‘‘Canadian Nat ional Debat ing Format ’’
1 . St yle
This is t he new st yle of debat e t o be used at t he Nat ional Debat ing Championships.
Individual provinces are st rongly encouraged, but not required, t o implement t his st yle at
t heir qualif ying event s. It is in some ways a cross bet ween Parliament ary Debat ing and
World’s St yle Debat ing.
2 . Teams
Each t eam consist s of t wo people, and t he t eams are called t he ‘‘Proposit ion’’ and
‘‘Opposit ion’’.
Individual speakers are ref erred t o as it s First and Second Speakers.
3 . Topics
Topics are t o be on subst ant ive issues. All mot ions will st art wit h ‘‘This House ...’’. No
squirreling is permit t ed.
4 . The speaking order is as f ollows:
First Proposit ion Speaker - Const ruct ive Speech 8 minut es
First Opposit ion Speaker - Const ruct ive Speech 8 minut es
Second Proposit ion Speaker - Const ruct ive Speech 8 minut es
Second Opposit ion Speaker - Const ruct ive Speech 8 minut es
First Opposit ion Speaker - Summary/ Rebut t al 4 minut es
First Proposit ion Speaker - Summary/ Rebut t al 4 minut es
5 . Descript ion of Const ruct ive Speeches
( a) The f irst proposit ion speaker has t o def ine t he t erms, est ablish t he caseline and
give t he case division ( who covers what point s) . This speaker will normally have t wo or
t hree
const ruct ive argument s. The f irst speaker must m ake t he t eam’s approach cryst al clear.
( b) The f irst opposit ion speaker must clash wit h t he point s just made by t he f irst
proposit ion and advance t he caseline, case division and normally t he f irst t wo argument s
of t he
opposit ion side. In World’s St yle, t his division is usually 2 minut es and 6 minut es,
alt hough f or our
purposes t hese are just guidelines. The debat er should be evaluat ed on t he overall
ef f ect iveness of t he speech. Const ruct ive argument at ion or ref ut at ion may be done
f irst , and once again, t he judges will consider t he ef f ect iveness of t he st rat egy chosen.
( c) The second proposit ion speaker has t o clash wit h t he case present ed by t he f irst
opposit ion
speaker, and should advance one or t wo more const ruct ive argument s f or t he
proposit ion. The speaker should also t ake t ime t o rebuild t he proposit ion case. The
argument s must have been announced in t he f irst proposit ion speech.
( d) The second opposit ion speaker should also int roduce one or t wo const ruct ive
argument s. These new argument s must have been announced in t he f irst opposit ion
speech. This speaker should also t ake t ime t o clash wit h t he new const ruct ive mat t er
present ed by t he second proposit ion, and summarize t he opposit ion case present ed.
He/ she should NOT engage in an overall summary / rebut t al of t he debat e.
6 . Summary / Rebut t al Speeches
The f irst speaker on each side, st art ing wit h t he Opposit ion, will deliver a f our minut e
summary/ rebut t al speech. It was decided t hat t here would be no set f ormat f or t his
speech, given t he variet y of valid st rat egies and t echniques used. In general, speakers
should at t empt t o summarize t he key t hemes or ideas t hat have t aken place in t he
debat e. This speech t ries t o put t he debat e in cont ext and explain t he ‘crux’, or t he
int ernal logic of bot h cases and explains why, on t his basis, his/ her t eam has t o win. It
can examine and summarize t he argument s present ed, but should f ocus on t he major
areas of cont ent ion t hat evolved during t he round. This is t he f inal opport unit y f or a
t eam t o convince t he judge why his/ her t eam has won t he round. During t hose speeches
no new const ruct ive argument s may be int roduced except by t he proposit ion debat er
who is exercising his/ her right t o reply t o new argument s t endered during t he f inal
Opposit ion const ruct ive speech. he/ she can not int roduce new lines of reasoning. The
count er argument at ion and count er example ( or even count er illust rat ion) must be in
' close and direct ' opposit ion t o t he opposit ion point s.
7 . Point s of Inf ormat ion
Point s of Inf ormat ion, also known as POIs f or short , are used in Worlds St yle, plus a
variet y of ot her debat ing f orums. Essent ially, a POI is a quest ion or st at ement t hat one
makes while someone is giving a speech as a means of gaining a t act ical advant age.
It is expect ed t hat every speaker of f er and accept POIs during t he round. POIs are only
allowed during t he const ruct ive speeches, but not during t he f irst and last minut es of
t hese speeches ( called ‘‘prot ect ed t ime’’ ) . During t he round, t he moderat or will bang
t he desk af t er one minut e has elapsed t o signal t hat POIs are now allowed, and again
wit h one minut e remaining in a speech, t o signal t hat t ime is once again prot ect ed.
Point s of inf ormat ion should be short and t o t he point .
To of f er a Point of Inf ormat ion, a debat er may st and silent ly, possibly ext ending an arm.
A debat er may also simply say ‘‘on a point of inf ormat ion’’, or ‘‘on t hat point ’’. The
speaker has cont rol over whet her t o accept t he point . One may not cont inue wit h t heir
point of inf ormat ion unless t he f loor is yielded by t he speaker. The speaker may do one
of several t hings:
a) Reject t he point brief ly, perhaps by saying somet hing like ‘‘no t hank you’’ or ‘‘not at
t his t ime’’. The debat er who st ood on t he point will sit down. It is also accept able f or a
debat er t o polit ely wave down t he speaker wit hout verbally reject ing it and disrupt ing
his/ her speech.
b) Accept t he point , allow t he point of inf ormat ion t o be asked, and t hen proceed t o
address t he point . A speaker may address t he point brief ly and move on, choose t o
merge an answer int o what t hey were going t o say, or st at e t hat t hey will deal wit h t his
lat er on ( in which case be sure you do!)
c) Say somet hing like ‘‘just a second’’, or ‘‘when I f inish t his point ’’, and t hen yield t he
f loor when t hey have f inished t heir sent ence or t hought .
It is expect ed t hat each debat er will accept at least t wo POI’s during his/ her remarks.
Each debat er on t he opposing t eam should of f er, at least , t wo POI' s t o t he debat er
delivering t he speech. Adjudicat ors are inst ruct ed t o penalize t eams if t he lower lim it s
are not at t ained! How well a debat er handles t hemselves in t he rough and t umble of
of f ering and accept ing POI’s is key in t his st yle of debat e.
8 . Evaluat ion
The ballot f or t his st yle of debat e cont ains t he f ollowing crit eria: Cont ent , St yle &
St rat egy. While point s of inf ormat ion do not get marks on t heir own, t hey are weight ed,
perhaps signif icant ly, in a judge’s decision. Judges are encouraged t o score holist ically
and award a f inal score t hat makes sense in bot h absolut e and relat ive t erms. The winloss is crit ical, and judges must weigh t his very caref ully in t heir adjudicat ion. For more
det ails, see t he adjudicat or guide.
9 . St andings
The st andings are based primarily on win-loss. More det ails are available in t he
Const it ut ion.
1 0 . Ot her Point s
Point s of clarif icat ion, order, point s of personal privilege and heckling are all prohibit ed.