NFL DISTRICT TOURNAMENT 2009

Riverview High School, Tampa, Florida

March 27 & 28, 2008

 

Dear NFL Members:

In a little more than six weeks, the National Forensics League, under the auspices of the Florida Sunshine District, will be holding its annual Qualifying Tournament. Successful students will have the opportunity to represent our area at the National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama come the second week of June. Unlike previous years, we will be handling registration in a completely different manner. Please pay close attention to the instructions below and be aware that updates to this information will be provided throughout the few weeks.

 

EVENTS OFFERED:

Under standard NFL Rules, the following debate and individual events will be offered (the Congress portion of the tournament was held in December at East Bay HS):

 

Team (Policy) Debate

Public Forum Debate

Lincoln Douglas Debate

Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking

US Extemporaneous Speaking

Original Oratory

Dramatic Interpretation

Humorous Interpretation

Duo Interpretation

 

DOUBLE ENTRIES:

Pursuant to a decision of the Florida Sunshine Executive Committee, students will be allowed to double enter within these specific restrictions

-          they may NOT double enter in two debate events

-          they may NOT double enter in both Extemporaneous speaking events

All double entries must be clearly marked on the registration, and all schools must provide the necessary paperwork indicating their primary preference should they qualify in both events. ANY SCHOOL WITHOUT THE PROPER PAPERWORK AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REGISTER AND RUN THE RISK OF FIRST ROUND FORFEITS FOR THEIR STUDENTS.

 

FEES:

All schools who DID NOT attend the District Congress in December still owe $25 in District Fees. Then, there will be a $12 registration fee PER ENTRY, NOT STUDENT. A Team Debate Team is ONE ENTRY. A Duo Team is ONE ENTRY. A student doing DI and HI is TWO ENTRIES, etc.

 

For schools bringing extra or “sacrificial” entries, the price is $8 per entry. This is only for those students entered at the LAST MINUTE (only per NFL Committee request).

 

All Checks should be made out to FGCCFL, who handles the banking for our NFL District.

 

JUDGES

Pursuant to a decision of the Florida Sunshine Executive Committee, judges are required of EVERY school attending. The ratio is calculated as follows:

 

1 judge for every 1 TD entry

1 judge for every 2 PFD entries

1 judge for every 2 LD entries

1 judge for every 2 IE entries

 

Please make sure to meet these quotas. We cannot run a tournament without the proper amount of judges. In addition, schools will be asked to judge ONE ROUND beyond where their last student drops from the tournament.

 

REGISTRATION PROCESS:

With the additional help of Executive Committee member Dr. Terri St. John, registration will be handled in the following manner:

 

Schools will be asked to email their entries to these NFL officers:

bgibron@verizon.net

tessspeak@aol.com

 

Entries must contain (1) full names of the students competing, (2) the event(s) they are competing in, (3) number and name of judges. You will also be responsible to fill out and have with you at registration ALL NECESSARY NFL FORMS (available online in a PDF packet). ANY SCHOOL WITHOUT THE PROPER PAPERWORK AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REGISTER AND RUN THE RISK OF FIRST ROUND FORFEITS FOR THEIR STUDENTS.

 

A confirmation will be sent letting schools know that their initial information was received. If you DO NOT receive a confirmation, assume your email did not get through and please resend.

 

DEADLINE #1 – MARCH 13, 2009

DEADLINE #2 – (all changes, adds, drops) MARCH 20, 2009

 

Remember, your school must be a member of NFL, and your students official members with at least 25 pts ONE WEEK before the official start of the tournament. That means all NATIONAL business must be concluded by MARCH 20. Please check with NFL to make sure you school and your students are qualified to attend.

 

Remember to do the best to fill out your NFL entry quota. We need significant entries in each event to send TWO (2) students to Nationals. The Committee may contact you after the March 20 deadline to request additional entries. We want to have our best students represent us at the National Tournament. That can only be accomplished via competition.

 

Monies will be due THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT. Please be sure your NFL dues are paid up as well.

 

New EXTEMP RULES AND PROCEDURES have been implemented. Please read this material carefully and ask any questions you may have.

 

Schools will NOT be required to send in Extemp Questions. Instead, a pay service will be utilized. However, by March 13 (the first deadline), a list of topic areas in both US and Foreign Extemp will be provided for research purposes.

 

SCHEDULE

You MAY NOT be on campus before 3:30PM

Please contact host Kelly McWilliams at Riverview in advance regarding bus parking.

 

Registration:               4:00PM

Round 1:                     4:15PM

 

A FINAL SCHEDULE FOR ALL EVENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST OFFICIAL UPDATE

 

INFORMATION ON FOOD WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST OFFICIAL UPDATE

 

While no specific hotel has been booked or blocked, Riverview HS recommends the following accommodations:

 

COUNTRY INN and SUITES

5730 Gantt Rd.

Sarasota, FL 34233

 

Additional questions, comments, requirements? Please email District Chairman Bill Gibron at bgibron@verizon.net

 

Please be aware that this will be merely one of many Invitation Updates. More info will be forthcoming, so be sure to keep checking http://www.fgccfl.org and your email box for material from NFL and Florida Sunshine.

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE

 

BILL GIBRON

Florida Sunshine NFL