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The Competition
Rounds
There are 5 rounds of debating for Years 7-10, and 4 rounds for Senior B-Grade & Senior A-Grade, plus three rounds of debates in the finals series. Debates are held on Tuesday nights for years 7-9, starting at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30pm. Year 10, Senior B-Grade & Senior A-Grade debate on Wednesday night, starting at 6:30 and 8:00pm.
Schools are divided into Zones according to their location and the number of teams entered. Sometimes it is necessary for a school to be entered into more than one zone to ensure teams from the same school do not debate against each other.
Each round takes place over 3 weeks. Zones One and Three run on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week, Zones Two and Four on the following week, and Catch-Up Nights on the Tuesday of the third week, for each round.
Evenings
Debates are held in classrooms at host schools throughout the competition. We hold up to 10 debates simultaneously at any venue. The evening is coordinated by the Zone Steward for the night, who will help direct teams to the relevant rooms, organise adjudicators, and generally ensure the night runs smoothly.
For each debate, the Affirmative team will need to provide the Chairperson, who introduces the teams, topics and speakers following a Chairperson’s Guide (provided in the Schools’ Programme). The Negative team provides a timekeeper with a bell and stopwatch.
Hosting
Hosting is a compulsory part of participation in the Schools’ Competition. However, schools may apply for an exemption if this is not possible (for example, for geographical reasons)
Host schools are required to open and set up as many classrooms as are required for debates and secret topic preparation. Host schools should also post adequate signage for visiting schools, directing them to the debating areas and Zone Steward station.
Host schools will be contacted by the relevant Zone Steward in the days leading up to any hosting to confirm how many rooms are required.
Host schools are also asked to provide a supper room with tea, coffee and cool drink.
Fees
Cost of entry is .00 per team entered. In addition, a bond of .00 per team is required. For each forfeit, .00 is deducted from that school’s bond.
For each postponement beyond 10% of the total number of debates scheduled for that school in the season, is deducted from the bond.
The bond is refunded to the schools at the end of the season, less any deductions for forfeits.
