This tournament is for British Columbia Forensic League debate students only. Please look at pairings to see which room you are assigned. Only round 1 result will be posted after the round; all the results will be published at the end. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact sukhal2000@gmail.com.

Event Tiebreakers

Public Forum

1. Wins

2. Speaker points, except 1 best & worst

3. Speaker points, except 2 best & worst

4. Speaker points

5. Opp wins

6. Opp seed

Speech

1. Ranks

2. Reciprocal ranks

3. Speaker points

Impromptu Speech

Topics: Topics will include proverbs, abstract words, events, quotations, and famous people.

Drawing: A judge in each section/room shall be provided an envelope containing a uniform set of topics, with a different subject area used for each round. Once the first speaker is called, the other speakers shall leave the room, and wait outside the door. Each speaker will draw three topics, choose one, and return the other two to the envelope.

Preparation and Delivery: The speaker has seven minutes in which to prepare a response and present a speech without consultation of prepared notes. Students may consult published books, magazines, newspapers and journals or articles therefrom, provided:

- They are originals or photocopies of originals.

- That original article or copy is intact and uncut.

- There is no written material on original or copy.

- Topical index without annotation is allowed.

No other material shall be allowed in the room other than stated above. Speeches, handbooks, briefs, and outlines shall be barred. Underlining or highlighting in materials will be allowed if done in one color on each article or copy. No electronic retrieval device may be used, but printed materials from online computer services may be used.

Recuse: Once a speaker has spoken, they may listen to other speakers in that round.

Notes: No notes shall be used during presentation.

Time: The maximum time limit is 7 minutes with a 30-second “grace period,” which includes both preparation and speaking. If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices. No minimum time is mandated.

United States Extemporaneous Speech

Students are presented with a choice of three questions related to current events in the United States and, in 30 minutes, prepare a seven-minute speech answering the selected question. Students may consult articles and evidence they gather prior to the contest, but may not use the internet during preparation. Topics range from political matters to economic concerns to U.S. foreign policy. The speech is delivered from memory. The questions will be announced through zoom and the sections will be published after 30 minutes. Maximum speaker point they can receive is 20 and the minimum is 1. Tied speaker points are allowed, but tied ranks are forbidden. If they present over seven minutes, they cannot get first place.

Public Forum

As a team event, students who compete in Public Forum need to be able to work well with a partner. Balanced teams, both in terms of preparation before debates and contributions within a debate, helps provide a competitive advantage during tournaments. PF is the newest form of debate in the Association and looks at current event topics. Students who do Public Forum must be prepared to debate in front of judges without any formal debate training. Being able to persuade a range of judges is a central component to this event. Additionally, PF is focused upon debating varying resolutions that change frequently, which exposes students to a variety of topics during a singular competitive season

Time for PF

*Each team gets 3 minutes of prep time.

Team A Constructive Speech - 4 minutes

Team B Constructive Speech - 4 minutes

Crossfire - 3 minutes

Team A Rebuttal Speech - 4 minutes

Team B Rebuttal Speech - 4 minutes

Crossfire - 3 minutes

Team A Summary Speech - 3 minutes

Team B Summary Speech - 3 minutes

Grand Crossfire - 3 minutes

Team A Final Focus - 2 minutes

Team B Final Focus - 2 minutes