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Topics
The SADA communicates with interstate debating associations to set new and interesting topics. Topics are set by the SADA Topic Selection Committee which consists of the Schools’ Chief Administrator and two individuals appointed by the Executive. The Committee aims to set topics which are evenly balanced and expose students to a range of important and relevant issues and ideas in order to facilitate their academic development.
The SADA sets three types of topic:
- prepared topics, which are listed in the Competition Programme at the start of the season. These topics can be on any issue and are set to be appropriate for the particular Grade which has to debate them;
- current events topics, which are released to teams one week in advance of their debate and aim to cover current developments in Australia and the rest of the world. These topics aim to encourage students to engage with current affairs; and
- secret topics, which are released to teams one and a half hours before their debate. Teams must prepare their debate at the debating venue without the aid of research materials.
Junior and Intermediate B-Grades exclusively debate prepared topics. These are listed in the Competition Programme at the beginning of the season, giving inexperienced debaters ample time to prepare their speeches.
Intermediate A and Senior B-Grades debate a mixture of prepared, secret and current events topics. Intermediate A-Grade teams are permitted to have a coach assist them the preparation of their secret topic debate, Senior B-Grade teams are not. All Intermediate A-Grade finals are prepared topic debates, while Senior B-Grade finals are secret topic debates.
All debates for Senior A-Grade, including finals, are secret topic debates. Senior A-Grade teams are not permitted to have assistance from a coach when preparing their debate.
It must be remembered that debating is about setting aside one’s own personal beliefs, and constructing objective and logical arguments in an effective way.As the SADA is an educational organisation, we will always set topics which challenge students. Our programs aim to improve students’ ability to understand, discuss and present issues and ideas.
