Introduction

Approach

The debate tournament is the central feature of the program.

While it is our hope that every member student will excel in debate and speech, it is also our hope that every institutional member will hold events to give students continuous opportunities to develop their skills.  In order to assist you to host such opportunities this guide is designed to show you just how easy holding a tournament can be.

Remember that, like many activities in our program, holding a tournament is a team event.

 The more players on your team, the easier the organization of the tournament will be.  If you have a small club, you might consider combining your efforts with another school in your region.  However, small but highly organized and motivated clubs of even eight members have held highly successful tournaments even beyond the regional level.

There are some considerations that you should note in advance.

You should assess the accessibility of your labor pool, the physical constraints of your venue, and the type of tournament you wish to hold.  Format can be an important consideration.  Parliamentary tournaments are typically hardest to run since rounds do not end at the same time and “Speakers of the House” or Chair people must be carefully selected and trained.  Impromptu tournaments are easiest to run because of their informal atmosphere. Cross-examination and Discussion tournaments fall in between and are the core activities that develop debater’s skills.  A large tournament is a bigger logistics problem than a smaller one and Provincial tournaments, while quite prestigious, can be organizational challenges.  So consider carefully.