THESE RULES HAVE BEEN
REVISED FOR THE 2010 COMPETITION!
THE UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION PURLEY (with SUTTON) AND
CROYDON BRANCHES, SCHOOLS DEBATING
COMPETITION RULES.
SUPPORTED BY
THE LEGAL AND GENERAL ASSURANCE COMPANY
1. Any school in South London, Surrey or
Sussex may enter.
2. A team will consist of two pupils and a
school may enter more than one team.
3. As this is a school competition, a school
need not keep the same team throughout the Competition, but, where schools
enter two teams there must be no interchanging, except with the agreement of
the Competition Supervisor.
4. The team will consist of a proposer
(opposer) and a seconder, and in the first and second rounds and third rounds
each will speak for a maximum of eight minutes. For the semi final and final
the time for each speech will be ten minutes. The summary in all rounds will be
five minutes. Speakers who fail to speak for 5O% of the allotted time will be
penalized up to 50% of the marks available in the main speeches or the summary.
It is normally expected that speakers will speak for at least 75% of the
maximum time given in both main speeches and summary.
As is traditional
the proposition will give the final summary.
5. Marks will be allocated on the following
basis, with a maximum of 1OO marks per team plus 5 bonus marks available under
rule 5B and 10 under rule 5C.
(A)MANNER AND
PRESENTATION.............................4O marks
Speeches
should not obviously be read out verbatim, and equally should not obviously be
recited from memory. Compact notes are preferred and the judges have the right
to examine anything not apparently in this format. Note will be taken of
clarity of utterance and eye-contact in particular. The use of humour is
encouraged, and will be rewarded accordingly.
(B)SUBJECT
MATTER......................................4O marks
Statements
of fact must be true, and expression of opinion must NOT be quoted as fact.
There should be evidence of serious study or first-hand observation, clear and logical
development of theme or argument and a proper conclusion. Note will be taken of
general interest value to audience. A limited amount of rebuttal should be
included by the second speaker on both sides. Full answering of
opponent's points should be saved for the summary. Evidence of exceptional
research can qualify for a bonus of up to 5 marks.
(C)TEAMWORK. A further bonus of up to 10 marks can be awarded.
(D)FINAL SPEECH
/SUMMARY...............................2O marks
Note
will be taken of proper answering of opponents' arguments from the team or from
the floor. Note will also be taken of effective summarising by each speaker of
his/her own team's arguments. New material must not be introduced at this stage
unless its use is essential in answering an opponent's point. The presentation
of the summary will form a part of the marking.
(6) The
competition will be run on a knockout basis. If there is a shortfall of first
round entries the second round grid will be topped up with the highest scoring
first round losers.
(7)
The
home school (top of each draw) is responsible for setting up the debate.
Schools are requested to ensure that debates are completed by the dates shown.
In the event of sickness, this should be reported to the judge-finder immediately
and a substitute speaker found where possible. Two points will be deducted from
any team failing to meet the due date in any round without acceptable reason.
(8)
The
home school chooses the topic, the opponents choose whether to propose or
oppose.
(9)
Notice
shall be given of the debate, its time, venue and topic at least SEVEN DAYS in
advance to enable provision of judges. Your assistance will make it possible to
provide three judges (minimum 2) for each debate.
GUIDELINES FOR JUDGES
1) This being essentially a schools'
competition for pupils in the 15-18 age range, judging should not be too severe
in the first round. Many of those taking part will not have debated before, and
this needs to be taken into account in the marking. Judges should, however, be
careful not to award "easy" bonus marks.
(2) Careful attention should be given to the
summaries to ensure that they properly reflect the flow of the debate.
Inadequate rebuttal / summing up and / or the introduction of new material
should be penalized.
(3) Examination of notes should be made only
where judges are reasonably certain that an infringement of Rule 5A has
occurred. Marks under 5A should be
awarded for the following:
(a)
Clarity of utterance, (b) Good eye-contact, (c) Use of gesture and
body-language, (d) Use of pauses, (e) Use of humour where appropriate (f)
Overall impression created and general level of interest maintained.
(4) (a) It is suggested that each team's first
two speeches should be given a straight mark out of 40, allocated in the
proportions shown in rules 5A and 5B. Marks should be awarded for teamwork only
if the two members of the team have clearly dovetailed their speeches to avoid
repetition. The research bonus should only be awarded for exceptional quality
but can be used for differentiating between two otherwise equal teams. Second
speakers are expected to give a limited rebuttal of opponents’ points in their
main speech. Most of this should be saved for the summary.
(b)
Marks allocated should be announced with the result.
(5) The Competition is intended to teach.
Although it is suggested that individual speakers are not singled out for
criticism during the public adjudication, it can obviously be very difficult to
avoid this, where, say, one speaker is clearly a weak link. Judges are asked to
be as helpful as possible in giving constructive advice and should seek to talk
briefly to speakers after the debate.
(6) It is intended that there should be three
judges at each debate, The minimum number being two.
(7) As a guide to marking, a team classed as
above average should receive 75 marks or over, as average 65 -74 marks, as
below average 50-64 marks.
The marking grid
for judges is shown below:
LJK/UNA/2010.
THESE
RULES HAVE BEEN REVISED FOR THE 2010 COMPETITION!
