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Florida Forensic League

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The Florida Forensic League, Inc., or FFL, is a speech and debate organization offered to all schools in the state of Florida. It is the governing body for local and state speech and debate competitions in Florida, with higher-level competition under the auspices of the National Forensic League and the National Catholic Forensic League. The league was officially incorporated by the State of Florida on November 20, 2003, and began operations on January 1, 2004, although it existed some time before then in an unorganized fashion. Competitors in the league have been extremely successful at national tournaments.

Contents

Officers

The officers of the Florida Forensic League are:

  • President - Carol Cecil
  • Vice President/Operations - Dario Camara
  • Vice President/Webmaster - Paul Gaba
  • Treasurer - Maureen Mannion
  • Secretary - Luis Dulzaides
  • Panhandle Region Director - Charlie Williams
  • Timacuan Region Director - Beth Eskin
  • Gulf Coast Region Director - Dr. Terri St. John
  • Macaw Region Director - Eric Jeraci
  • Art Deco Region Director - Patricia Lewis
  • Hurricane Region Director - Jennifer Kwasman

    • Events Sponsored

    The Florida Forensic League offers the following events:

  • Policy Debate
  • Lincoln-Douglas Debate
  • Public Forum Debate
  • Oral Interpretation
  • Duo Interpretation
  • Dramatic Interpretation
  • Humorous Interpretation
  • Student Congress
  • Original Oratory
  • International Extemporaneous
  • Domestic Extemporaneous

    • The Florida Forensic League also offers Group Interpretation at the regional qualifying tournaments and the Varsity State Championship. Declamation is also offered at the Novice State Championship.

    Districts

    The Florida Forensic League divides the state of Florida into six regions:

  • Panhandle - includes the counties of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Gadsden, Liberty, Franklin, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Baker, Union, Bradford, Nassau, Duval, Clay, and St. Johns.
  • Timacuan - includes the counties of Alachua, Putnam, Flagler, Marion, Volusia, Seminole, Lake, Orange, Brevard, Polk, and Osceola.
  • Gulf Coast - includes the counties of Dixie, Gilchrist, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Hardee, DeSoto, Charlotte, and Lee.
  • Macaw - includes the counties of Indian River, Okeechobee, Highlands, St. Lucie, Martin, Glades, Hendry, and Palm Beach.
  • Art Deco - includes the counties of Monroe and Dade.
  • Hurricane - includes the counties of Collier and Broward.

    • Qualifying

    To compete at the Varsity State Championship, competitors must place in the qualifying range for their district. The number of qualifiers per event is determined in proportion to the membership of each region.

    To compete at the Novice State Championship, competitors must:

  • Be in grades 6-12.
  • Have fewer than 25 NFL Points at the start of the current school year.
  • Have competed in less than three tournaments during the previous school year.
  • Have never competed in the Novice State Championship before.

    • Championship tournaments

    The Florida Forensic League offers two state championships every year: a Varsity State Championship, which is open to all competitors who qualify; and a Novice State Championship, which is open only to novices.

    The 2008-2009 Varsity State Championship will be held March 1 and 2 at Jupiter Community High School in Jupiter, FL. The 2008-2009 Novice State Championships will be held at Seminole Ridge Community High School in Loxahatchee, Florida. This is the only year in FFL history that both tournaments are held in Palm Beach County, FL.

    The 2007-2008 Varsity State Championship will be held February 29 and March 1 again at Niceville High School in Niceville, Florida. The 2007-2008 Novice State Championship will be held at Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Florida.

    The 2006-2007 Varsity State Championship was held March 2 and March 3 at Niceville High School in Niceville, Florida The 2006-2007 Novice State Championship was held at Braddock High School in Miami.

    The 2005-2006 Varsity State Championship was held March 3 and March 4 at Western High School in Davie. The 2005-2006 Novice State Championship was held at North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek.

    The 2004-2005 Varsity State Championship was held March 4 and March 5 at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs. The 2004-2005 Novice State Championship was held April 15 and April 16 at Winter Springs High School in Winter Springs.

    The 2003-2004 Varsity State Championship was held March 5 and March 6 at Celebration High School in Orlando. The 2003-2004 Novice State Championship was held April 23 and April 24 at Ridgeview High School in Clay County.

    Awards

    The FFL gives awards to the champions in each event at the Varsity State and Novice State Championship Tournaments. In addition, the FFL gives several school sweepstakes awards at the Varsity State Championship, including Commendations for Debate, Speech, and Interpretation events, Small Squad Awards, and Overall Program Awards. A record of awards can be found on ForensicsWiki here.

    References

    Florida Forensic League Wikipedia
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