Colleagues-

The 2019 GFCA Varsity State Championships will be held February 22-23 at Valdosta High School. Policy Debate will begin early on Friday with round one at 12:45 pm. The schedule will be amended as soon as we have a clearer picture of entries after At-Large and Member bids.

Entry Fees - Entry fees are $50.00/student. This includes dinner on Friday and lunch on Saturday. If students are in two events, the total is $85.00 per student. This fee covers trophies, meals, hiring judges, tabroom staff and reimbursement to the host school for services rendered.

At-Large Entries - due by Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 12:00 pm.  Please be sure to note whether an entry is a “school bid” or an “at-large” bid when you enter your students.  Please view the Varsity Qualifiers’ list to verify entry eligibility.  

Host Information - Pam Childress of Valdosta HS will host the tournament and is in preparation with her community to provide hospitality and to assure that the facilities are ready for a great weekend of competition.  Please note the address for the new Valdosta High School is 4590 Inner Perimeter Road, Valdosta, GA 31601. More information will be sent out regarding entry on campus and bus parking.

Hall of Fame Induction/Opening Ceremony - This is a Hall of Fame year.  An Opening Ceremony to honor these recipients and to give out school honors is planned to begin at 3:00 pm in the Valdosta High School Cafeteria.  Schools are asked to arrive on campus between 2 and 3 pm - buses will have to drop off students and then leave campus. Any school not on campus by 3:00 will have to wait to arrive on campus until after 3:45 pm.  The first rounds of PF and LD are scheduled to go off at 4:00 PM with Individual Events starting at 4:30. The GFCA is grateful to the Valdosta High School community for opening up their campus early for this ceremony and to accommodate Policy Debate.

Please Note - Due to the schedule change, the Tournament will be using the January/February LD Topic - Resolved: The United States ought not provide military aid to authoritarian regimes and the February PF Topic - Resolved: The United States should end its arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT REGISTRATION!

• If you are using your member school bid please type that into the qualifier field. With the at-large bid still type in the qualifications for the student.

• If you are bringing extra students or adults you must purchase extra meals or you will not get a ticket/ meal for this person! (You must pay for meals for all Coaches and Judges your school brings.)

• In debate, if there are less than 30 entries, the tournament will have 5 preliminary rounds and clear to quarterfinals. If there are 31 entries or more, the tournament will have 6 preliminary rounds and clear to octofinals, which may include a partial-octofinal if warranted. .

• Be sure to bring a signed copy of the Eligibility Form - linked to the right.

• There is a checklist for yout use to make sure that you and your team are ready for the State Tournament, also linked on the right.

We will update with information on a regular basis. Please feel free to reach out to Director of Operations Robert Walker at Robert.Walker@hcbe.net or GFCA Executive Chair at rioherrera@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Mario Herrera