First Coast Speech and Debate

Location

Registration

Opens: Thursday, February 6 @ 8:00 a.m. ET 

Closes: Thursday, February 20 @ 12:00 p.m. ET

Meal Registration Deadline: Feb 26, 2025

Script submission will open on Feb. 6th and close on Feb. 23. We will not accept scripts after Feb. 23 except in emergency circumstances. If you fail to meet the deadline, you will be dropped from your event. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!  We WILL be accepting approvals from prior tournaments. Please see the Script Submission tab for more details.

Events & Fees

This is a Stoa modeled tournament, and all Stoa speech and debate events will be offered. StoaUSA rules for events, eligibility, and dress code will be followed. 

$40 - First debate event (Team Policy, Lincoln Douglas, Parli)

$30 - Second debate event (Apply "parliaddon" for $10 discount ONLY if your student is participating in Parli and another debate event.)

$35 - First speech event and $25 each additional event; limit of 6 events. 

$20 - Junior speech event and $10 for each additional event. (See descriptions for event categories and rules)

Late Payment fee $25 will be applied Feb. 20, 2 hours after registration closes.

Drop Fee $25 for any drops after Feb. 21st

*Note for speech: Speech will consist of 2 preliminary, three-judge rounds followed by a single final round for eligible competitors. This format maintains the three speech round Stoa eligibility standards for NITOC.

Waitlist

Events may hit limits during registration, but please register and be put on the waitlist. We may be able to open additional space and/or reallocate space to move people off the waitlist for different events. Be sure to keep an eye on your email, especially if you are waitlisted for a speech event that requires script submission.

Late/Drop/Refund Policy

Late Payment fee $25 will be applied Feb. 20, 2 hours after registration closes.

Drop Fee $25 for any drops after Feb. 21st

No refunds will be issued after Feb. 20. All add, requests must be submitted by e-mail to the Tournament Director, Joseph Graham, at FirstCoastSpeechandDebate@gmail.com.

Parent Judging Commitment

We recognize that participating in Stoa requires a sacrifice of a family's time and resources. When you register your student(s) to participate in this tournament you are also committing your time and energy to it. That means you, or another person over the age of 21, agree to be present at the tournament at all times AND will serve with a willing spirit as a judge or in another support role. When one person does not pull their weight, others have to carry the load. Practically speaking, we want our tournament to be able to run on schedule in order to honor the time of parents, participants, and more importantly community judges, and that requires parents to judge as many rounds as may be necessary over the course of the tournament. The host club will make every effort to recruit as many community judges as possible for the benefit of our competitors and parent judges.

If you are unable to meet the parent commitment, please contact the Tournament Director.

Tournament Director - Joseph Graham FirstCoastSpeechandDebate@gmail.com