Tournament Info

Penn Debate Society is proud to host Penn WSDC 2026!

*Note: We will NOT be using Tabroom for tournament registration and tabulation. Please register through the links below. For questions and updates, please contact penndebatesociety@gmail.com or visit our Facebook page.

Dates: March 28-29, 2026
Time Zone: ET (GMT -4)
Format: World Schools Debate, 1 hour prep
Location: Via Zoom + Discord
Team Cap: 60 teams

INSTITUTION REGISTRATION - fill one per institution (Early Deadline Feb 28, 2026 // Late Deadline Mar 13, 2026):https://forms.gle/7VTXPBXyNwzRdd8M7

TEAM REGISTRATION - fill once per team (Deadline same as above):https://forms.gle/LpBf8tnMEmegmkNL8

IA APPLICATION (Deadline Mar 20, 2026):https://forms.gle/q3578Di1cScSCgVp8

CHIEF ADJUDICATION PANEL:

• Jason Xiao - Champion, World Universities Debating Championships 2020
• Tarun Ruschmeier - Deputy Chief Adjudicator, World Schools Debating Championships 2026
• Reja Debevc - Deputy Chief Adjudicator, WSDC 2025
• Cailyn Min - Team USA and Top Speaker, WSDC 2025
• Avni Chadha - Team India and Champion, WSDC 2025
• Clement Tsao - Champion, US Universities Debating Championships 2025

DEBATER ELIGIBILITY:
- Younger than 20 years old by the last day of the competition
- Must not be enrolled in a tertiary or postsecondary institution whose first semester starts before or on the last day of the competition
- This is an open tournament — teams can be made up of debaters from different institutions.

DEBATER STATUS:

ESL
- They do not come from a first-language English-speaking family, and
- They attend a school where English IS USED as a medium of instruction in addition to classes in the teaching of English

EFL
- They do not come from a first-language English-speaking family, and
- They attend a school where English IS NOT USED as a medium of instruction (except for classes in the teaching of English) I

INSTITUTIONAL JUDGE REQUIREMENTS
National teams — 1 judge of breaking quality per team (n=1)
All other teams — n/2 rounded down.
Institutional judges must be available for all in-rounds. Missing judge fee = 100 USD/judge.
Breaking teams are also required to provide institutional judges in each out-round that they qualify for. Judge requirements are the same as in-rounds (n=1 for national, n/2 rounded down for everyone else) FEES
130 USD/team if this form is submitted by February 28, 2026 (11:59PM EST.) This rate requires proof of payment by the same deadline.
150 USD/team for submissions beyond the above date. Final reg and proof of payment deadline is March 20, 2026 (11:59PM EST.)
Your team’s slot is not confirmed until payment is made.
Please contact us if you need a fee discount/waiver. Priority will be granted based on need, then chronological order of requests

PAYMENT
Let us know what payment method is most convenient on the team registration form!
Check: Mail to 3417 Spruce Street, 200 Houston Hall Philadelphia, PA 19104; Make payable to University of Pennsylvania
Venmo: Sent to Teams

TENTATIVE schedule in ET (Break to octos will be considered based on number of registered teams):

Saturday (March 28)
8:30 AM Check-In
9:15 AM Tournament Briefing
10:00 AM Round 1 (Prepared)
12:00 PM Lunch Break
1:00 PM Round 2 (Impromptu)
4:00 PM Round 3 (Impromptu)
7:00 PM Dinner Break
8:00 PM Round 4 (Prepared)

Sunday (March 29)
8:30 AM Check-In
9:30 AM Round 5 (Impromptu)
12:30 PM Break + Speaker Awards
1:30 PM Quarterfinals (Prepared)
3:30 PM Semifinals (Impromptu)
6:30 PM Grandfinals (Impromptu)
9:00 PM Results