Debate Guide: Format, Essentials & Rules
Here, you’ll find everything you need to navigate the tournament with confidence—from understanding the debate format and key essentials to adhering to official competition rules. This page is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and guidelines necessary to succeed, ensuring a fair and engaging experience for all. Explore each section to prepare effectively and compete at your best.
The tournament will be held entirely online via Zoom. Ensure Zoom is installed and set up in advance
A strong and stable internet connection is crucial
A working webcam for clear video participation and high-quality audio devices for clear communications
Choose a quiet, well-lit space for optimal performance
There will be a Zoom Lobby Room for each division, similar
to a supper room at an in-person tournament where
students and coordinators from different teams are
present and where topics are announced. Speakers will join
the lobby room and then move into a breakout room with
their opposing team to prepare and debate
*The Zoom Lobby Room Code for each division will be used for the
entire tournament.
Online research and googling of any kind is prohibited including aid from
generative AI software, including but not limited to Chat GPT;
Access to pre-prepared notes of any kind is prohibited;
Communication with anyone outside the four allocated speakers during
the preparation time and the debate itself is prohibited – this includes
friends, parents, coaches, and any other members of that team who are
not allocated and formally registered to debate in that round
Before the Round
Confirm your team name and the display of the speakers’ full name within the team on TabbyCat.
*Please let us know if there are any concerns regarding the display of students’ surnames.
Check your breakout room number and the team you are debating against via TabbyCat
Format your Zoom name as instructed and leave your camera on and microphone off when entering the Zoom lobby room unless instructed otherwise by a tournament facilitator.
*Zoom and TabbyCat walkthroughs will be emailed to coordinators before the tournament starts
Preparation
The affirmative and negative teams in one debate will be placed in the same breakout room where the debate takes place.
Teams may only have their three speakers, an optional silent fourth speaker acting as team advisor present during preparation time in their breakout room unless approved by the IDC Committee. No students will be able to prepare in the main meeting room.
Teams that fail to arrive 5 minutes after the start of preparation time will be subject to immediate forfeiture unless the Convenor has received notification from schools on their lateness. Opposition teams in attendance will continue preparing and preparation time will not be extended.
Participants will remain on mute with their cameras on for the preparation time. Do not leave Zoom during preparation time. If you do, try to re-join by clicking “Breakout Rooms” on the bottom bar.
*If members are not located in the same classroom, teams are encouraged to use an alternate means of communication such as a group video call on a device outside of Zoom during this time.
Teams are permitted and encouraged to use online collaborative documents such as Google Docs to help construct their case and to share ideas with their teammates. However, students must exclusively write and read their speeches off paper notes i.e. no digital speeches e.g. on a personal or collaborative Word document will be accepted.
During the preparation time, communication is only allowed between team members of the same team, and the use of online resources is prohibited.
Adjudicators will be allocated to debate rooms during preparation and expected to cal the debate to order on Zoom when preparation ends.
During the Debate
Teams may only have their three speakers, an optional silent fourth speaker acting as team advisor present. Coaches and observers are not permitted to be in view of the camera or seen communicating with their teams before the conclusion of the debate. *This will be investigated as cheating.
Speakers must exclusively write and read their speeches off paper notes i.e. no digital speeches e.g. on a personal or collaborative Word documents will be accepted, including any documents from preparation time.
NB: Speakers in teams who are not in the same physical room may type using the Zoom messaging function to share rebuttals with their teammates. Only in this case may students type and are still required to handwrite typed content onto their paper i.e. speakers are not permitted to read rebuttals shared by online teammates directly off their computer screens.
*Debaters will be asked to hold up their papers to their adjudicators before their speaking time commences for checking.
*Paper speeches must be entirely handwritten. Students are not permitted to use paper with pre-printed elements e.g. scaffolding, or structural aids.
*Failure to present their handwritten speeches upon request will be reported to the CA team and may affect the outcome of the
debate.
All participants must have their cameras on, and microphone muted for the duration of the debate. Speakers and the adjudicator will unmute themselves when it is their turn to speak.
Speakers must inform their adjudicators as soon as technology or audio issues begin happening. If a speaker is unable to hear, students should speak up straightaway and NOT wait until after the speech has concluded.