2025 First Coast Florida Classic

• Setup:

  This status is used while the tournament is still being setup.

• Open:

  This status means tournament registration is open. Families can register for the tournament.

• Drops Only:

  This status means only registration drops are allowed. There are no new entries allowed but families can drop entries.

• Closed:

  This status means registration is currently closed for the tournament. There are no adds or drops allowed. Please contact the tournament director with any questions.

• Completed:

  This status means the tournament is completed.

Community Judge Information

I appreciate your willingness to judge at the 2025 Salt & Light speech and debate tournament! We rely on community support to help our tournament run smoothly.  When you are ready, please click here to register and pick the time/event that works best for you to judge.

Tournament Location

Time Commitment for Judges

Please arrive 1 hour before your selected speech and/or debate round to receive orientation. This is about a 3-hour time commitment and includes check-in, training, judging a round, completing your ballot, and enjoying some delicious refreshments. You are always welcome to judge more than one round!

You are Qualified!

You are qualified to judge! The goal of our competitors is to be able to communicate their ideas clearly and respectfully to anyone. If you are a good listener who is over 18 (over 20 if a Stoa alum), WE NEED YOU!

If you are on the fence about whether to try community judging, watch this short video.

Tournament Day

During Judge Training, you will be given a good overview of the events and the judging process at the tournament. We have several types of debates and speeches, and you will be trained in the event you are registered for. 

On the tournament day, please follow the campus signs to the judge check-in table. You will receive an e-mail with details about check-in, judge orientation, etc., approximately a week before the tournament.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for taking the time to invest in the next generation. Please click Community & Alumni Judge" to register.

Why do you need community judges?

Simply put, judges are the most important participants in a tournament. Without you, we cannot hold a tournament, and students aren't given feedback that helps them improve their skills.

Additionally, community judges, in particular, listen and judge from a different perspective than a parent, and so your feedback helps them learn and grow in their skills in different ways. Our goal is to develop communicators who can speak boldly and change the world for Christ, not debaters who overwhelm judges with information or do not have the ability to adapt their message to the listener.

Why do you need SO MANY judges?

At a tournament, we can have as many as 100 or more competitors competing in 3 styles of debate and 13 speech events across three days. This requires a large number of judges! For example, a typical tournament day will have 4 to 5 debate rounds and 2 speech rounds. For each round, we need to staff 15-20 rooms with at least 1 and up to 3 judges. This means that tournaments generally have about 200 judge slots to fill per day for a tournament to run smoothly and on time.

What about the parents?

All of our parents are required to judge throughout the tournament whenever there are empty slots that we cannot fill from the community. We prefer to utilize community judges whenever possible to allow students to present their cases (for debate) and speeches to new audiences.

Who is qualified to be a judge?

Generally, anyone who has completed high school and has been adequately trained (don't worry - we provide this) can serve as a judge. Most judges fall into three categories of individuals:

Community volunteers
Parents and Coaches
Former high school or college debaters

What types of events will I be judging?

Our tournament has two basic types of events - speech and debate.

In debate, students compete to present and explain their ideas or proposals to a judge. Judges are asked to weigh the presented information and decide which side has the stronger case. 

Speech events run the gamut from prepared speeches to impromptu speeches where competitors have two minutes to outline a five-minute speech. Some speeches are humorous, others are inspirational, and others informative. 

Please see our Event Descriptions page for a full list of events and descriptions.

Who are the students I will be judging?

The competitors are homeschooled students aged 12-18 years old. Some students are just starting to learn debate or are just now giving their first speeches, and others have been competing for years. Many are from the Atlanta area, but we also have students travel nationwide to compete. So, you will see a wide range of skills, abilities, and styles.

Alumni Judge Information

As a prior competitor you bring a unique perspective to our judge pool, and we thank you for your willingness to give back to the world of competitive speech and debate. We are delighted to have you join us in evaluating these students! To register for judging, please use the Judge Registration tab at the top of the page and follow the prompts.

If a competitor has invited you or you have a close relationship (friendship with a student or family or provided coaching) with a current debater, we ask that you indicate that by typing their name in the conflict box to keep the integrity of the judging pool pure. 

On tournament day, please follow the campus signs at the judge check-in table. Park in the East Garage.

Judge Qualifications: To be eligible to judge for the 2024-2025 season, it should be two years since you competed in Stoa and must be at least 20 years old. If you competed in a different league (NCFCA) and never competed in Stoa, you are still eligible to judge if you graduated last year. A student may not compete and judge within the same competition season.

MANDATORY ELECTRONIC SCRIPT SUBMISSION

PRIOR APPROVALS: We will be accepting script approvals from previous tournaments, preferably approved after January 2025, given two conditions: 1) You have not made any changes since the script was approved, and 2) You can provide the approval email. Please forward a pdf of your script and the approval email no later than Feb. 23 to gascriptsubmission@gmail.com. 

All other scripts must be reviewed prior to the tournament within the given deadline. Before submitting your script, I encourage you to read Stoa's Philosophy of Speech Standards.

OPENS: Thursday, Feb. 6
DEADLINE for initial submissions: Sunday, Feb. 23rd, 11:59 PM EST. 

*Submitting a script after the deadline is considered a competitive advantage. Failure to submit your script by the deadline for initial submissions (Feb. 23rd) WILL result in your being dropped from the event. Extenuating circumstances will be considered; please contact the Script Review Team.

FINAL CORRECTIONS: Saturday, March 1st, 11:59 PM EST Your script must be corrected AND approved by this date. 

Events 

Competitors who are entered in the following events must submit scripts for approval:

Interpretive Speeches: Dramatic, Duo, Humorous, Open
Platform Speeches: Expository, Original Oratory, Persuasive
Wild Card Speech: Slam Poetry

Before you begin:

Use the speech helps and resources to ensure your script is in compliance with regards to citations and publication requirements BEFORE submitting your script. 

Watch the tutorial! Just 6 minutes will save you (and us) loads of time! While the video is somewhat out of date when referencing the Wild Card event, the basic principles and instructions still hold true.

Instructions:

1. READ THE RULES for your speech event HERE.

2. READ THE SCRIPT PREP INSTRUCTIONS & OBTAIN FORMS HERE.

3. PREPARE your SCRIPT SUBMISSION FORM with your parent or coach. Include initials and signatures. BE SURE "First Coast" is listed as the tournament.

4. COMBINE each speech into ONE FILE in .pdf format. To combine files:

• Use a printer to scan into a single pdf file, or
• Use a PDF joiner, or
• Use the Notes app on an iPhone to scan documents. (Open Notes app; create a new Note; tap Done; tap the paper clip icon at the bottom of the screen; choose "Scan Documents." Or,
• Use the Google Drive app on your mobile phone. (Open Google Drive and tap the camera icon in the bottom right, above the + sign.)

5. NAME YOUR FILE using the following naming format: Last Name, First Name - event.pdf  For example:  Twain, Mark - Persuasive.pdf Students - This is a small detail that is incredibly helpful for your script reviewers. Please take just a few extra seconds to properly name your files!

6. SUBMIT SCRIPTS HERE.

Scripts requiring corrections:
When a script is returned as incomplete or unapproved, it will be returned with suggestions for correction. Once you have made the corrections, you must resubmit the script within 24 hours using the same script submission link above in Step 5. You will select "Corrected Script" from the appropriate drop-down box. Our script review team will make every effort to review your corrected script and respond to you in a similar timeframe.

Team Policy

Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reform its policy on healthcare.

Lincoln Douglas

Resolved: Mandatory national service is justified.

For a list of events and their descriptions, please follow this link. You will need to scroll across the horizontal menu under the picture to see the different categories of events. 

Yes, you can earn checks at the First Coast Florida Classic.  Our tournament complies with all Stoa minimum tournament standards.  

Expository is not being offered at this tournament.

All debate styles will have six randomly-paired preliminary rounds followed by a Final round.

Speech will have three preliminary rounds with 2 judges for each event.

If you have any questions, please email: firstcoastspeechanddebate@gmail.com

MORE INFORMATION regarding check-in/drop-off/activities coming soon!

We welcome our Junior (5-8) and Junior Varsity (9-11) competitors to participate at the tournament. 

Jr/JV Tournament Director is Mrs. Jessica Graham.  

There will be a Juniors section in Student Commons where the Jr/JV TD or an associate will be available. All Jr/JV participants will have several games and events to participate in during the tournament prior to their opportunity to compete on the final day. 

Jr/JV Bingo!  Each competitor will be given a bingo card during the tournament where they can win prizes for completion of all bingo tasks.  We encourage you to enroll your junior so they can participate in the exercises and games we'll be playing during the tournament. 

On the final day Jr/JVs will be able to present their speeches to varsity competitors. 

Junior- Max 2 events for students 5-8 years old on or before Oct 1, 2024.

Limited Preparation:

JR Bible Story Impromptu

Interpretive:

JR Duo

JR Open

Original Oratory:
JR Persuasive
JR Informative

Junior Varsity- Max 3 events for students ages 9-11 on or before Oct 1, 2024.

Limited Preparation:
JV Apologetics
Bible Story Impromptu

Interpretive:
JV Duo
JV Open

Original Oratory:
Persuasive
Informative

Script Submission
In-person script submission is required for all Jr/JV Interp and Platform Speeches. This is different from Varsity speech events which require electronic script submission prior to the tournament.

SPEECH CATEGORIES:

JR/JV Bible Story Impromptu

Description: In JV Bible Story Impromptu the competitor chooses a story from the genre or category selected by the tournament. These Bible stories are listed on the tournament web site weeks prior to the tournament, so the students know the full list, but will not know the exact story they are to present until they draw and choose at the tournament. Then, the student at the tournament, has limited preparation time and tells the story in their own words.

Goal: To understand the values and techniques inherent in good storytelling and to be able to recreate stories for the education and enjoyment of the audience.

JR/JV BIBLE STORY IMPROMPTU STORIES for both Tournament Speech Rounds

1. David and Goliath

2. Noah and the Ark

3. Jonah and the big fish

4. Moses and the Burning Bush

5. Joshua and the Battle of Jericho

6. Zacchaeus

7. Peter walks on the water

8. Parable of the prodigal son

9. The Good Samaritan

10. Hannah and Samuel

11. The Tower of Babel

12. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego in the fiery furnace

13. Abraham, Man of Faith

14. Mary and Joseph

15. Saul who became Paul

16. Parable of the lost sheep

17. Two builders: Wise & Foolish

18. Jesus & the feeding of the 5,000

19. The Birth of Jesus

20. The Angel's visit to the Shepherds

21. The Resurrection of Jesus

22. Jesus, HIS Disciples & the Miraculous Catch of Fish

23. The Story of Joseph

24. The Story of Queen Esther

25. Daniel in the Lion's Den

26. Crossing the Red Sea

JR/JV Bible Story Impromptu Preparation Rules:

1. Each room will be given instructions regarding room administration as well as the envelope of topics to distribute to the student.

2. The speaker will receive three (3) single topics, choose one, and return the other two. The chosen topic should not be returned to the envelope.

3. Topics should be of the same type for all speakers in the round.

4. The competitor may edit or adapt the story in any way.

5. The timekeeper will start the stopwatch when the speaker receives the topics. Thirty (30) seconds will be allotted to choose a topic.

6. The competitor will have two minutes from the time the non chosen topics are returned to the judges. The timekeeper will give auditory cues every thirty (30) seconds until the two (2) minute preparation time is concluded.

7. Unused preparation time may not be added to the speaking time.

8. Competitors may only enter once in the JV Bible Story Impromptu event per tournament.

JR/JV Bible Story Impromptu Presentation Rules:

1. The speaker may write notes on a blank sheet of paper during preparation time, but he may not use or refer to the notes during his speech.

2. The speaker may not bring any prepared material into the room including a Bible.

3. The speaker may approach the topic in any way he chooses, but the topic must be the central theme of the speech and not peripheral to it.

4. The speaker may refer to his topic slip when announcing his topic during the speech. He/she may not write notes on the topic slip.

5. Each speech should be a fresh, original presentation developed from one of the topics given and prepared on the spot.

6. The speaker must state his topic early in the speech and adhere to the chosen topic.

7. No audio or visual aids or props may be used.

8. No computers, Kindles, iPods, cell phones, or other electronic media devices may be used for JV Bible Story Impromptu preparation or presentation.

9. While never expected, gratuitous vulgarity is strictly prohibited.

10. The student must not listen to other JV Bible Story Impromptu competitors speaking before him. The competitor may stay after he has given his speech to listen to subsequent speakers.

JR/JV Bible Story Impromptu Preparation time – two (2) minutes. Speaking time – three (3) minutes. No minimum time.

JR/JV Duo Interpretation

Description: In Duo Interpretation, two students create an original rendition from various pieces of literature (including original, unpublished work), which captivates and moves the audience.

Goal: To select and analyze literature, then bring it to life through the creative use of voice, facial expression, and movement without interacting face-to-face.

JR/JV Duo Interpretation Preparation Rules:

1. Interpretive literature should come from traditional published or copyrighted literature.

2. Media transcripts are not permitted. A “media transcript” is a pirated script or selection that has been transcribed by an individual from a live or recorded performance (theater, movies, television/radio broadcasts, webcasts, internet streaming, etc.).

3. There is not a limit to the number of words added by competitors nor any restriction on how those words are used.

4. Dialogue from one character may be given to another character.

5. The interpretive piece may be entered in only one category per tournament (e.g. either ‘Dramatic' or ‘Duo’ but not both). The students may place the interpretive piece in a different category in subsequent tournaments.

6. The students may enter only one interpretive piece per event, i.e. only one entry in Duo Interp.

JR/JV Duo Interpretation Presentation Rules:

1. The author and title of the work must be introduced.

2. The resulting construction of the interpretive piece should provide a balanced performance between the two students.

3. The students should not look at each other, touch each other, or interact face-to face.

4. The speakers must compete in tournament attire.

5. No audio or visual aids or props may be used.

6. Only feet are permitted to touch the floor at any time.

7. Gratuitous vulgarity, while highly unlikely, is strictly prohibited.

8. This is primarily a speech event but some singing and dancing are permitted as appropriate to the piece.

9. The script must be memorized. No written scripts or notes may be referred to in competition. The competitors can receive a lower ranking for use of a written script or notes in competition.

10. The timekeeper will start the timepiece when the speakers begin and will stop the stopwatch when the speakers finish. No hand signals will be given.

Speaking time limit – seven (7) minutes. No minimum time.

JR/JV Open Interpretation (includes Dramatic & Humorous Interp)

Description: In Open Interpretation, the student creates an original rendition from a single selection of literature, which can be either dramatic or humorous. The student's original rendition should captivate, move, and/or entertain the audience.

Goal: To select and analyze literature, then bring it to life through the creative use of voice, movement, and facial expression.

JR/JV Open Interpretation Preparation Rules:

1. Interpretive literature may come from a variety of published genres including plays or prose. The selection must be from a single work and it may not be authored by the competitor.

2. Media transcripts are not permitted. A “media transcript” is a pirated script or selection that has been transcribed by an individual from a live or recorded performance (theater, movies, television/radio broadcasts, webcasts, internet streaming, etc.).

3. The literature must be cut to fit within the time limit.

4. Approximately 150 words may be added for any purpose including but not limited to introductions and transitions.

5. Changes to pronouns and verb tenses are allowed and not counted as added words.

6. Dialogue from one character may be given to another character.

7. The selection may be entered in only one category per tournament.

8. The student may place the selection in a different category in subsequent tournaments

9. The student may enter only one interpretive selection per category.

JR/JV Open Interpretation Presentation Rules:

1. The speaker must identify the title and author near the beginning of the piece.

2. The speaker must compete in tournament attire.

3. No audio or visual aids or props may be used.

4. Only feet are permitted to touch the floor at any time.

5. Gratuitous vulgarity, while completely unlikely, is strictly prohibited.

6. This is primarily a speech event but some singing and dancing are permitted as appropriate to the piece.

7. The script must be memorized. No written scripts or notes may be referred to in competition rounds. However, if they are the competitor can be given a lower ranking within the round.

8. The timekeeper will start the timepiece when the speaker begins and will stop the timepiece when the speaker finishes. No hand signals will be given.

Speaking time limit–five (5) minutes. No minimum time.

JR/JV Original Oratory (includes Persuasive & Informative speeches)

Description: An Original Oratory is a prepared speech, written by the speaker, on a topic of the speaker’s choice.

Goal: To develop a polished, winsome speaker who can present an engaging, well-organized speech on any topic.

JR/JV Original Oratory Preparation Rules:

1. The speaker may prepare a speech on any topic.

2. The purpose of the speech may be to inform, persuade, entertain, inspire, eulogize, or fulfill any other function.

3. The speech must be an original work, written by the competitor, and scripted verbatim.

4. An Original Oratory may be used in multiple leagues during any given competitive season.

5. The speech may be entered in only one category per tournament (i.e., either ‘Original Oratory’ or ‘Persuasive’ but not both). The student may place the speech in a different category in subsequent tournaments. 


6. A maximum of approximately 30% of the speech may consist of quoted material.

JR/JV Original Oratory Presentation Rules:

1. All direct quotations and primary sources must be cited verbally within the body of the speech. Use of another person’s words or ideas without crediting them is plagiarism and is strictly forbidden.

2. The script must be memorized. No written scripts or notes may be referred to in competition rounds. The competitor may receive a lower ranking for use of a written script.

3. No props, audio or visual aids may be used.

4. We do not expect this to to occur but post this rule as a standard. Gratuitous vulgarity is strictly prohibited.


5. The timekeeper will start the timepiece when the speaker begins and will stop the timepiece when the speaker has concluded his speech.

Speaking Time Limit– five (5) minutes. No minimum time.

JV Apologetics

Description:  In Apologetics speaking, the speaker is given two minutes to prepare a speech that defends a tenet of the Christian faith.  

Goal:  Apologetics should motivate students to study and articulate the core issues of their faith.

Preparation Rules:  

1.  Students prepare for Apologetics through Bible study, research, and topic organization.

2.  Each competitor should create a file of note cards (3 X 5 is acceptable, but no larger than 4 X 6) with Scripture, definitions, quotations, and any other material deemed to be helpful.

3.  Students may work together on boxes prior to the tournament, but students may not share boxes during the competition. 

Presentation Rules:

1.  At least one judge in each room will be given instructions and an envelope of topics to distribute to the student.

2.  As soon as the student enters the competition room for their 2nd Round of Apologetics, they should tell the judge the Apologetics Question they answered in their previous Round. This is so they will have a full two minutes for preparation in their 2nd round.

3. In the room, the speaker will receive three single topics from the judge, choose one, and return the other two topics before leaving the room.

4. All 12 JR/JV Apologetic Questions will be used for both rounds. So, students may receive any three of the 12 questions listed below in both of their speech rounds.

5. If inadvertently, in their 2nd Round a student receives the same question they chose to answer in their 1st Round, they are to set that question aside and ask the judge for another question, so they again have 3 new-to-them Apologetics Questions to choose from in Round 2.

5. A two-minute preparation time begins as soon as the student receives the 3 new-to-them Apologetics Questions, counting a two-minute prep time if they have inadvertently received the same question they answered in Round 1 and have had to exchange that for a new question.

6. The speech must be the original work of the speaker.

7.  During prep time, the speaker may use a Bible, access card files, and write additional notes on note cards.

8.  During the speech, the speaker should use only note cards.

9.  All Questions/Topics will be posted on the tournament site and are listed below.

10. JR/JV Apologetics judges should be sympathetic to the ideals of Stoa, able to agree with Stoa’s Statement of Faith, just as in Apologetics for the older students. See our tournament Homepage for Stoa's Statement of Faith.

JR/JV Apologetics Questions

What is the Bible and how is it different from other religious writings?

In what ways does the world around us show that there must be a Creator God?

What does it mean that God is omnipresent? Why is this important?

Who is Jesus?

What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Why is this important?

Why must Jesus be truly human and truly God?

Why did Jesus have to die?

What is the importance of the resurrection of Jesus?

Can a person do enough good in their life to get into heaven?

What is God’s grace and why is it significant?

What is the Gospel, and why is it the core of the Christian faith?

What is prayer and why is it important?

Speaking Time Limit– five (5) minutes No minimum limit.

First Coast Speech and Debate has a lot of open staff positions to fill for our tournament. If you have experience or are available to volunteer as a member of our staff please let us know @ firstcoastspeechanddebate@gmail.com

All staff members will be given a judging requirement exception code for their family registration. 

We hope to hear from you!

All tournament rounds for debate will be randomly paired for each preliminary round. Any byes will be randomly assigned and do not reflect ranking or previous performance.

The top two records in each debate event will advance to the final round.

Apologetics prompts will come from Categories 1 -4. 

Mars Hill prompts will come from Classic Film & Television, Classic Music, and Literature.

Come join us after the First Coast Florida Classic!

We'll be going to Al's Pizza at 7 pm on Saturday.

1620 Margaret Street Jacksonville, FL 32204

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