The AUE Hewar Debate Tournament is a two-day event, conducted in English and held on the premises of the American University in the Emirates in the Academic City, Dubai, UAE.
The AUE Debate Tournament Debate consists of five rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.
The British Parliamentary Debate rules apply in all rounds. According to the British Parliamentary Debate four teams of two persons each engage one another through a series of seven-minute speeches. The two sides in the debate are Government and Opposition, each of which is represented by two teams. The four teams (of two speakers) are called Opening Government, Closing Government, Opening Opposition, and Closing Opposition.
All participating Universities must provide a judge for every two teams participating. Ergo if an Institution would like to bring two teams then one judge from the particular institution has to participate as well. However, for universities from abroad a special permission may be granted for less than the required number of judges subject to availability of judges. (All participating Universities are encouraged to register more judges than the ones required as the Tournament will provide them with valuable experience. All judges will receive a certificate of participation)
In the interest of transparency all teams should choose a name (with no indication of country of origin or university they attend) and refrain from giving any other details other than their first names to adjudicators. Their full names and the University they attend will be known only to the Tab Room personnel. The tab room will be accessible only to the Tab master and his/her assistants.
Each team’s position in the debate is drawn at random just before the debate begins as regards the first round but then they are placed according to their ranking (power pairing). Teams shall not compete against each other more than once in the first five rounds except if the number of the participating teams is such that a second time cannot be avoided. They have 25 minutes to prepare in the first five rounds and thirty minutes as regards quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals; in this time, they decide which team member speaks first and which second.
Organizers will make an effort to create a panel of three adjudicators for every round. They will appoint a Chair, who is usually the most experienced one. Quarter-final, semi-finals and finals will have more than three adjudicators (for transparency purposes).
The chair sits in the middle with the other judges on his/ her right and left. Across from the judges’ panel is the speaker’s podium while the Government is on the left of the judges’ panel and the Opposition on its right facing each other. The Chair is the person referred to by debaters as Mr. or Madam Speaker. Her or his mission is to keep order, ensure that the speeches are timed, manage the panel, and fill out the paperwork that records the result. The Chair has the tiebreaking vote—if the panel is equally split, he or she decides the winner. Other adjudicators (the “wings”) help form the consensus on which the decision is made. If it comes to a vote, three wings can outvote the Chair. A decision must be reached in no more than 15 minutes.
Once the debate is over, the panel of judges will discuss the result and reach a decision. The Chair is required to give verbal feed-back on the debate (on the first three rounds), explaining the reasons for the panel’s decision and offering advice on areas in which the debaters can improve.
Adjudicators are free to give individual feedback after the announcement of which teams break, if they are asked by debaters.
To avoid bias, no coach of an institution involved in any debate or having any relationship with a debater in the room should judge the particular debate. If a debater or adjudicator feels there is a conflict, she/he is asked to report it and the organizers will switch adjudicators. Note for Adjudicators: If you are affiliated with a university other than the one you currently represent or if you have relatives that participate as debaters please indicate so when registering.
Timekeepers will keep the time, do the appropriate signals and indicate the protected minutes and the end of a speech. If a speech exceeds the limit by fifteen seconds the timekeeper will bang the table repeatedly until the speaker stops. Timekeepers exit the room when the debate ends and are not present during deliberations.
Before the start of the round, the Chair will consult the ballot so as to check that the teams are in the right room and the right position on the table. Each team will also indicate at this stage the order in which they intend to speak. The Chair will intervene if someone tries to offer a Point of Information in a speaker’s protected time or if a Point is offered legitimately but goes beyond 15 seconds. In these instances, the Chair can say “order” or “out of time” and signal to the offending party that he/she should sit down.
When a debate ends, the Chair will thank all the speakers and invite them to “cross the floor”—they are then welcomed to stand up, leave their seats, and shake hands with their opponents before exiting the room. Once the debaters have left, the process of deliberation begins. Regarding the first three rounds the debaters will wait outside until they are summoned back inside so as to get feedback.
The opening government’s definition of the motion must be fair to the competitors, be set in the present day (except if the motion itself specifies otherwise) and be set in a place appropriate to the topic.
Points of Information (POI) may be asked between the first-minute mark and the six-minute mark of a speech and should not exceed 15 seconds in length. Points of Information should only be directed to speakers on the other side of the table. To ask a Point of Information, a debater should stand, extending their right hand toward the member speaking.The debater may announce that he would like to ask a “Point of Information” or use other words to this effect, such as “on that point.” Any indication of his/her intended point is not allowed. The debater who is speaking may accept or decline to answer the Point of Information.
Debaters should attempt to answer at least one Point of Information during their speech and they should also offer Points of Information.(Adjudicators will note Points of Information and reward the ones asking challenging, interesting points as part of their overall assessment of the debate. Failure to engage is something that adjudicators look for. Adjudicators are given clear instructions to penalize speakers who fail to take at least one point in their speech.)
Judges need to record the debate by making sufficient notes to fulfill both of the adjudicator’s tasks: making a decision and justifying it. (Judges often disagree about who should win and sometimes about what was said in the room. Notes are a helpful guide through those issues, enabling adjudicators to reach a conclusion.)
Adjudicators will have to take a test and participate in a training session prior to the Debate tournament. Failure to do so will result in being expelled from the list of adjudicators.
The use of electronic devises is strictly forbidden during preparation time. The participants have the right to consult only personal notes or dictionaries. If they need further explanations, after the announcement of the motion, a member of the organizing team will be present at the student lounge and can offer clarifications. Invigilators will monitor preparation and any violators will be reported immediately to the organizing committee.
Members of the audience must enter the room before the start of the debate, and they are not allowed to leave before the end. During the debate they are not allowed to use any electronic devises to record or photograph the debate. They should refrain from doing anything that could distract the debaters such as talking or gesturing. (If they wish to take photographs of debaters they should ask permission from the Chair before the round starts so he/she can ask the debaters whether they object to this request. Failure to ask permission violates the debaters’ rights and cannot be tolerated)
The Tab results will be sent no later than two days after the end of the tournament along with the speaker points for every debater by e-mail to the head coach of each participating University and college.
All adjudicators must register every morning during the event, be punctual and avoid any contact with the teams during preparation time. Furthermore, apart from the first three rounds that have open adjudication, judges cannot give any indication of ranking if they are asked for individual feedback pertaining to Rounds IV and V.
All teams and adjudicators need to consult the wide screen in the student loungeand the judges’ room respectively as to which room they have been placed, then consult the map on their file if need be and proceed to the particular room so as not to delay the start of any round, in case you get lost ask one of the volunteers to direct you to the right place.
Round I, II and Round IV of the Debate tournaments are prepared. Motions for these rounds will be set by all the head coaches of the participating Universities no later than March 16th, 2020. As regards the motions for the impromptu rounds they will be selected from a list of motions a few minutes prior to each round. Head coaches are encouraged to submit a list of three motions. Every effort will be taken so every motion to be as specific and clear as possible in wording.
