Riverhawk Invitational

2021 — NSDA Campus, WA/US

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Open Public Forum

Event Description:

One of the newest forms of academic debate, Public Forum Debate was designed to enable debaters to discuss current events in an accessible, conversational format. Public Forum rounds feature polished delivery, exciting clash, and fast-paced refutations. The format also allows debaters to work together as partners. For these reasons, Public Forum Debate often comes closest to what many beginning debaters imagine debate will look like. Public Forum Debate features four high school students on teams of two debating a timely issue in highly structured speech times. The teams compete for the vote of a judge or panel of judges, who will decide the round based on which team debated better. Debate in Public Forum should be conducive to adjudication by citizen judges and should not require special knowledge or training to judge. The debaters will use their common knowledge, reasoning, and evidence from third-party experts to support and substantiate their arguments.