Parliamentary Debate Rules

PHSSL Parliamentary Rules

The format shall be as follows: 

A. Two speakers will form a team and only two teams will participate in each debate. 

B. All of the rounds of both the district and state competitions will be Extemporaneous Debate rounds. C. The exact motions for the Extemporaneous Debate rounds will be developed prior to the tournament from a list of six topic areas. The specific wording of the motion will be published with the schematic of the round. Teams will have 20 minutes in their competition rooms for preparation. The judge of the round will supervise this preparation time period. 

D. Extemporaneous Rounds - Teams will draw for sides on the motion. 

Motions

“This House” shall be defined as the people in the room, the United States Federal Government, the United Nations, a developed country, or a developing country in the present. 

For the purpose of equitable debate, students ARE NOT permitted to narrow the definition of the House to specific developed/developing countries such as “Canada” or “Eritrea.”

Format 

A. After all speakers have spoken once, the first speaker for each side gives a reply speech, with the opposition reply going first and the proposition second. Speaking time for speeches is 7 minutes, and for reply speeches 5 minutes. There is no extra preparation time provided. 

B.  All contention-level arguments must be made within the first two speeches on by each side. 

Extemporaneous Rounds 

A. The specific wording of the motion for debate will be released with the pairing schematic for the round. 

B. Teams will report to their competition rooms where the judge will supervise a 20-minute preparation period. 

Points of Information  

A. During any speech except the reply speeches, members of the opposing team may offer Points of Information to briefly interject a point that the speaker may immediately respond to. 

B. The first and last minute of each main speech, as well as the entire duration of reply speeches, are "protected time," meaning that no Points of Information may be offered. 

Point of Order

A. This can be called if new contention-level arguments are presented in the reply speeches. 

B. If the judge decides that a new argument has been made, the round is won by the team calling for the Point of Order. If the judge decides that a new argument was not made, the round goes to the non-calling team, 

Registration and Qualifications

A. No substitution of debaters may be made at either the district or state tournament after Round I begins. 

B. Students qualify to the state tournament as a team; no substitutions are allowed. 

C. Each district automatically qualifies two two-person debate teams. If there are 10 - 20 parliamentary debate teams, a third team qualifies to the State Tournament; if 21 or more teams compete, a fourth team qualifies to the State Tournament

Communication

A. No interaction between a coach or any other person not involved in the debate and the debaters is permitted during a debate. 

B. If a debate team is 15 minutes late for a scheduled round of debate or for the preparation of an extemporaneous debate round, it shall forfeit the round of debate unless the delay is a result of a function of the tournament.