Welcome to the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI). Whether you are returning for another season or joining us for the first time, we are glad to have you. Complete this form to officially register your team, open the door to speech and debate competition and start the conversation about the support your team needs to thrive.
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Registration is required for competition in 2026-2027 and competition is FREE!
THE FCDI MISSION
The Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI) seeks to expand and enhance civic knowledge and reinvigorate public debate and civil discourse. The FCDI is committed to developing upright, virtuous and self-governing citizens who recognize and accept the responsibility to preserve and defend the blessings of liberty inherited from previous generations. The FCDI is committed to supporting the development of new debate teams with a focus on underserved areas as well as supporting established teams in their continued success and sustainability.
OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH FDI
The Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI) is a statewide league for competitive speech and debate in Florida. We work in close partnership with the Florida Debate Initiative (FDI) to bring this programming to every corner of the state.
FDI is a non-profit educational organization committed to expanding access to competitive speech and debate in schools across Florida. Its mission is to empower emerging student leaders with essential communication, critical thinking, and leadership skills through high-quality civics, speech, and debate programming.
In alignment with and in support of the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative, FDI contributes both financial resources and programmatic support to help advance FCDI’s statewide goals of increasing civic literacy, amplifying student voice and preparing the next generation of active, informed citizens.
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As FCDI's educational support organization, FDI focuses on:
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Educating and training coaches and students
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Training judges and volunteers
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Promoting educational competition opportunities
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Leading training and leadership development experiences
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Establishing competition standards
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Learn more about the FDI at floridadebate.org.
Please take a few moments to carefully read all of the information below. This information is extremely important to ensure that your team is eligible to compete this year. We appreciate your time.
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Note: This process is best completed on a laptop or desktop computer.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
A few things to know up front, so registration goes smoothly:
The head coach of the team. The head and assistant coaches you list here become the official coaches of record for the season.
WHO COMPLETES THIS FORM
Initial registration ends October 2, 2026. After this date, teams may register on a rolling basis. You can return to this form at any time to add students or upload new scripts.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Follow the naming convention “Student Last Name Independent” (for example, Lindsay Independent). Teams with multiple students should use “City or County Independent” (for example, Orange Independent). Please email Kendall.Lindsay@fldoe.org to confirm your team name before registering.
INDEPENDENT AND NON-SCHOOL TEAMS
MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS
A team unit and team name must reflect the official school. For example, if a school is K-12, the coach should only register one team using the school’s official name (i.e. a school named “Debate Academy - Orlando” should register as “Debate Academy - Orlando”). Coaches then may register both types of students, middle and high school, as needed into the school's student roster. Teams may not receive more than one team stipend, but the size of the team and any additional expenses may be considered. If you are a coach of two distinct schools, please see the guidelines for multiple teams.
MULTIPLE TEAMS
If you are a coach of teams at more than one distinct school, please register each team independently and enter the corresponding students into each school's student roster. To apply for financial aid for both teams, each team must have their own FCDI registration, training, and expenses to qualify.
Use the 'Update Team' button above for all edits to FCDI team registration except for adding students to the roster. Use the Update Team form to add, swap or remove coaches, upload new student scripts or update any other information. To add students to the roster, return to step 3 of the main registration page.
CHANGES/UPDATES TO REGISTRATION
The head or assistant coach of record must be present at every FCDI tournament, in person or online, for students to compete. If neither can attend, you may request a proxy coach by emailing FCDI@fldoe.org with a letter of approval from your principal.
COACH ATTENDANCE
Every competing student must be entered on the roster with all required fields completed, including the media release. Regardless of the initial registration deadline, all students must be properly entered here (and in SpeechWire) by the registration deadline of their first 2026–2027 FCDI tournament. The registration deadline for online and regional qualifier tournaments is 11:59 PM on Friday the week before the tournament (i.e. if a tournament is on March 7, registration will close at midnight on February 27).
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
FCDI registration is required to receive coach and team stipends. A new team must have 3 or more students and all other teams must have 6 or more students to qualify for either stipend by October 2, 2026. Teams demonstrating financial need may apply for the team stipend using the Financial Assistance Application below. The deadline to complete the application is October 2, 2026. The Financial Assistance Application is not required to recieve the coach stipend.
STIPENDS
QUESTIONS?
Reach out any time to FCDI@fldoe.org.
We’re here to help.
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TEAM REGISTRATION
Team names will be standardized according to the naming convention described below in 2026-2027. Please follow the new naming convention below when registering your team:​
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For traditional teams (teams affiliated with a school): The official name of the school (no abbreviations) should match the team name entered (i.e. a school named Debate Academy - Orlando should have a team name of Debate Academy – Orlando). If your team name in SpeechWire does not match the name entered here, the name you enter here will become your team name in SpeechWire (no action needed).* You may not register a K-12 school as two teams if there is only one school – the team must match the school.
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For independent and non-school teams: Follow the naming convention “Student Last Name Independent” (for example, Lindsay Independent). Teams with multiple students should use “City or County Independent” (for example, Orange Independent). Please email Kendall.Lindsay@fldoe.org to confirm your team name before registering. If your team name in SpeechWire does not match the name entered here, the name you enter here will become your team name in SpeechWire (no action needed).*
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*Only teams that competed in at least one FCDI tournament during the 2025–2026 season will have their SpeechWire team name updated to match their FCDI registration. Existing speech and debate teams that did not compete in an FCDI tournament during the 2025–2026 season will not have their team name changed in SpeechWire. Prior FCDI team registration does not affect whether a team's SpeechWire name will be updated but prior registration is used to determine whether a team is classified as an existing or new team for FCDI team registration purposes (see Question 3: Type of Registration). New teams (teams new to speech and debate without an existing SpeechWire team account) should create a new team account using the naming convention described above.
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COACH REGISTRATION
Each team must have a registered head coach and may also have an assistant coach. Please fill out the registration form below.
You may pause here and enter students into the student roster once you have the necessary information. See student roster requirements due October 2, 2026 for financial assistance below.
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Please note: Teams competing in the first qualifiers must register and complete the student roster for their students prior to the October 2 deadline. The SpeechWire registration deadline for each tournament will be posted on SpeechWire.com.
OPTIONAL PAUSE
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STUDENT ROSTER
All students must be entered into the student roster to compete. We highly recommend registering every student who may compete in at least one FCDI tournament during the 2026–2027 season at the beginning of the year.
Each student on your team roster must have a signed Code of Conduct Acknowledgment and Media Release Form. Please share this form with each student before filling out the student roster. You will need to upload the signed forms to your student roster entries on this website.
DOWNLOAD AND SHARE THE CODE OF CONDUCT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND MEDIA RELEASE
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A student must appear on this roster with complete information to be eligible to compete. The deadline to add students to the roster is the SpeechWire tournament registration deadline for the student's first 2026–2027 FCDI tournament.
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Once a student is entered, they are registered for the full season.
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You can return to this form any time to add new team members.
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You may make changes to a student's information (i.e. script) through the update form.
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Be sure to enter your email address after you submit to receive a copy of your submission.
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The name entered for a student in the roster must match the student's registration in SpeechWire. Use proper capitalization.
APPLY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
The Financial Assistance Application form is due no later than October 2, 2026.
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FCDI is committed to making competitive speech and debate accessible for every Florida school that wants to participate. FCDI tournaments are free in 2026-2027, and we offer team support stipends to teams that demonstrate financial need.
For the 2026–2027 season, team support stipends range from $1,000 to $3,000. Award amounts are determined based on the level of need reflected in your responses below. The information you share here shapes the support we can offer your team this year, so please answer as fully as you can.​​
The head or assistant coach listed on the team registration.
WHO COMPLETES THE APPLICATION
FCDI team stipends are awarded principally to advance the growth of speech and debate at Florida's public schools, in keeping with the program's mission to expand civic education access statewide. Other educational organizations may submit an application; awards outside of public schools are made at the discretion of FCDI based on demonstrated financial need. All teams, regardless of school type, have full access to the programs, initiatives, and coach and student opportunities offered by FCDI and FDI.
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*Only in-state teams with a Florida address may apply for the team stipend. Out of state schools may apply for financial assistance to attend the National Civics and Debate Championship. More information about NCDC will be available on this website on August 30th.
ELIGIBILITY
Existing teams must register at least 6 students on the roster by the initial registration deadline, and teams new to speech and debate must register at least 3 students by the initial registration deadline to qualify for a team stipend.
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Existing teams are defined as teams that registered with FCDI in 2025-2026 and competed at least once.
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Financial assistance for independent/homeschool teams will be made on a case by case basis. Please reach out to FCDI@fldoe.org.
MINIMUM TEAM SIZE
October 2, 2026. Teams will be notified of application status after the deadline. Selected teams will receive an agreement to complete before funds are distributed; this agreement must be returned by the deadline indicated to receive the stipend. Late applications and agreements cannot be considered.
DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE
Stipend funds must be spent on expenses directly related to participation in FCDI tournaments or FCDI and FDI programs and activities (travel, lodging, supplies, etc.). While team and student registration for FCDI tournaments is free, funds may be used to cover the membership dues of other speech and debate leagues/organizations.
ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS
Teams may not receive more than one team stipend, but the size of the team and any additional expenses may be considered. If you are a coach of two distinct schools, please see the guidelines for multiple teams above.
MULTIPLE TEAMS AND MIDDLE/HIGH TEAMS
The coach stipend is managed separately by the FDI and is not contingent upon receiving a team stipend. The coach stipend is open to coaches across all school types, including public, public charter, private, homeschool and microschool. Regardless of school type, a returning team must have 6 or more students registered in the student roster for the coach to qualify or 3 or more students for new teams by the initial registration deadline of October 2, 2026. The coach stipend requires a separate coaching agreement provided by FDI once the qualifications are met. More details on tournament attendance and all other requirements to recieve the coach stipend will be available in the 2026-2027 edition of the FCDI Handbook.
COACH STIPEND
COMPLETION CHECKLIST
REGISTER YOUR TEAM
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Return to the Update Form to edit coaches as needed.
REGISTER COACHES
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DIRECT JUDGES TO THE JUDGE PAGE
OPTIONAL: APPLY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Return to the student roster as needed to add students. Add additional scripts through the Update Form.
COMPLETE THE STUDENT ROSTER
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WHAT'S NEXT?
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Watch your email for confirmation. If you do not receive confirmation within two business days of submitting registration, please reach out to FCDI@fldoe.org.
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If you applied for team financial assistance, watch your email for an update on your application status after the deadline.
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Return to this form anytime to add students or upload new scripts. New students must be added to the roster by the SpeechWire tournament registration deadline of the first 2026–2027 FCDI tournament they plan to attend.
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Stay tuned on our website and social media (@civicsanddebate on X, Facebook and Instagram) for when the tournament calendar and 2026-2027 handbook are available.
2026-2027 SEASON JUDGES
Please direct all judges to the NEW Judge page well before a tournament, preferably as soon as you learn of their interest in judging. The page includes a sign-up form for the required judge training course, event resources and tournament expectations. Reviewing these materials and completing the training helps create a fair and successful tournament experience for everyone.