Octafinals Round
Lincoln Douglas Debate (LD)Semifinals Round
Congressional Debate (SC)Semifinals Round
Policy Debate (CX)
Speech Events
Pattern A
Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking (FX)
Dramatic Interpretation (DI)
Oral Interpretation (OI)
Pattern B
Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking (DX)
Humorous Interpretation (HI)
Original Oratory (OO)
Duo Interpretation (Duo)
Students may register for a maximum of three individual events or one debate event. Double entries may select individual events from one or both patterns. Triple entries may select two individual events from one pattern and one individual event from the other, but cannot select all three events in the same pattern. Triple entries cannot select both individual and debate events. If a student chooses to triple enter the tournament will not make special accommodations for that student in the event that they miss a round.
EVENT ENTRY LIMITS
We will consider an increase in the event entry limits of any school on a first come first serve basis. Please e-mail our registration director with any limit increase requests, .
JUDGE REQUIREMENTS
Speech Events 1:5
Congressional Debate1:5
Public Forum Debate1:3
Lincoln Douglas Debate1:2
Policy Debate1:2
ENTRY AND REGISTRATION FEES
Event Entry Fees
Speech Events (FX, DX, OO, Duo, HI, DI, OI)$45 per student
Debate Events (PF, LD, CX, SC)$45 per student
Round Robin$90 per student
Event Entry Fees
School Registration Fee$40
Hired Judge for Speech Events$150
Hired Judge Debate Events (LD, PF, CX, SC)$175
Drop Fees and Penalties
Drops (10/20-10/27)$50
Drops at Registration$75
Hidden Drops$125
JUDGE DROP FEES
Schools are expected to provide qualified, trained, and experienced judges. A school may face a judge fee should the qualifications or training of their provided judges come into question. This policy applies to all registered schools, including those with Gator Guard coaches. Judges must be available for all preliminary rounds, as well as the firstfull break round in each event. Judge obligations extend to one round after all of a school’s students have dropped out of the competition.A limited number of hired judges will be available on a first-come first-serve basis, with priority given to out of state schools.
We will be asking for judge cell phone numbers on registration, please collect them ahead of time. Schools whose judges fail to appear for an assigned round will be fined $25 for prelim rounds or $50 for an elim round. We don’t want to fine you, we want your judges to show up. However, schools with unpaid fines will not be given ballots or awards, and will be withheld until fines are paid.
HIDDEN DROPS
Any hidden drops found during the tournament will result in a $125 penalty and possible withdrawal / disqualification of all entrants from the school. Any hidden drop fees must be paid by the delinquent school prior to the following scheduled round or contestants from the school will not be scheduled for the next round.
REGISTRATION
Preliminary registration will be conducted online through Speech Wire. Registration will open Thursday, September 1st, 2016, and close on October 14th, 2016 at 6 P.M. The last date for drops without incurring a fee is October 20th, 2016. Absolutely no changes will be accepted after that date without penalty.
This year we will offer an e-registration option through Speechwire. Schools who choose to participate should mail in their registration fees by check to the Florida Blue Key office along with a note confirming that they want to register their teams by e-registration. In order to register your team using this method we must receive your registration payment by October 14th, 2016.
Please mail checks to:
Florida Blue Key 3160 J. Wayne Reitz Union
P.O. Box 118505
Gainesville, FL 32611-8505.
If you are unable to participate in e-registration we will have an in-person registration on Friday October 28th, 2016. Details about this location will be released as the deadline approaches. If you have any further questions about the e-registration policy please email
Source Integrity
All students must bring copies of all sources, which must include the full context of the citation, not simply a retyped list of short sentences and quotes.
Debaters must make said sources available to either their opponent(s) in the round, and/or their judges after the round upon request. Debate entries failing to do so, or debaters who significantly misrepresent sources in the round may be disqualified at the discretion of Tab.
Speech contestants should have the full original source of all material in interpretive events available at the tournament, in addition to their cutting. Oratory and Extemp students should have the text of any material they cite in their speeches available at the tournament. Students misrepresenting sources or using sources not available may be disqualified at the discretion of Tab.
All rules are subject to change. The tournament will make you aware of any changes at registration.
SCHEDULE
A preliminary schedule will be posted on our website, within two weeks of the tournament. The tournament runs from October 28th-October 30th, 2016.
The awards assembly is scheduled for Sunday at4:00pm, and will be held in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. We will certainly do our best to hold the awards assembly earlier if we are running ahead of schedule or if the schedule otherwise permits, but no earlier than 3:00pm.
If a school is unwilling or “unable” to stay for the awards ceremony, they will be responsible for any costs involved with mailing ballots, trophies, or any other materials left behind. Nothing will be mailed from our office during the week immediately following the tournament.
FOREFITURE RULE
There will be astrictly enforced fifteen-minute forfeiture rule following the release of pairings in each event. If a judge fails to show up to a round or one of the participants does not show up, one of the student(s) in the scheduled round must immediately notify the tab room. If competitors fail to notify the tab room that their judge or opponent is missing, after waiting fifteen minutes, they will forfeit the round. Thetournament chairmanmay, at his discretion, allow the students to hold the round, if doing so will not cause the tournament to run behind schedule.
PAIRING PROCEDURES FOR INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
There will be a maximum of five randomly paired preliminary rounds of all speech events. If five preliminary rounds are scheduled, a competitor’s lowest round will be dropped. Ties will be broken based on speaker points then reciprocals.
Quarterfinal Bracket
Room 1: 1, 8, 9, 16, 17, 24
Room 2: 2, 7, 10, 15, 18, 23
Room 3: 3, 6, 11, 14, 19, 22
Room 4: 4, 5, 12, 13, 20, 21
Semifinal Bracket
1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11
We may hold additional break rounds in any speech event if the schedule and number of entries permits. Speech event scores will be cleared after the preliminary rounds and each break round will be calculated individually.
PAIRING PROCEDURES FOR DEBATE EVENTS
Rounds during the tournament will be paired in the following manner using the National Speech & Debate Association’s rules as preliminary guidelines.
Round 1: Random pairings
Round 2: Random pairings
Round 3: Straight Power Pairing
Round 4: High/Low within brackets and side constraints
Round 5: Straight Power Pairing
Round 6: High/Low within brackets and side constraints
Round 7: Double Octofinals
Round 8: Octofinals
Round 9: Quarterfinals
Round 10: Semifinals
Round 11: Finals
The round to which a debate event breaks will ultimately be determined based on the final number of entries.
Students without a winning record will not be eligible to advance in Varsity Lincoln Douglas debate, Public Forum, or Policy Debate; this rule will be extended to the Novice divisions, at the discretion of the directors.
LINCOLN DOUGLAS
Lincoln Douglas is split into divisions of Varsity and Novice. The novice division is for students in their first year of debate experience or middle school students and must have 25 or lesstotalNSDA points at the beginning of theschool year(regardless of the event):
The speaking times for LD will be as follows:
Six (6) minute affirmative constructive
Three (3) minute negative cross-examination
Seven (7) minute negative constructive
Three (3) minute affirmative cross-examination
Four (4) minute first affirmative rebuttal
Six (6) minute negative rebuttal
Three (3) minute second affirmative rebuttal
Four (4) minutes of prep time will be allocated for each debater
Disclosing after LD rounds is highly encouraged throughout the tournament, but is only permitted after judges have turned in their ballot either to a runner orto tab. Please be cautious of overly lengthy critiques. We do not want critiques to impede the tournament schedule.
Ties in Lincoln Douglas Debate will be broken by 1) win/loss record, 2) speaker points, 3) high/low points, 4) opponent record 5) judge variance 6) double hi/low.
Oral disclosures and critiques are permitted.
LDJudge Preferences
Schools must have their judges post paradigms on the NDCA wiki two weeks prior to the tournament in order to participate in order to have preferences honored for their debaters.If schools have not posted their judge paradigms, they will be fined $25 per missing judge paradigm as well as their schools judge preferences will not be honored. Each school is entitled to one judge strike, which the tournament, to the best of its ability, will maintain.
POLICY DEBATE
Policy is split into divisions of Varsity and Novice. The novice division is ONLY for debaters in their first year of debate competition, and must have 25 or lesstotal NSDA points at the beginning of the school year(regardless of the event).
The speaking times for TD will be as follows:
Affirmative Constructive Speech 8 minutes
Negative Cross Examines Affirmative 3 minutes
Negative Constructive Speech 8 minutes
Affirmative Cross Examines Negative 3 minutes
Affirmative Constructive Speech 8 minutes
Negative Cross Examines Affirmative 3 minutes
Negative Constructive Speech 8 minutes
Affirmative Cross Examines Negative 3 minutes
Negative Rebuttal 5 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal 5 minutes
Negative Rebuttal 5 minutes
Affirmative Rebuttal 5 minutes
Prep time 5 minutes per team
Low point wins are discouraged, but will be allowed. Open or “tag-team” CX is up to the judge’s discretion. Use of computers will be allowed, for the sole purpose of flowing or outlining the round, but at the users own risk. If there are any technical problems or other malfunctions, those using computers will have to deal with any problems associated with such usage without unduly delaying the progress of the round (this includes both competitors and judges).
Ties in Policy Debate will be broken by 1) win/loss record, 2) combined speaker points, 3) high/low points, 4) ranks (speaker ranks), 5) previously met criteria.
PUBLIC FORUM RULES AND PROCEDURES
Public Forum is split into divisions of Varsity and Novice. The novice division is ONLY for debaters in their first year of debate competition or middle school students, and must have 25 or lesstotal NSDApoints at the beginning of the school year(regardless of the event).
The times for rounds will be as follows:
First Speaker Team A 4 Minutes
First Speaker Team B 4 Minutes
Crossfire 3 Minutes
Second Speaker Team A 4 Minutes
Second Speaker Team B 4 Minutes
Crossfire 3 Minutes
Summary First Speaker Team A 2 Minutes
Summary First Speaker Team B 2 Minutes
Grand Crossfire 3 Minutes
Final Focus Second Speaker Team A 2 Minutes
Final Focus Second Speaker Team B 2 Minutes
Prep Time 2 Minutes per team
Prior to the round in the presence of the judge(s), a coin is tossed by one team and called by the other team. The team that wins the flip may choose one of two options: EITHER the SIDE of the topic they wish to defend (pro or con) OR the SPEAKING POSITION they wish to have (begin the debate or end the debate). Once the coin toss winners select their favored option, the other team makes a choice within the remaining option. Once speaking positions and sides have been determined, the debate can begin.
Disclosing after PF rounds is highly encouraged throughout the tournament, but is only permitted after judges have turned in their ballot either to a runner orto tab. Please be cautious of overly lengthy critiques. We do not want critiques to impede the tournament schedule.
PF Judge Strikes will be permitted.
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE RULES
The 2016 Congressional Debate will feature three sessions of preliminary debate. Students who advance from prelims will compete in two sessions of semi-final debate with the top competitors advancing to the Super Congress session on Sunday morning. The Super Congress session will feature a scenario. Nominations for presiding officer will be taken off the floor of the chambers during all rounds of debate. Chamber assignments and agendas for each house will be posted on the web site, soon after the close of registration. Semifinal and Super Congress agendas will be announced during the tournament. Please e-mail all Congress legislation to .
Speech times for Congressional Debate will follow NSDA regulations. This includes 3 minutes of speaking time followed by 1 minute of cross-examination. For speeches introducing legislation and the first negative speech following, 3 minutes of speaking and 2 minutes of cross-examination.
Extemporaneous Speaking
1. Divisions: a. United States Division: Questions will cover U.S. domestic and U.S. foreign policy.
b. International Division: Questions will cover the domestic affairs of foreign
countries and the foreign affairs of all countries, including the United States.
2. Topics: The tournament director will procure topics phrased for contest use and based on subjects discussed in standard periodicals during the current school year. Each topic must be in the form of a question. The contents of the list shall not be disclosed except as contestants draw topics. There shall be a new subject area for each round, and no duplication of topics between the divisions.
3. Drawing: Thirty minutes before the contest is to begin, the first speaker draws three questions, choose one, and return the other two. The other contestants draw in like manner, in the order of speaking, at intervals of seven minutes.
4. Preparation: As soon as a question is chosen, the contestant will prepare a speech without consultation and without references to prepared notes. Students may consult published books, magazines, newspapers and journals or articles, provided:
a. They are originals or copies of whole pages.
b. Provided those originals or copies are uncut.
c. There is no written material on that original or copy other than citation information.
d. Topical index without annotation may be present.
e. Laptops will be allowing in Extemp Prep so long as they are not connected to the Internet.
Dramatic, Humorous, and Duo Interpretation
1. Separate contests will be conducted in Dramatic, Humorous, and Duo Interpretation, each presented as memorized selections and without the use of physical objects or costume. Presentation must not exceed 10 minutes.
2. Length: The time limit in Interpretation Main Events (Humorous, Dramatic, and Duo Interpretation is 10 minutes with a 30 second grace period. If the judges in the round agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period the student may not be ranked 1st, but need not be ranked last based on time. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate timing devices. No minimum time is mandated.
3. “Selections”- Selections used in these contests must be cuttings from published, printed novels, short stories, plays, or poetry. The selected piece must reflect the nature of the event in which the competitor is participating. Recorded material or material from the Internet that is not published and printed is prohibited. During the presentation the contestant/team must name the author and the book or magazine from which the cutting was made.