How to Compete

About Parliamentary Debate

In American Parliamentary Debate (APDA), a two-member government team proposes a case that is not known to the opposition team beforehand. The government case must be a change from the status quo, and the opposition must argue against the government's proposal. Each side competes to support their own arguments and refute those of the opposing side through alternating speeches with no prep time in between. Analysis and rhetoric are both prized, while heavy reliance upon cited evidence is frowned upon. Debate on APDA is both accessible and fun; while cases are traditionally substantive and policy-oriented, teams have the opportunity to run interesting, lighthearted cases about any fair proposal. More on the rules and conventions for American Parliamentary debate can be found here. Furthermore, any debater serving their first year on the team is considered a "novice."

In British Parliamentary Debate (BP), four teams of two speakers each will argue for or against a motion set by the tournament. There are two teams (4 individuals) on the government side supporting the motion and two teams on the opposition arguing against it. British Parliamentary is unique in that the goal is to beat all other teams, including the other one on your side! On each side, an opening team is assigned to speak first, followed by the closing team, with speeches alternating between the government and opposition. Each debater has one speech in which emphasis is placed on analysis and big-picture framing rather than providing specific statistics and line-by-line responses. Motions are centered around topical current events or social issues and debaters typically have fifteen minutes before the debate begins to prepare their cases.

ATTENDING TOURNAMENTS

Most schools on APDA are on the East Coast, and as such, during a normal season, CDS flies to most of our tournaments. The 2020-2021 season will be mostly online. Team selections are dictated primarily by attendance, in addition to the number of years on the team and the number of tournaments attended. Anyone who attends practices and bids for tournaments regularly will be guaranteed the chance to compete at a national tournament.

In regular times, we typically fly out Friday morning and return Sunday morning. Airfare is paid for by the team, and tournaments provide lodging and three meals. Usually three rounds of debate occur on Friday evening, with two more in-rounds on Saturday morning followed by out-rounds. There's almost always a Chicago team to support in quarterfinals and beyond, but members are free to explore the city once their five in-rounds have concluded. We often grab a team dinner together Saturday night.