Structure
of the Debate

The Caliphate Debate, made up of 8 teams and comprising of 16 speakers is structured into rounds, and each round lasts approximately one hour. Each round of the debate is presided over by an adjudicating panel, consisting the chief adjudicator, the tabmaster, the time keeper and other officials. The 8 teams will participate in 9 qualifying rounds to enable 4 teams advance to the finals. In each round of the debate, 4 teams compete with a continuous permutation such that each team gets to speak from all sides of the bench, as well as meet every other team in subsequent rounds. In every round, 2 teams represent the government bench, while the other 2 teams represent the opposition bench. For each round of the debate, a specific motion is allocated. These motions are announced to all participants 15 minutes before the round begins. Teams may only prepare in their teams – i.e. the two speakers in a team may only confer with each other while preparing. Teams may not use any devices or equipments to aid them in their preparation, with the exception of stopwatches. Read more