Florida Forensic League
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,[1] although it existed some time before then in an unorganized fashion. Competitors in the league have been extremely successful at national tournaments.
Officers
The officers of the Florida Forensic League are:[2]
- President - Carol Cecil
- Vice President/Operations - Dario Camara
- Vice President/Middle School Director - Alyssa Fiebrantz Awsare
- Treasurer - Grant Chmielewski
- Secretary - Ben Gaddis
- Panhandle Region Director -
- Timacuan Region Director - Nathan Johnston
- Gulf Coast Region Director -
- Macaw Region Director - Bo Lint
- Art Deco Region Director - Kate Hamm
- Hurricane Region Director - Ryan Levesque
Events Sponsored
The Florida Forensic League offers the following events:[3]
- Policy Debate
- Lincoln-Douglas Debate
- Public Forum Debate
- Oral Interpretation
- Duo Interpretation
- Dramatic Interpretation
- Humorous Interpretation
- Student Congress
- Original Oratory
- International Extemporaneous
- Domestic Extemporaneous
- World Schools Debate
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:[4]
- 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:[5]
- 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 2019–2020 Varsity State Championship was held February 29 and March 1 at Olympia High School in Orlando. The 2019–2020 Novice State Championship was scheduled to be held April 4 and April 5 at Cypress Bay High School in Florida but was cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.