As we enter the 2024-2025 academic year, we are elated to announce that the Senior Schools Debating Championships (SDC) is returning on 12-13 October, 2024. Senior SDC has traditionally been the training ground for our representative teams, in preparation for the Team Trials held in late October, and is a great opportunity for debaters to test their mettle in one of the biggest WSDC- style inter-school debate competitions in Hong Kong. Adding to the excitement, Senior SDC will be hosted in person at Wah Yan College, Hong Kong for the first time.
Important information regarding the tournament and registration can be found below:
Team Registration Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduiz3Iihi8Dk4c1g1kseteZfqFNMnEiRJjtWr5ehNaWfpeHQ/viewform?usp=sharing
Registration deadline: 20 September, 2024
Date: 12 October 8am-6:30pm (preliminary rounds); 13 October 9am-5pm (break rounds).
Venue: Wah Yan College, Hong Kong
Cost: HKD500 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 team must be accompanied by a second adjudicator.
Team cap: 30 teams.
Format: WSDC – 8-minute main speech with points of information, 4-minute replies.
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); Top 8 teams break to quarter-final. Priority for second teams will go to previously underrepresented schools.
(Tentative) Schedule:
Day 1
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
09:15 – 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 if your team is given a spot in the tournament.
For more information and any inquiries, please contact us at info@hkdsc.org. We look forward to seeing your teams and judges at SDC 2024!