UC Berkeley Parli Invitational
2017 — Berkeley, CA/US
Novice Parliamentary
Event Description:
Parliamentary debate is an event where two teams of two debaters compete to persuade a judge or panel of judges. The two teams will be randomely assigned sides, either affirmative or negative. The teams will also be given a resolution to debate 20 minutes before the round begins. These resolutions can be questions of policy (e.g. The United States Federal Government should pass a law), value (e.g. The United States has a moral obligation to enforce laws), or fact (e.g. On balance, the rule of law in the United States does more harm than good).
Parliamentary debate has 6 speeches, with 3 being given by each side. The first four speeches, called constructive speeches, last 7 minutes each with a 15 second grace period for closing statements. The last two speeches, called rebuttal speeches, last 5 minutes each. The order of the speeches is: first affirmative, first negative, second affirmative, second negative, negative rebuttal, and affirmative rebuttal.
During constructive speeches, a debater may stand up during an opponents speech to signal their desire to ask a question, known as a point of information. The speaker can choose to either take the question or ask the debater to sit down. Questions are limited to 15 seconds, and time is not paused. Points of information are not allowed in rebuttal speeches.
The first affirmative speaker, also known as the prime minister, must give the first and last affirmative speech. Similarly, the first negation speaker, known as the leader of opposition, must give the first and last negation speech. The second speakers of each team, known as members, give only the second speech for their team. In addition to upholding the resolution, the affirmative has the burden and the privalege of defining key terms in the resolution, as well as setting forth a judging criteria (e.g. Net Benefits to the United States, Weight of Circumstances, Constitutionality, etc).
Teams are judged based on both the quality of their argumentation and the quality of their rhetoric. In addition to recieving either a win or a loss, each debater is awarded speaker points from the judge, ranging typically ranging from 25-30. Teams with higher speaker points may break to elimination rounds despite having a slightly inferior win-loss record than other teams in the elimination field, and may also be eligible for speaker awards.
In rebuttal speeches, teams are not allowed to present new arguments. New analysis or new examples to expand upon arguments introduced in one of the constructive speeches are allowed. In the event of a rebuttal speaker bringing up a new argument, the opposing team should stand up and declare a point of order. Time is paused during the point of order, and the team which raised the point must identify which argument is new, or invalid. The speaker will then have an opportunity to defend their argument as either analysis or not being new. The judge will make a determination, and comment depending on their determination: Point well taken, point under consideration, and point not well taken are all valid answers.
After the debate is over, teams should return quickly to the common area, as prep for the next topic may be starting soon after rounds are finished.
Thank you, and best of luck!