As we enter the 2023-2024 academic year, we are elated to announce that the Senior Schools Debating Championships (SDC) is returning! Senior SDC has traditionally been the training ground for our representative teams, in preparation for the Team Trials held in late October. The motions will be selected by the HK team coaches Harish Natarajan and Jason Xiao, along with our excellent Adjudicator Core panel. Adding to the excitement, Senior SDC will be held in person this year for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With all this in mind, we look forward to your enthusiastic response!
Important information regarding the tournament and registration can be found below:
Team Registration Form: https://forms.gle/LiHHSkSfdKiDotTZ6
Registration deadline: 18 September, 23:59 (All times in UTC +8)
Date: 7 October 08:00-18:30 (preliminary rounds); 8 October 09:00-17:00 (break rounds).
Venue: Diocesan Boys’ School
Cost: HKD 400 per team
Eligibility: 3-5 members per team; Forms 4-6 / Years 10-13 / Grades 10-12.
Adjudicators: Each team must provide at least one adjudicator. A second adjudicator must accompany a second team. Teams unaccompanied by judges may be barred from debating or breaking on the days of the tournament.
Team cap: 24 teams. Top 8 teams break to Quarterfinals. Priority for second teams will go to previously underrepresented schools.
Format: WSDC – 8-minute main speech with points of information, 4-minute replies. R1 is fully prepared (given both sides and motion), R2-3 are semi-prepared (given motion only), R4 is impromptu (45 minutes prep time). QF is fully prepared (given motion, given sides after Day 1), SF and GF are impromptu (45 minutes prep time).
Draw: R1 random; R2-4 power-paired; QF-GF folded knockout draw.
Awards: Top Ten Speaker awards (debaters contesting 3 or more prelim debates are eligible).
Schedule:
Day 1: Saturday 7 Oct
08:00 – 08:15: Registration and roll-call
08:15 – 08:45: Tournament briefing
08:45 – 10:25: Round 1 prepared debate + feedback
10:25 – 10:40: Break
10:40 – 10:55: Prep time for round 2 semi-prepared debate
10:55 – 12:35: Round 2 semi-prepared debate + feedback
12:35 – 13:15: Lunch break
13:15 – 13:30: Prep time for round 3 semi-prepared debate
13:30 – 15:10: Round 3 semi-prepared debate + feedback
15:10 – 15:25: Break
15:25 – 16:10: Prep time for round 4 impromptu debate
16:10 – 17:40: Round 4 impromptu debate (silent round)
17:40 – 18:00: Tabulation of results
18:00 – 18:30: Break announcement, prizes for top speakers
Day 2: Sunday 8 Oct
09:00 – 09:30: Registration and roll-call
09:30 – 11:00: Quarter-final prepared debate
11:00 – 11:30: Announcement of QF results and feedback
11:30 – 12:15: Prep time for Semi-final impromptu debate
12:15 – 13:45: Semi-final impromptu debate
13:45 – 14:15: Announcement of SF results and feedback
14:15 – 15:00: Prep time for Grand-final impromptu debate
15:00 – 16:30: Grand-final impromptu debate
16:30 – 17:00: Announcement of GF result and prize presentation
Please note that the schedule for the tournament is tentative and subject to change depending on the final team cap. Motions for fully prepared and semi-prepared rounds will be sent 2 to 3 weeks before the tournament dates.
For more information and any inquiries, please contact us at info@hkdsc.org. We look forward to seeing your teams and judges at SDC 2023!