2012 RULES for Busan Youth Debating Championship
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: OVERALL STRUCTURE…………………………………………………………….1
PART 1: Overall Debate Structure……………………………………………………………………..1
PART 2: Preliminary Rounds vs. Elimination Rounds and
Prepared Rounds vs. Impromptu Rounds………………………………………………3
CHAPTER 2: DEBATING…………………………………………………………………………….5
PART 1: Team Roles…………………………………………………………………………………………5
PART 2: Speaker Roles……………………………………………………………………………………..5
PART 3: Point of Information……………………………………………………………………………6
CHAPTER 3: ADJUDICATION……………………………………………………………………..7
PART 1: General Principles……………………………………………………………………………….7
PART 2: Basics of Adjudicators…………………………………………………………………………8
PART 3: Complaints about Adjudication……………………………………………...................11
CHAPTER 4: MISCELLANEOUS: Medical Absence, etc. ………………………………12
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CHAPTER 1: OVERALL STRUCTURE
PART 1: Overall Debate Structure
1. The Busan Youth Debating Championship shall follow the 3-on-3 Asian
Parliamentary debating style.
2. Each debating match will consist of two teams of three students each; one team
will represent the government/proposition side and support the motion being
debated and the other team will represent the opposition side and oppose the
motion.
3. The speakers’ order and roles are stipulated as follows:
Order
Contents
Time (42minutes)
Definition of Motion,
Prime Minister
Outline of Government’s Case,
6 minutes
(1st Proposition Speaker)
Constructive Argument 1
(Optional) Definition Challenge,
Leader of Opposition
Rebuts to Constructive Argument 1,
(1st Opposition Speaker)
Outline of Opposition’s Case,
6 minutes
Constructive Argument 2
Deputy Prime Minister
(2
nd
Proposition Speaker)
Rebuts to Constructive Argument 2,
6 minutes
Constructive Argument 3
Deputy Leader of Opposition
Rebuts to Constructive Argument 3,
(2nd Opposition Speaker)
Constructive Argument 4
Government Whip
Analysis of Clashes,
(3rd Proposition Speaker)
Rebuts to Constructive Arguments 2 & 4
Opposition Whip
Analysis of Clashes,
(3rd Opposition Speaker)
Rebuts to Constructive Arguments 1 & 3
6 minutes
6 minutes
6 minutes
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Summary of Debate
Opposition Reply
(Reply Speeches must be given by either
3 minutes
the 1st or 2nd Opposition Speaker)
Summary of Debate
Government Reply
(Reply Speeches must be given by either
3 minutes
the 1st or 2nd Proposition Speaker)
4. Speakers holding the floor are expected to speak for 6 minutes, with an
additional grace period of up to 30 additional seconds.
5. Each debate shall be judged by an odd number of Adjudicators.
(1) Preliminary rounds, Octo-Finals, and Quarter-Finals shall be judged by a single
Adjudicator.
(2) Semi-Finals and Grand Finals shall be judged by a panel of Adjudicators.
6. Each speech shall be timed by a timekeeper. Timekeepers shall:
(1) Accurately record the time of each speech and report that time to the
Adjudicator(s).
(2) Rap one time at 1 minute and one time at 5 minutes, to signify the start and
end time for POIs, respectively.
Note 1: See Chapter 2, Part 4 for POIs.
(3) Rap two times at 6 minutes to signify the time limit.
(4) Repeat rapping at 6’30’’ until the speaker ends one’s speech if a speaker has
gone overtime.
7. Some rules to remember:
(1) Except single-function digital stopwatches, it is not allowed to bring in the
chamber electronic devices such as phone, computer, dictionary or internetaccessing device(s).
Note 1: See Part 2 for more details about belongings which may be brought
in the chamber.
(2) When preparation begins, debaters should prepare on their own and no one
is allowed to help them.
(3) Timing is strictly controlled. Participants are required to attend at designated
times and participate in all of the scheduled events of the tournament.
(4) Adjudicator’s decision is final.
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Note 1: See Chapter 3, Part 2 for Adjudication.
(5) Debaters shall follow runners’ direction accordingly during the championship.
 Any violations of above rules, in whole or in part, shall be deemed as cheating
and the team may result in losing its eligibility to compete further in the
tournament.
PART 2: Preliminary Rounds vs. Elimination Rounds and Prepared Rounds vs.
Impromptu Rounds
1. Preliminary Rounds vs. Elimination Rounds
Preliminary Rounds
Round 1
Impromptu Round
30 min. (preparation) + 42 min.
Round 2
Prepared Round
42 min.
Round 3
Impromptu Round
30 min. (preparation )+ 42 min.
Round 4
Prepared Round(Silent)
42min.
Based on win/loss record
and speaker points
Elimination Rounds
Octo-Finals
Impromptu Round
30 min .(preparation) + 42 min.
Quarter-Finals
Prepared Round
42 min.
Semi-Finals
Impromptu Round
30 min. (preparation) + 42 min.
Grand Finals
Prepared Round
42min.
2. Prepared Rounds
(1) Motions for prepared rounds will be announced on the website one month in
advance of the Championship.
(2) No preparation time shall be given prior to the debate in a prepared round.
(3) During Prepared Rounds, Debaters may bring into the Chamber:
Pens/pencils/highlighters, new paper-pads/post-its/study-cards, one bound
dictionary, one almanac, single-function digital stopwatches and speech note
and prepped materials.
3. Impromptu Rounds
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(1) 3 motions shall be announced.
(2) 30 minutes of preparation time shall be given immediately after the release of
3 motions.
(3) During
Impromptu
Rounds,
Debaters
may
bring
into
the
Chamber:
Pens/pencils/highlighters, New paper-pads/post-its/study-cards, one bound
dictionary, one almanac, and single-function digital stopwatches
(4) Speech note and prepped materials, any other bound, published books,
magazines, case files, photocopies and/or any other forms of reference
materials are not allowed to be brought into the chamber.
4. In Silent Rounds, there will be no oral adjudication and adjudicator’s decisions are
to be kept secret.
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CHAPTER 2: DEBATING
PART 1: Team Roles
Proposition (Government)
Opposition

Support the motion

Go against the motion

Give a Definition

(Optional) Give Definition Challenge

Offer constructive arguments supporting

Offer constructive arguments negating the
the motion

motion
Rebut to Opposition’s Arguments

Rebut to Proposition’s Arguments
PART 2: Speaker Roles
1. Prime Minister (The 1st Proposition speaker) should:
(1) Set the Definition – Clearly define the motion
(2) Outline Government’s case(1st & 2nd Government speakers’ arguments)
(3) Develop 1st Constructive Argument – Analyze and elaborate
2. Leader of Opposition (The 1st Opposition speaker) should:
(1) Accept or Reject the definition
(2) Rebut the Prime Minister’s argument
(4) Outline Opposition’s case (1st & 2nd Opposition speakers’ arguments)
(3) Develop 2nd Constructive Argument – Analyze and elaborate
3. Deputy Prime Minister (The 2nd Proposition speaker) should:
(1) Rebut the Leader of Opposition’s arguments and defend Government’s case
(2) Present and Develop 3rd argument – analyze and elaborate
4. Deputy Leader of Opposition (The 2nd Opposition speaker) should:
(1) Rebut the Deputy Prime Minister’s arguments and defend Opposition’s case
(2) Present and Develop 4th argument – analyze and elaborate
5. Government Whip (The 3rd Proposition speaker) should:
(1) Rebut all the remaining points of the Opposition
(2) Analyze the CLASHES and MAIN ISSUE of the debate
(3) Cannot introduce any new constructive arguments in his/her speech, but
evidence to support a previously introduced argument is allowed
(4) If the Proposition Whip is to present part of propositions case, then this must
have been outlined by the Prime Minister’s speech
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6. Opposition Whip (The 3rd Opposition speaker) should:
(1) Rebut all the remaining points of the Opposition
(2) Analyze the CLASHES and MAIN ISSUE of the debate
(3) Cannot bring New Matter/New Argument because the Proposition team will
not have a proper opportunity to respond
7. Opposition Reply (The 1st or 2nd Opposition speaker) should:
(1) Given by the 1st or 2nd Opposition speaker, but not the whip
(2) Use past tense
(3) Summarize the entire debate
(4) Explain why one’s side won
(5) No New Matter/Arguments, examples of analysis
8. Proposition Reply (The 1st or 2nd Proposition speaker) should:
(1) Given by the 1st or 2nd Proposition speaker, not the whip
(2) Use past tense
(3) Summarize the entire debate
(4) Explain why one’s side won
(5) No new Matter/Arguments, examples of analysis
PART 3: Points of Information (POI)
(1) A POI is asked by an opposing team to correct or raise an important fact to a
speaker while that speaker is speaking.
(2) A POI must be relevant to what is being discussed by that debater.
(3) A POI may not be offered during the first and last minutes of substantive
speeches (Protected Time)
(4) POIs shall be less than 15 seconds long and a speaker shall wait for 20 seconds
before one stands up again.
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CHAPTER 3: ADJUDICATION
PART 1: General Principles
1. 3 Roles of Adjudicators are:
(1) Decide the winner
(2) Reason out the decision
(3) Provide constructive criticism for the teams
2. An Adjudicator:
(1) Is an average reasonable person
(2) Is a fairly logical person, and listens to reason
(3) Does not have a personal attachment to the motion
(4) Is politically correct – penalizes hate speech or any personal attacks by
debaters
3. An Adjudicator is prevented from judging debaters when the adjudicator has had
contact with debaters within the last 4 years. A Debater shall report to runner
immediately when the adjudicator who is assigned to his/her room has had
contact with him/her, such as:
(1) Teaching
(2) Coaching
(3) Tutoring
(4) Senior-Junior relationship
 Failure to report contact will be considered as cheating and may result in
losing one’s eligibility to compete further in the tournament.
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PART 2: Basics of Adjudication
1. Marking Guidelines
(1) Each substantive speech will be awarded out of 100 points based on Content,
Attitude, and Strategy.
(2) Reply speeches will be awarded out of 50 points based on the ratio of
scoring for a substantive speech mentioned above.
2. Marking Standards
(1) Substantive speeches (Out of 100 points)
Overall
Attitude
Content
Strategy
(100)
(40)
(40)
(20)
Exceptional
80
32
32
16
Excellent
76-79
31
31
15-16
Extremely Good
74-75
30
30
15
Very Good
71-73
29
29
14-15
Good
70
28
28
14
Satisfactory
67-69
27
27
13-14
Competent
65-66
26
26
13
Pass
61-64
25
25
12-13
Improvement Needed
60
24
24
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Standard
(2) Reply speeches (Out of 50 points)
Overall
Attitude
Content
Strategy
(50)
(20)
(20)
(10)
Exceptional
40
16
16
8
Excellent
36-39
15
15
7.5
Good
35
14
14
7
Pass to Satisfactory
31-34
13
13
6.5
Improvement Needed
30
12
12
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Standard
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3. Assessing Content, Attitude, and Strategy
Content : 40
Items
 Definition - set up of the
case, burden of proof
 Arguments & Rebuttals -
Attitude : 40
 Persuasiveness
 Clarity
Strategy : 20
 Organization of the
team’s case
 Effective use of Body
 Organization of
Key statement,
Language, Use of notes,
individual speeches
explanation, analogy,
Eye Contact
(Role fulfillment)
examples, evidences
 Responses of the team
 Response to POIs
to the dynamics of
debate
 Timing/Time allocation
Don’t
do
 Unfair Definition (Truism,

Offensive language/acts
Tautology, Time-set/

Spending most time
facts in the whip/reply
reading notes
speech
Place-set, Squirreling)
 The introduction of new
 Overtime of speeches
and POIs
(1) Content will be adjudicated from the perspective of its relevance, development
and substantiation of arguments and evidences used, and effective rebuttals
towards the opponents.
(a) Definition: The Definition is what a motion means. The Definition is delivered by the
Prime Minister in his opening remarks. The Definition should be reasonable and
display clear and logical links to the wording of the motion.
Unfair Definitions, such as the following, can be challenged by the Opposition team:
-
Truism: An argument that is considered to be true by the vast majority of people
so not debatable.
Ex. 1) The sun is rising in the East.
Ex. 2) The Nazis were wrong to executive millions of people.
-
Tautology: An argument that is true, given the framework supplied by the
Government.
Ex. 1) Women are better than men, with ‘better’ being defined as the
ability to bear children.
Ex. 2) Bill Clinton is the best Democratic president since 1981: Bill Clinton
is only Democratic president since 1981.

Truism and Tautology leave the Opposition no room for debate.
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-
Squirrel: An argument that has no logical link with the motion therefore, wholly
unreasonable.
-
Time/Place Set: An argument that is set in a limited time or location unfairly.
However the Government can bring the debate to a well-known issue which, in
effect, narrows the debate down to a region or country to be the center of the
debate.
(b) Definition Challenge: Only when the definition is unfair, can it come from the
Leader of the Opposition, not later. The Leader of the Opposition needs to point out
the unfairness from the government bench with supporting reason and provide an
alternative definition.
(c) Argument: Arguments are reasons or rationales as to why the team’s case is correct.
An Argument has a basic statement and it is followed by logical explanations, analysis,
and supporting evidence as to why the basic statement stands.
An argument is often concluded by linking back to the burden of proof or the basic
contention under the topic.
(d) Rebuttal: Rebuttals are given to criticize the arguments presented by the other team.
Good rebuttals will have basic statement, explanation, analysis and supporting
evidence. A team does not have to rebut each and every example introduced by the
other team. Instead of that, they should rebut the fundamental logic of the argument
or the case of the opposing team.
Note 1: Responses to an opponent’s Point of Information will be assessed in the
Content category.
(2) Attitude will be adjudicated by the appropriateness and effectiveness of the style
of delivery. Elements of style include, but not limited to, ability to persuade, voice
modulation, quality of language used, humor, wit, body language etc.
(a) Use of notes: The note should not be so detailed that the speaker spends
most of his/her time looking at the notes rather than making eye-contact with
the audience and the adjudicators.
(3) Strategy will be adjudicated from effectiveness of the arrangement and the
structure of the speech of the debater and the one of the case of a team as a
whole, Team’s and individuals’ dynamics during the debate, and teamwork.
Note 1: A speaker who fails to offer adequate POIs will be penalized in the Strategy
category.
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Note 2: Overtime of speeches and POIs will lead to deduction from strategy points.
PART 3: Complaints about Adjudication
1. The adjudicator’s decision is final.
2. Any complaint shall be forwarded to the Chief Adjudicator:
(a) Within 24 hours after the incident causing complaint
(b) In writing
(c) Not by parent(s), but by debater(s)
3. Upon receipt of a complaint according to Article 2, in the above, the Chief
Adjudicator shall determine:
(a) whether further investigation is required
(b) whether further action is required
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CHAPTER 4: MISCELLANEOUS: Medical Absence, etc.
1. Medical Absence: When a debater is unable to attend a round, the remaining
two debaters may continue the round.
(1) The absent debater’s speech will be marked as following:
Content 24, Method 24, Strategy 12.
(2) The substituting speaker will not earn any additional points for performing
his/her teammate’s role.
(3) A team can only invoke this rule ONCE with the approval of the Chief
Adjudicator’s Panel.
(4) If invoked during the Elimination Rounds, that team will be ranked for the
last round that they all debated together.
(5) If two members of a team are unable to attend a round, the team must
forfeit that round.
2. A team unable or unwilling to debate at the agreed time and place for the
debate automatically loses by default.
3. If a team has won by default during the Preliminary Rounds, their individual
speaker points for the other rounds are averaged to determine the points for the
round in which they had won by default.
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