Constitution of the International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking League
Last Revised: February 16, 2022
1) Membership
1.1) Member schools are listed the Appendix A.
1.1a) Schools eligible for membership are:
1.1c) The executive must formally invite new schools to be members from the existing waitlist. Each year, the waitlist will be reviewed at the AGM and the executive will communicate with schools as necessary.
1.1d) Any additional schools invited by the host school do not automatically become members after having attended only one tournament without having first gone through the waitlist process. See Appendix B for the schedule of past and future hosts.
1.1e) Schools who do not attend three tournament of the past five years will automatically lose their membership standing and will need to reapply through the waitlist process.
1.2) Voting members are those members attending the Annual General Meeting. One vote per voting member school shall be cast on any issue. The vote can only be cast by the designated adult delegate of a school, which is attending the tournament.
1.3) There shall be one meeting of members each year, held at the Annual Tournament, for the purpose of electing members of the Executive Committee, receiving the report of the Treasurer, considering changes to the Constitution and dealing with such other business as the members may choose to consider.
2) The Executive Committee
2.1) The Executive Committee shall consist of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer, to be elected for three-year terms, subject to re-election at the Annual General Meeting of the League. Executive Committee Members may serve two further terms of three years each if re-elected; a maximum of nine consecutive years is permitted before a Member becomes ineligible to stand, the period of ineligibility being one year.
2.2) The organizer of the next annual tournament and the past president shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
2.3) The members of the Executive Committee shall perform such duties as are customarily associated with their positions; the general responsibility of the Executive shall be to act as a steering committee of the League between annual tournaments, to undertake pre-tournament visits if necessary, and particularly to administer the League's finances; to arrange for the hosting of the annual tournament and to discuss the tournament arrangements with the host school; to interpret the provisions of the Constitution between annual tournaments and during each tournament and to propose revisions to the same as may seem necessary from time to time.
2.4) The Executive Committee may, with the agreement of the tournament organizer, modify the scoresheets and categories on the scoresheets in any way which does not radically alter the event. They may also add events or drop events which do not have sufficient participants.
3) The Annual Tournament
3.1) The Annual Tournament of the League shall be held in the fall of each year, at a date arranged by the host school in conjunction with the executive.
3.2) The selection from amongst competing bids shall be made at the Annual General Meeting or, if no decision is made at the General Meeting, by the executive. The location of the Tournament shall move amongst the various geographical areas of Canada and the USA insofar as is possible, having regard for the geographical distribution and concentration of member schools.
3.3) The Rules and Procedures for the Annual Tournament and the Event Guidelines, appended hereto, form an integral part of this Constitution.
4) Fees
4.1) The registration fee for the tournament will be made up of the annual membership fee and the tournament fee.
4.2) The annual membership fee shall be set annually by the executive in consultation with the host school and shall be payable at registration prior to the commencement of each Annual Tournament. The fee is designed to cover the costs of running the League, to cover the cost of sending chaperones to accompany any students sent to international competitions from the IISPSL tournament.
4.3) Member schools who do not attend an annual tournament, must pay the annual membership fee to retain their membership status. Schools who do not pay the annual membership fee will lose their membership status and will need to reapply through the waitlist process.
4.4) The tournament fee shall be set annually by the host school in consultation with the executive. It is designed to cover the host school's expenses in hosting the event. A host school may elect to contribute additional funds.
4.5) A report of all receipts and disbursements for the preceding year shall be made by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.
4.6) In the event of the League's winding up its affairs, all funds shall be divided equally amongst the debating programs of the voting members of the League.
5) League Finances
5.1) The Executive determines how to spend the finances, and the records (emails, minutes, other documentation) of this decision-making must be kept and shared if requested by member schools.
5.2) League finances are used to fund the running of the League, this broadly includes funding:
5.3) The decision to spend League finances on travel must be confirmed by members of the Executive and be based on a proposed budget.
5.4) All travel expenses by the Executive including airfares, accommodation, food and other transport should be documented by receipts and which will be retained by the Treasurer.
6) Amendment
6.1) This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the voting members. There is no requirement for advance notice.
Events, Rules and Procedures for the Annual Tournament.
7) Notices, Deadlines and Participants
7.1) A preliminary notice of the annual tournament shall be sent to all member schools no later than 6 months prior to the date of the tournament.
7.2) By June of the calendar year of the tournament, the executive will post updated ballots, rules and judges’ guidelines to be used at the tournament.
7.3) The registration form shall establish a reasonable and absolute cut-off date or dates for the receipt of entries and for changes in categories entered. No switching of categories shall be permitted at the tournament.
7.4) A school should enter three competitors. If a school enters fewer than three competitors, it will not be eligible for any team or school awards. The host school may, in consultation with the executive, allow schools which are neither Canadian nor American to send more than three official competitors, although where numbers are appropriate, i.e. multiples of three students, they should be registered as two or more teams.
7.5) A host school may, in consultation with the Executive, allow non-member schools to attend. Non-member schools consist of students from schools that have not fulfilled the League member requirement. These non-member schools do not immediately become members of IISPSL on participation. None of these additional students (i.e. more than the three allowed) may come from existing IISPSL member schools.
7.6) The host school may permit swing debaters. These students are not eligible for any awards.
7.7) All teams must be accompanied throughout the tournament by an adult representative from their school.
7.8) The host school may enter the tournament.
7.9) The host school, based upon its capacity, and in consultation with the executive, may make a cap for attendance at their tournament based upon previous attendance and response by the deadline.
7.10) The previous year’s host schools may bring up to two teams of three students to the tournament immediately following its tournament.
8) Schedule
8.1) The schedule for the tournament shall be arranged by the host school in consultation with the executive.
8.2) The schedule should provide time for sightseeing, social activities and reasonable rest and bed-times for all.
9) Accommodation
9.1) The host school shall provide billeting for competitors to the extent of its resources for non-North American schools.
9.2) The host school shall not normally provide accommodation for coaches, but instead will block book motel or hotel rooms.
9.3) Any exceptions to normal billeting arrangements must be requested in advance of the date of the tournament.
10) Judging
10.1) The host school shall provide adult judges for all rounds, at least three per room for regular rounds and at least four coaches per room for final rounds.
10.2) There should be a coach judging in each room in the regular rounds. Coaches will normally be expected to judge in no more than one half of the regular rounds unless they need to judge more often to meet the requirement of one coach per room.
10.3) The judges for the final rounds will be coaches; ideally coaches are free to watch their own students competing in finals.
10.4) If there are grand finals, the judges for the grand finals should be coaches or other well-qualified individuals.
10.5) A coach shall not judge in any room in which his/her student is competing.
10.6) Judges and competitors shall be briefed in detail.
10.7) Conferral judging is required:
● At the end of each round, the speakers and moderator/timer will be asked to leave the room. At this point, judges will discuss the performances amongst themselves.
● After a period which should not exceed 5 minutes, the judges will independently fill out their ballots and assign speaker scores.
● The judges need not all agree on who has the won the round, but the purpose is to keep the scores for each student to a spread of 10 points (e.g. 82-92 or 85-95).
● The speakers will return to the room, and the judges may give oral comments if there is time. They will not indicate which individual has won.
● The lowest score in each event will not be dropped.
11) Scoring and Awards
11.1) The scoring shall be conducted according to the existing ballots and guidelines unless modified as described in article II.4 of the Constitution. During the tournament, the host school should ensure that tabs are saved to multiple locations (e.g. Dropbox, GoogleDocs, hardrives, etc).
11.2) The host school, in consultation with the executive, shall reject any ballots which are clearly unreasonable.
11.3) All ballots shall be kept securely during the tournament and shall not be available to the coaches until the conclusion of the tournament. Scores will not be revealed to competitors or coaches until the conclusion of the tournament.
11.4) The team score will consist of the sum of the scores of the three team members in the regular rounds only.
11.5) The student's overall ranking will be based on the students' scores in the regular rounds only.
11.6) Approximately the top ten percent of students in each event will advance to the final round in that event. The tournament organizer may increase or decrease the number of finalists in the events based on the number of students in the event and a natural break in the scores.
11.7) If the host school wishes to have one, there may be a grand final in some or all of the events. The top two to four students determined solely by the results in the final — will advance to the grand final in that event, if there is one.
11.8) The ranking in each event will be based solely on the scores in the grand final or, if there is no grand final in that event, on the final round. The scores from the preliminary rounds will have no effect on the ranking in any single event other than determining who gets into the finals and ranking those who did not get into the final.
11.9) The scores in the final and grand final rounds will have no effect on the overall ranking of students or schools.
11.10) The C.S.D.F. Trophy is to be awarded to the top Canadian school. The St. John's-Kilmarnock Trophy is to be awarded to the top American school. The Montreal Trophy is to be awarded to the top Canadian speaker. The St.Margaret's Trophy is to be awarded to the top competitor under the age of sixteen. The Balmoral Hall trophy is awarded to the top overseas speaker. The John Aimers trophy is awarded to the top American speaker. The St. John's-Ravenscourt Trophy is to be awarded to the top overseas school. The Ross Lambert Trophy is awarded to the top school overall and the LCC trophy to the second place school overall. The Phil Hansen Award is awarded annually to the student who in the eyes of the competitors has best represents the spirit of the IISPSC, the nominee was friendly, helpful and an overall team player as voted by the competitors. The host school should provide prizes for the top students in each event, the top students from each country, to the recipients of the named trophies and any special awards that might be appropriate. See Appendix C for the list of trophies and awards.
11.11) The top six Canadian competitors will be selected to compete in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, subject to the limitations listed in 11.13 and 11.14.
11.12) The top six American competitors will be selected to compete in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.
11.13) Only one competitor per school may be selected to attend the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.
11.14) No student may be selected to attend World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships if he or she has already attended that tournament due to being selected at an earlier IISPSL competition.
12) Chaperones
12.1) IISPSL will send a chaperone along with each group of students attending World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships. IISPSL will cover the transportation costs of the chaperone.
12.2) The tournament organizer will be given first refusal of the position of chaperone.
12.3) The duties of the chaperone to the students chosen to compete at the World Public Speaking and Debating Championships are:
a) Contact all the North American coaches/students travelling to the Worlds to ascertain their transportation plans in a timely fashion.
b) Try to have the students travel on your flights to and from the Tournament if possible, and if not possible, have parents approve the separate travel plans.
c) Advise and update the North American coaches/students and their parents as to travel arrangements, passports, visas, medical needs, and requirements for and during the Tournament.
d) Advise and update coaches/students as to the Rules for the various events at the Tournament.
e) Along with students’ coaches’, monitor the students’ behaviour, needs, whereabouts, and welfare before, during, and after the Tournament.
f) Provide any necessary coaching during the Tournament.
g) If agreed by the chaperone’s and competitor’s schools, the chaperone may agree to escort unaccompanied North American competitors. The chaperone or chaperone’s school has the right to refuse escorting unaccompanied competitors.
h) If the chaperone escorts unaccompanied North American competitors, their school and the competitor’s/s’ school/s must complete the necessary legal agreements pertaining to risk management that allow the chaperone to act in loco parentis in case of emergency and allows the student to cross borders with them. The chaperone has no financial responsibility for the travelling students.
i) Send the Tournament results to the coaches at the respective schools involved.
13) Events
13.1) The events and event guidelines may only be changed at the general meeting or as described in article II.4 of the Constitution
13.2) Each competitor shall compete in one event in each of three of the four categories listed below:
a) Category I: Impromptu Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking
b) Category II: Parliamentary Debate, News Podcast
c) Category III: After-Dinner Speaking, Persuasive Speaking
d) Category IV: Interpretive Reading, Drama, Cross-Examination Debating
13.3) In each event there shall be at least two rounds of preliminary competition and a final round.
14) Global Pandemic or Disaster
14.1) In the case of an epidemic, pandemic or disaster, the IISPSL executive board and the current tournament convenors may drastically adapt the tournament to make it possible to run either a physical tournament or a virtual event. Tournament organizers will try to keep the event as close as possible to the constitutional expectations of the IISPSL. If this unforeseeable disaster takes place, the adaptations made to the tournament will only apply for the duration of the pandemic or global disaster.
14.2) Changes may include but may not be limited to: capping or adapting number of competitors, choice of categories, structure of categories, method of presentation (eg: virtual – asynchronous), judging, creation and structure of ballots (virtual ballot may differ from approved physical ballot), registration process and deadline, fee structure, and any other significant changes that need to take place in order to assure the successful negotiation of the tournament.
14.3) All points listed in article 14 will begin retroactively on March 19, 2020 when an unforeseeable global pandemic occurred requiring drastic modification of the October 2020 IISPSC in avoidance of cancelling the event.
Appendix A – Membership List
1. Northfield Mount Hermon
Appendix B- List of Past and Future Hosts
Appendix C – List of Tournament Trophies
1. EVENT CATEGORY AWARDS
Impromptu Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Extemporaneous Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Parliamentary Debate
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Radio Newscast
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
After Dinner Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Persuasive Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Interpretive Reading
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Dramatic Interpretation
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Cross-Examination Debate
Second Place Team
Second Place Team
First Place Team
First Place Team
2. UNDER 16 SPEAKER AWARDS
Third place
Second Place
First Place & Winner of St. Margaret’s Trophy (for the Top Student Under 16):
3. PHIL HANSEN SPIRIT AWARD (plaque awarded for this)
Awarded to the student chosen by his or her peers as embodying the spirit of the event.
4. INDIVIDUAL OVERALL SPEAKER AWARDS
Winner of the John Aimers Trophy (for the top US individual):
Winner of the Balmoral Hall Trophy (for the top overseas individual):
Tenth place:
Ninth place:
Eighth place:
Seventh place:
Sixth place:
Fifth place:
Fourth place:
Third place:
Second place:
First place:
and
Winner of the Montreal Cup (for the top Individual Overall Canadian)
and
Winner of the Selwyn House Trophy (for the top Individual Overall Performance)
5. ASIAN-PACIFIC
Top Team
2nd Place Speaker
1st Place Speaker
6. SCHOOL TEAM AWARDS OVERSEAS
First Place - St. John’s-Ravenscourt Shield (for the top overseas team):
Second Place Overseas Team:
7. SCHOOL TEAM AWARDS From Canada & US
First Place - Winner of CSDF Trophy (for the top Canadian School team):
Second Place Canadian Team:
First Place – The St. John’s Kilmarnock Trophy (for the top USA school team):
Second Place U.S. Team:
Ross Lambert Trophy (for the top team overall):
8. WORLD QUALIFIERS
Canadian Team (6 ppl):
US Team (6 ppl):
Appendix D – Notes on Scoring For Judge Briefings
Ballots
Category Weighting – Just guidelines
Range of scores may be very different from the system used in your usual tournaments
Conferral Process
Guidelines and Rules for Events
1) General Information and Times Penalties
1.1) There will be a detailed briefing for the competitors at the start of annual competition. Debaters and coaches are also welcome to attend the briefings for judges.
1.2) Salutation is optional for any event other than parliamentary debating.
1.3) The tournament organizer, after consultation with the executive, may disqualify or penalize any competitors who, for any reason, do not follow the rules.
1.4) There are time penalties for going under the minimum time or over the maximum. A 15 or 30 second warning by the timer shall be given to indicate the lower or upper limit of all events. If competitors then are above the maximum or below the minimum time, the penalties in the rules will apply unless the organizer feels that there are reasons to waive the penalty.
1.5) Time penalties will be assessed by the tabulation room based on time sheets submitted by the timer in each room.
1.6) Students may not use at this competition the same speeches, readings or dramatic presentations that they presented at earlier national, international or world competitions.
1.7) Students must author their own speeches
1.8) Students usually present the same material in all rounds of a prepared event but it is also acceptable for them to present different material if they wish to. There is no additional credit given for using different material.
1.9) Students may not use material from other published or recorded sources in any medium verbatim or virtually verbatim without attribution
2) Impromptu Speaking
3) Extemporaneous Speaking
4) Parliamentary Debating
Prime Minister 5 minutes
First Opposition Speaker 8 minutes
Minister of the Crown 8 minutes
Leader of the Opposition 8 minutes
Prime Minister's Rebuttal 3 minutes
Note: 30 seconds grace will be allowed each debater, after which the Speaker shall terminate his speech. There is no minimum time for speeches, nor are there any time penalties.
5) News Podcast
6) After-Dinner Speaking
7) Persuasive Speaking
8) Interpretive Reading
9) Dramatic Interpretation
10) Cross-Examination Debating
International Independent Schools' Speech League Rules of Parliamentary Debate
1) The debate will be presided over by Mr or Madam Speaker.
2) The government team (the side in favour) shall sit on the right hand side of the Speaker. The Opposition (the side against) shall sit on the left.
3) The speaking order will be as follows: the Prime Minister, followed by the first Opposition member then the Minister of the Crown (second Government speaker) and followed by the Leader of the Opposition (second opposition speaker). Finally, the Prime Minister will deliver the Government rebuttal.
4) Maximum speaking times are 5 minutes for the Prime Minister's first speech, 8 minutes for the other speeches and 3 minutes for the Prime Minister's rebuttal. There are no minimum times.
5) During the rebuttal, members (debaters) may not bring up any new arguments or new evidence except in direct refutation of material which has already been presented.
6) All remarks must be addressed to the Speaker of the House and not to anyone else, e.g. say "Mr Speaker" not " Mr. Speaker, honourable judges". The member must address Mr Speaker in his/her first sentence.
7) Other members (debaters and members of the audience) should be referred to by name or their constituency (e.g. the member for their last name or their city), office (e.g. the prime minister) or as "The Honourable Member" or "The Honourable Gentlemen" or "The Honourable Lady". They may be referred to as "he" or "she" but never as "you".
8) Members will speak only when called upon by the Speaker, except for points of information.
9) Points of order are raised when the person speaking has broken the rules of the house. Typical reasons for points of order are going significantly overtime, failure to address Mr Speaker, addressing someone other than Mr Speaker (e.g. referring to your opponents as you), using inappropriate language or introducing new arguments in the rebuttal. Points of Order do NOT include the debater putting his hands in his pockets, not wearing a tie or jacket, speaking from somewhere other than his/her side of the House, or other trivial infractions of the rules.
10) Points of privilege are raised if a member has been misquoted, significantly misrepresented or personally insulted.
11) Points of order or points of privilege are raised while another member has the floor (i.e. is speaking). If a member wishes to raise a point of order or privilege, he/she should stand and say " Point of order, Mr Speaker" or "Point of Privilege, Mr Speaker". The person who was delivering his/her speech must stop talking and Mr Speaker will ask the member what the point is. The member raising the point should state it as briefly as possible. The Speaker will state Point noted, and the judges may take it into account if they feel it was a valid point. The time taken to raise a point is not included as part of the member's speaking time.
12) Points should neither be too frequent nor trivial.
13) Heckles are not allowed.
14) The government must define the resolution. Their definition must be accepted unless it is undebatable or unreasonable. The resolution must be interpreted in a reasonable manner that reflects the spirit of the resolution. If the Opposition wishes to challenge the definition they must do so prior to the start of the debate by appealing to the tournament organizer. The opposition must show that the government's definition is unacceptable. Definitions may not be challenged during the debate.
15) The government may introduce a plan for implementing the resolution if they wish to, but they are not required to do so. If they do propose a plan, they must fully explain it during the Prime Minister's speech.
16) If, and only if, the government introduces a plan, the opposition may introduce a counterplan, but it is not required to do so. A counterplan is an alternative method of implementing the resolution that is significantly different from the government plan and is demonstrably better than the government plan. If the opposition wants to introduce a counterplan, they must fully explain it during the address of their first speaker.
17) Props (e.g. drawings, models) may not be used.
18) Courtesy must be shown to all other members at all times.
19) Points of Information are allowed. A point of information is a single question, no more than 15 seconds in length. It may be a fact presented in the form of a question (e.g. how can you maintain that when 80% of people …). To raise a point of information the debater stands during an opponent’s speech and says “Point of information” or “On that point”. The person who is speaking has the option of accepting that point by saying “Yes” , accepting it but not right away by saying “In a moment” or declining it by saying “No thank you” or waving them down. If they accept it, the person who raised the point can ask one question and then sit down. The person speaking then deals with it as they see fit. The time taken for the question is part of the speaker’s speaking time. If the speaker declines the point, the person offering it sits down. Mr/Mdm Speaker is not involved in the process. Debaters should not accept more than 2 points during their speeches and do not have to accept any. Points of information may not be offered during the rebuttals or in the first or last minutes of the speech
International Independent Schools' Speech League Rules of Cross-Examination Debating
1. There are two two-person teams, designated respectively "Affirmative" and "Negative".
2. If there is a chairman, he or she will open the debate and call upon each speaker in turn. The chairman may be addressed in each speaker's opening salutation as "Mr." or "Madame Chairman:, but need not be addressed otherwise. No salutation is required, but it is customary for each speaker to begin each speech with some polite form of address such as "Mr. Chairman, honourable judges, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen", depending upon who is present in the room.
3. Speeches are addressed to an audience consisting of the judges and all other persons in the room. Other debaters are customarily referred to in the third person during speeches, either by name ("Sally Jones said in her constructive speech…") or by title ("The first negative speaker argued that…"). In cross-examination, debaters address each other directly ("Did you say…").
4. Each speaker delivers a constructive speech and cross-examines one member of the opposing team.
5. Following his/her constructive speech, each speaker must submit to cross-examination by the member of the opposing team who is not speaking next.
6. All speakers are allotted equal amounts of time for their constructive speeches and their cross-examination respectively.
Mechanics of Cross Examination DebatingConstructive SpeechesEach team must present its main lines of argument (its "case") and the principal evidence supporting each in the course of its two constructive speeches. The members of each team may divide between them the labour of presenting the case in any way they see fit. Any constructive speech (except the first affirmative) may also include explicit attacks upon the case of the opposing team and explicit replies to attacks made by their opponents.
Cross-ExaminationThe purpose of cross-examination is to allow each team the opportunity to elicit damaging admissions from its opponents regarding their case. These admissions may then be used against them in subsequent speeches. Each speaker seeks to elicit these admissions by asking questions of the opposing speaker whom he/she is assigned to cross-examine. The person being examined is required to respond to these questions in some way. Both questioner and respondent should avoid speeches. Questions may be based on statements made earlier in the debate which the questioner expects his/her partner to present, or on any topic, which the questioner thinks, may bring his/her side advantage, regardless of its apparent relevance to the debate. Questions may not, however, be personal ("Do you use drugs?"). The questioner may not demand simple "yes" or "no" answers. The subject has the right to explain any answer briefly, but is forbidden to stall or filibuster. If the respondent is answering at inordinate length, the questioner may interrupt (as courteously as possible) in order to continue the line of questioning.
RebuttalThe purpose of rebuttal speeches is to give both teams the opportunity to summarise their cases, defend them from attacks by opponents, and press attacks upon their opponents. New lines of argument may not be introduced in rebuttals. Exception: In the first affirmative rebuttal, which follows two successive negative speeches, the speaker may deal with new issues raised in either of these negative speeches, even if this requires a new line of argument. In general, the introduction of substantial items of new evidence should be avoided in rebuttals. Exception: If the second negative constructive or the first negative rebuttal speaker has demanded additional evidence on any point in the affirmative case, the first affirmative rebuttal speaker may respond accordingly.
Evidence Both teams are expected to support their major lines of argument with sufficient evidence to make them logically persuasive. Evidence may consist of facts, statistics, and/or authoritative opinions drawn from published or publicly accessible sources (not private conversations, personal letters, or similar sources). Debaters may assert that some facts are "general knowledge", but judges must decide for themselves what value, if any, to attribute to such assertions. Debaters should always be prepared to document the source of any evidence. It is customary, but not mandatory, to cite the source of most evidence when it is introduced in a speech. Evidence may never be fabricated or deliberately misrepresented. A debater who is shown to have done so may be disqualified from further competition.
Definitions It is the duty and privilege of the affirmative team to make clear at the beginning of the debate as precisely as possible how it construes the resolution. This may be done by defining each key term individually, by paraphrasing the resolution as a whole, and/or by presenting the plan by which the affirmative proposes to implement the resolution. In prepared cross-examination debates, definitions should embody the standard meanings of the terms of the resolution in contemporary public discourse. Creative, novel, or whimsical definitions are not appropriate. The affirmative must construe the resolution in such a way as to make it debatable. They may not construe it as a tautology or a truism. The negative may challenge the definitions offered by the affirmative only at the beginning of the first negative speech and only on the grounds that the definition does not meet the requirements set out in the previous rule. The judges must decide at the end of the debate whether such a challenge is warranted. Meanwhile, the negative may either attempt under protest to make its case under the definitions offered by the previous rule and make its case under them. If the negative does not challenge the definitions offered by the affirmative at the beginning of the first negative speech, it will be assumed to have accepted them.
Speaking TimesSpeaking times are 7 minutes for the constructive speeches, 3 minutes for each cross- examination and 4 minutes for each rebuttal. Each of the four speakers does a rebuttal, starting with the first negative. Each constructive speaker is granted a thirty second grace period to finish his/her speech after the allotted time has expired. Judges will disregard anything said after the grace period has ended. The cross-examiner must stop speaking as soon as the time allotted for cross-examination has expired. If a question has been asked but the time allotted expires before the respondent is able to answer it, the respondent may choose whether to answer it. If he or she chooses to answer, the answer may continue briefly beyond the time. Rebuttal speeches must end as soon as the allotted time for them has expired. There is no grace period. Judges will disregard anything said after time has expired.
Other Duties and Privileges of the Affirmative and Negative:
Affirmative: The affirmative has the burden of proof and the compensating privilege of presenting the opening and closing speeches. The affirmative is not required to offer a plan, but since it is required to show that the resolution is feasible and does not entail significant disadvantages, the affirmative usually chooses to offer a plan. That is; a reasonably detailed description of the way in which the resolution should be implemented as the most efficient and persuasive way to accomplish these tasks.
Negative: The negative enjoys the benefit of presumption. Therefore, debates in which the speaker scores produce a tie are awarded to the negative. Strictly speaking, the negative is not required to "make a case" in order to win, but may confine itself merely to attacks upon the affirmative case. In theory, the negative wins if it mounts a completely successful attack on one major element of the affirmative case. In practice, completely successful attacks are extremely rare. The negative may introduce a counterplan, an alternative proposal. A counterplan must solve the same problems, attain the same goals, or bring about the same advantages as the affirmative claims will be done by the resolution, but by means entirely different from those stated or implied in the resolution. If a counterplan is introduced, it must be in the first negative speech.
Other Matters • Speeches in cross-examination debates may not be interrupted. There are no points of order, personal privilege, or information. Heckling is prohibited.
• Violations of rules, misquotations of opponents, and similar matters may be called to the judges' attention in constructive or rebuttal speeches, or occasionally in cross-examination. Judges will rule on these matters at the end of the debate and should consider them as they decide the outcome of the debate. The chairman has no role in such rulings.
• If there is no chairman, the judge (or chief judge if there is more than one) will begin the debate by recognising the first affirmative speaker. Thereafter, debates should speak in turn without formal recognition.
• The team with the highest total number of speaker points must always be the team, which wins the debate. If the two teams; total number of speaker points are tied, the negative team must win.
Last Revised: February 16, 2022
1) Membership
1.1) Member schools are listed the Appendix A.
1.1a) Schools eligible for membership are:
- schools who have participated in three of the past five years
- North American schools, who have hosted in the past fifteen years or have confirmed the year to host or co-host
1.1c) The executive must formally invite new schools to be members from the existing waitlist. Each year, the waitlist will be reviewed at the AGM and the executive will communicate with schools as necessary.
1.1d) Any additional schools invited by the host school do not automatically become members after having attended only one tournament without having first gone through the waitlist process. See Appendix B for the schedule of past and future hosts.
1.1e) Schools who do not attend three tournament of the past five years will automatically lose their membership standing and will need to reapply through the waitlist process.
1.2) Voting members are those members attending the Annual General Meeting. One vote per voting member school shall be cast on any issue. The vote can only be cast by the designated adult delegate of a school, which is attending the tournament.
1.3) There shall be one meeting of members each year, held at the Annual Tournament, for the purpose of electing members of the Executive Committee, receiving the report of the Treasurer, considering changes to the Constitution and dealing with such other business as the members may choose to consider.
2) The Executive Committee
2.1) The Executive Committee shall consist of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer, to be elected for three-year terms, subject to re-election at the Annual General Meeting of the League. Executive Committee Members may serve two further terms of three years each if re-elected; a maximum of nine consecutive years is permitted before a Member becomes ineligible to stand, the period of ineligibility being one year.
2.2) The organizer of the next annual tournament and the past president shall be ex-officio members of the Executive Committee.
2.3) The members of the Executive Committee shall perform such duties as are customarily associated with their positions; the general responsibility of the Executive shall be to act as a steering committee of the League between annual tournaments, to undertake pre-tournament visits if necessary, and particularly to administer the League's finances; to arrange for the hosting of the annual tournament and to discuss the tournament arrangements with the host school; to interpret the provisions of the Constitution between annual tournaments and during each tournament and to propose revisions to the same as may seem necessary from time to time.
2.4) The Executive Committee may, with the agreement of the tournament organizer, modify the scoresheets and categories on the scoresheets in any way which does not radically alter the event. They may also add events or drop events which do not have sufficient participants.
3) The Annual Tournament
3.1) The Annual Tournament of the League shall be held in the fall of each year, at a date arranged by the host school in conjunction with the executive.
3.2) The selection from amongst competing bids shall be made at the Annual General Meeting or, if no decision is made at the General Meeting, by the executive. The location of the Tournament shall move amongst the various geographical areas of Canada and the USA insofar as is possible, having regard for the geographical distribution and concentration of member schools.
3.3) The Rules and Procedures for the Annual Tournament and the Event Guidelines, appended hereto, form an integral part of this Constitution.
4) Fees
4.1) The registration fee for the tournament will be made up of the annual membership fee and the tournament fee.
4.2) The annual membership fee shall be set annually by the executive in consultation with the host school and shall be payable at registration prior to the commencement of each Annual Tournament. The fee is designed to cover the costs of running the League, to cover the cost of sending chaperones to accompany any students sent to international competitions from the IISPSL tournament.
4.3) Member schools who do not attend an annual tournament, must pay the annual membership fee to retain their membership status. Schools who do not pay the annual membership fee will lose their membership status and will need to reapply through the waitlist process.
4.4) The tournament fee shall be set annually by the host school in consultation with the executive. It is designed to cover the host school's expenses in hosting the event. A host school may elect to contribute additional funds.
4.5) A report of all receipts and disbursements for the preceding year shall be made by the Treasurer at the Annual General Meeting.
4.6) In the event of the League's winding up its affairs, all funds shall be divided equally amongst the debating programs of the voting members of the League.
5) League Finances
5.1) The Executive determines how to spend the finances, and the records (emails, minutes, other documentation) of this decision-making must be kept and shared if requested by member schools.
5.2) League finances are used to fund the running of the League, this broadly includes funding:
- the repair or replacement of trophies and where relevant, their protective carry cases
- all or most of the costs of the chaperone/s sent to World’s
- pre-tournament visits by representatives of the Executive to assist future host schools
- any required Executive meetings
- other reasonable expenditure as determined by the Executive (e.g. other prizes, gifts, etc.)
5.3) The decision to spend League finances on travel must be confirmed by members of the Executive and be based on a proposed budget.
5.4) All travel expenses by the Executive including airfares, accommodation, food and other transport should be documented by receipts and which will be retained by the Treasurer.
6) Amendment
6.1) This constitution may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the voting members. There is no requirement for advance notice.
Events, Rules and Procedures for the Annual Tournament.
7) Notices, Deadlines and Participants
7.1) A preliminary notice of the annual tournament shall be sent to all member schools no later than 6 months prior to the date of the tournament.
7.2) By June of the calendar year of the tournament, the executive will post updated ballots, rules and judges’ guidelines to be used at the tournament.
7.3) The registration form shall establish a reasonable and absolute cut-off date or dates for the receipt of entries and for changes in categories entered. No switching of categories shall be permitted at the tournament.
7.4) A school should enter three competitors. If a school enters fewer than three competitors, it will not be eligible for any team or school awards. The host school may, in consultation with the executive, allow schools which are neither Canadian nor American to send more than three official competitors, although where numbers are appropriate, i.e. multiples of three students, they should be registered as two or more teams.
7.5) A host school may, in consultation with the Executive, allow non-member schools to attend. Non-member schools consist of students from schools that have not fulfilled the League member requirement. These non-member schools do not immediately become members of IISPSL on participation. None of these additional students (i.e. more than the three allowed) may come from existing IISPSL member schools.
7.6) The host school may permit swing debaters. These students are not eligible for any awards.
7.7) All teams must be accompanied throughout the tournament by an adult representative from their school.
7.8) The host school may enter the tournament.
7.9) The host school, based upon its capacity, and in consultation with the executive, may make a cap for attendance at their tournament based upon previous attendance and response by the deadline.
7.10) The previous year’s host schools may bring up to two teams of three students to the tournament immediately following its tournament.
8) Schedule
8.1) The schedule for the tournament shall be arranged by the host school in consultation with the executive.
8.2) The schedule should provide time for sightseeing, social activities and reasonable rest and bed-times for all.
9) Accommodation
9.1) The host school shall provide billeting for competitors to the extent of its resources for non-North American schools.
9.2) The host school shall not normally provide accommodation for coaches, but instead will block book motel or hotel rooms.
9.3) Any exceptions to normal billeting arrangements must be requested in advance of the date of the tournament.
10) Judging
10.1) The host school shall provide adult judges for all rounds, at least three per room for regular rounds and at least four coaches per room for final rounds.
10.2) There should be a coach judging in each room in the regular rounds. Coaches will normally be expected to judge in no more than one half of the regular rounds unless they need to judge more often to meet the requirement of one coach per room.
10.3) The judges for the final rounds will be coaches; ideally coaches are free to watch their own students competing in finals.
10.4) If there are grand finals, the judges for the grand finals should be coaches or other well-qualified individuals.
10.5) A coach shall not judge in any room in which his/her student is competing.
10.6) Judges and competitors shall be briefed in detail.
10.7) Conferral judging is required:
● At the end of each round, the speakers and moderator/timer will be asked to leave the room. At this point, judges will discuss the performances amongst themselves.
● After a period which should not exceed 5 minutes, the judges will independently fill out their ballots and assign speaker scores.
● The judges need not all agree on who has the won the round, but the purpose is to keep the scores for each student to a spread of 10 points (e.g. 82-92 or 85-95).
● The speakers will return to the room, and the judges may give oral comments if there is time. They will not indicate which individual has won.
● The lowest score in each event will not be dropped.
11) Scoring and Awards
11.1) The scoring shall be conducted according to the existing ballots and guidelines unless modified as described in article II.4 of the Constitution. During the tournament, the host school should ensure that tabs are saved to multiple locations (e.g. Dropbox, GoogleDocs, hardrives, etc).
11.2) The host school, in consultation with the executive, shall reject any ballots which are clearly unreasonable.
11.3) All ballots shall be kept securely during the tournament and shall not be available to the coaches until the conclusion of the tournament. Scores will not be revealed to competitors or coaches until the conclusion of the tournament.
11.4) The team score will consist of the sum of the scores of the three team members in the regular rounds only.
11.5) The student's overall ranking will be based on the students' scores in the regular rounds only.
11.6) Approximately the top ten percent of students in each event will advance to the final round in that event. The tournament organizer may increase or decrease the number of finalists in the events based on the number of students in the event and a natural break in the scores.
11.7) If the host school wishes to have one, there may be a grand final in some or all of the events. The top two to four students determined solely by the results in the final — will advance to the grand final in that event, if there is one.
11.8) The ranking in each event will be based solely on the scores in the grand final or, if there is no grand final in that event, on the final round. The scores from the preliminary rounds will have no effect on the ranking in any single event other than determining who gets into the finals and ranking those who did not get into the final.
11.9) The scores in the final and grand final rounds will have no effect on the overall ranking of students or schools.
11.10) The C.S.D.F. Trophy is to be awarded to the top Canadian school. The St. John's-Kilmarnock Trophy is to be awarded to the top American school. The Montreal Trophy is to be awarded to the top Canadian speaker. The St.Margaret's Trophy is to be awarded to the top competitor under the age of sixteen. The Balmoral Hall trophy is awarded to the top overseas speaker. The John Aimers trophy is awarded to the top American speaker. The St. John's-Ravenscourt Trophy is to be awarded to the top overseas school. The Ross Lambert Trophy is awarded to the top school overall and the LCC trophy to the second place school overall. The Phil Hansen Award is awarded annually to the student who in the eyes of the competitors has best represents the spirit of the IISPSC, the nominee was friendly, helpful and an overall team player as voted by the competitors. The host school should provide prizes for the top students in each event, the top students from each country, to the recipients of the named trophies and any special awards that might be appropriate. See Appendix C for the list of trophies and awards.
11.11) The top six Canadian competitors will be selected to compete in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, subject to the limitations listed in 11.13 and 11.14.
11.12) The top six American competitors will be selected to compete in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.
11.13) Only one competitor per school may be selected to attend the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships.
11.14) No student may be selected to attend World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships if he or she has already attended that tournament due to being selected at an earlier IISPSL competition.
12) Chaperones
12.1) IISPSL will send a chaperone along with each group of students attending World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships. IISPSL will cover the transportation costs of the chaperone.
12.2) The tournament organizer will be given first refusal of the position of chaperone.
12.3) The duties of the chaperone to the students chosen to compete at the World Public Speaking and Debating Championships are:
a) Contact all the North American coaches/students travelling to the Worlds to ascertain their transportation plans in a timely fashion.
b) Try to have the students travel on your flights to and from the Tournament if possible, and if not possible, have parents approve the separate travel plans.
c) Advise and update the North American coaches/students and their parents as to travel arrangements, passports, visas, medical needs, and requirements for and during the Tournament.
d) Advise and update coaches/students as to the Rules for the various events at the Tournament.
e) Along with students’ coaches’, monitor the students’ behaviour, needs, whereabouts, and welfare before, during, and after the Tournament.
f) Provide any necessary coaching during the Tournament.
g) If agreed by the chaperone’s and competitor’s schools, the chaperone may agree to escort unaccompanied North American competitors. The chaperone or chaperone’s school has the right to refuse escorting unaccompanied competitors.
h) If the chaperone escorts unaccompanied North American competitors, their school and the competitor’s/s’ school/s must complete the necessary legal agreements pertaining to risk management that allow the chaperone to act in loco parentis in case of emergency and allows the student to cross borders with them. The chaperone has no financial responsibility for the travelling students.
i) Send the Tournament results to the coaches at the respective schools involved.
13) Events
13.1) The events and event guidelines may only be changed at the general meeting or as described in article II.4 of the Constitution
13.2) Each competitor shall compete in one event in each of three of the four categories listed below:
a) Category I: Impromptu Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking
b) Category II: Parliamentary Debate, News Podcast
c) Category III: After-Dinner Speaking, Persuasive Speaking
d) Category IV: Interpretive Reading, Drama, Cross-Examination Debating
13.3) In each event there shall be at least two rounds of preliminary competition and a final round.
14) Global Pandemic or Disaster
14.1) In the case of an epidemic, pandemic or disaster, the IISPSL executive board and the current tournament convenors may drastically adapt the tournament to make it possible to run either a physical tournament or a virtual event. Tournament organizers will try to keep the event as close as possible to the constitutional expectations of the IISPSL. If this unforeseeable disaster takes place, the adaptations made to the tournament will only apply for the duration of the pandemic or global disaster.
14.2) Changes may include but may not be limited to: capping or adapting number of competitors, choice of categories, structure of categories, method of presentation (eg: virtual – asynchronous), judging, creation and structure of ballots (virtual ballot may differ from approved physical ballot), registration process and deadline, fee structure, and any other significant changes that need to take place in order to assure the successful negotiation of the tournament.
14.3) All points listed in article 14 will begin retroactively on March 19, 2020 when an unforeseeable global pandemic occurred requiring drastic modification of the October 2020 IISPSC in avoidance of cancelling the event.
Appendix A – Membership List
- Appleby College
- Ashbury College
- Balmoral Hall School
- Bishops Diocesan College
- Branksome Hall
- Brentwood College School
- Buckingham Browne and Nichols
- Collingwood School
- Crofton House School
- De La Salle College
- Deerfield Academy
- Diocesan Girls' School
- Gray Academy
- Havergal College
- King's Edgehill School
- Kingswood Oxford School
- Lakefield College School
- Leaders Academy, South Korea
- Learning Leaders
- Little Flower Academy
- MacLachlan College
- Markham College
- Mulgrave School
1. Northfield Mount Hermon
- Pickering College
- Reading Blue Coat School
- Ridley College
- Saltus Grammar School
- St. Andrew's College
- St. Clement's School
- St. George's School
- St. John's Ravenscourt School
- St. John's School
- St. Michael's University School
- Stoneleigh-Burnham School
- Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School
- The Bermuda High School
- The Bishop Strachan School
- The Country Day School
- The Doon School
- The Hotchkiss School
- The Roxbury Latin School
- The York School
- University of Toronto Schools
- Vancouver College
- Villanova College
- Vivek High School
- Warwick Academy
- Waynflete
- West Point Grey Academy
- Winsor School
- York House School
Appendix B- List of Past and Future Hosts
- 1998 – St. George’s Vancouver
- 1999 – Strathcona Tweedsmuir
- 2000 - Royal St. George’s
- 2001 – St. John’s Ravenscourt
- 2002 – Appleby College
- 2003 – Crofton House
- 2004 – Ridley College
- 2005 – Selwyn House
- 2006 – St. Andrew’s College
- 2007 – Queen Anne’s School
- 2008 – Deerfield Academy
- 2009 – Trinity College School
- 2010 – Ashbury College
- 2011 – West Point Gray & York House School
- 2012 – Strathcona Tweedsmuir School
- 2013 – Country Day School
- 2014 – Renaissance College
- 2015 – The York School
- 2016 – Collingwood School
- 2017 – Balmoral Hall & Gray Academy
- 2018 – St. Clement’s School
- 2019 – Hotchkiss with Buckingham Browne & Nichols
- 2020 – Mulgrave School
- 2021/2022 – King's Edgehill School & Armbrae Academy
- 2022 – Kingswood Oxford School
- 2023 – Havergal College
- 2024 – Bermuda High School & Saltus
- 2025 – Waynflete
- 2026 – MacLachlan
- 2027 – West Point Grey & St. John’s
- 2028 –The Bishop Strachan School
- 2029 –
- 2030 -
Appendix C – List of Tournament Trophies
1. EVENT CATEGORY AWARDS
Impromptu Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Extemporaneous Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Parliamentary Debate
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Radio Newscast
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
After Dinner Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Persuasive Speaking
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Interpretive Reading
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Dramatic Interpretation
Third Place Speaker:
Second Place Speaker:
Top Speaker:
Cross-Examination Debate
Second Place Team
Second Place Team
First Place Team
First Place Team
2. UNDER 16 SPEAKER AWARDS
Third place
Second Place
First Place & Winner of St. Margaret’s Trophy (for the Top Student Under 16):
3. PHIL HANSEN SPIRIT AWARD (plaque awarded for this)
Awarded to the student chosen by his or her peers as embodying the spirit of the event.
4. INDIVIDUAL OVERALL SPEAKER AWARDS
Winner of the John Aimers Trophy (for the top US individual):
Winner of the Balmoral Hall Trophy (for the top overseas individual):
Tenth place:
Ninth place:
Eighth place:
Seventh place:
Sixth place:
Fifth place:
Fourth place:
Third place:
Second place:
First place:
and
Winner of the Montreal Cup (for the top Individual Overall Canadian)
and
Winner of the Selwyn House Trophy (for the top Individual Overall Performance)
5. ASIAN-PACIFIC
Top Team
2nd Place Speaker
1st Place Speaker
6. SCHOOL TEAM AWARDS OVERSEAS
First Place - St. John’s-Ravenscourt Shield (for the top overseas team):
Second Place Overseas Team:
7. SCHOOL TEAM AWARDS From Canada & US
First Place - Winner of CSDF Trophy (for the top Canadian School team):
Second Place Canadian Team:
First Place – The St. John’s Kilmarnock Trophy (for the top USA school team):
Second Place U.S. Team:
Ross Lambert Trophy (for the top team overall):
8. WORLD QUALIFIERS
Canadian Team (6 ppl):
US Team (6 ppl):
Appendix D – Notes on Scoring For Judge Briefings
Ballots
- Names, Code, Room Number, Round of the event (not round of the tournament)
- Judges guidelines – criteria for the judging generally in speeches
- Write down the length of the speech. Ask the room manager if necessary.
- If anything goes wrong (timer behind the speaker) – let one of the organizers know
- Self-timing is OK on airplane mode
- Official time is that of the timer in the room
Category Weighting – Just guidelines
- Weighting is a guideline
- Judges give a holistic score, you will be provided a breakdown of the range
- Letter grades for the categories to highlight the areas they did well in, and show which is the target areas for improvement (no F or D, a C gives them the picture)
- most important is the final score out of 100
- Do not finalize your score until the end as you can change your score; however, please cross out the number and re-write the value instead of going over the lines of an 8 to make it a 3. This is hard to see in the tabs room.
Range of scores may be very different from the system used in your usual tournaments
- 95 – extremely professional, you can’t imagine a high school student on the planet ever doing a better job / maybe 1 competitor this weekend in the range, but certainly not 3 or 4 at the level over the weekend
- High 90 – fabulous, trivial improvement suggestion, almost nothing to change, you would pay money to hear them compete again
- Low 90 – a small flaw that could be improved, but it was excellent
- High 80 – a few things to improve that would have made a significant difference, but very good.
- Low 80- they did what was expected, fulfilled the requirement of the category, it was ok
- High 70 – something went badly wrong, they did not complete several requirements of the category
- Low 70 – went terrible, did not match the category requirements in many ways
- 70 – said words, but it was very bad
- 69 – Entered the room, but said nothing
Conferral Process
- 5 minutes to review
- Can disagree, supreme justices that are learned and they still vote differently
- Just because there is a coach in the room, you are welcome to disagree.
- May have top students in the tournament, may have the 5 weak presenters
- Draw is created at random, not based on their abilities
- No oral comments in the room, but they may come to see you later
- Do not reveal the score
- Give 1 thing they did well, 1 thing to work on that they can change in the next round
Guidelines and Rules for Events
1) General Information and Times Penalties
1.1) There will be a detailed briefing for the competitors at the start of annual competition. Debaters and coaches are also welcome to attend the briefings for judges.
1.2) Salutation is optional for any event other than parliamentary debating.
1.3) The tournament organizer, after consultation with the executive, may disqualify or penalize any competitors who, for any reason, do not follow the rules.
1.4) There are time penalties for going under the minimum time or over the maximum. A 15 or 30 second warning by the timer shall be given to indicate the lower or upper limit of all events. If competitors then are above the maximum or below the minimum time, the penalties in the rules will apply unless the organizer feels that there are reasons to waive the penalty.
1.5) Time penalties will be assessed by the tabulation room based on time sheets submitted by the timer in each room.
1.6) Students may not use at this competition the same speeches, readings or dramatic presentations that they presented at earlier national, international or world competitions.
1.7) Students must author their own speeches
1.8) Students usually present the same material in all rounds of a prepared event but it is also acceptable for them to present different material if they wish to. There is no additional credit given for using different material.
1.9) Students may not use material from other published or recorded sources in any medium verbatim or virtually verbatim without attribution
2) Impromptu Speaking
3) Extemporaneous Speaking
4) Parliamentary Debating
Prime Minister 5 minutes
First Opposition Speaker 8 minutes
Minister of the Crown 8 minutes
Leader of the Opposition 8 minutes
Prime Minister's Rebuttal 3 minutes
Note: 30 seconds grace will be allowed each debater, after which the Speaker shall terminate his speech. There is no minimum time for speeches, nor are there any time penalties.
5) News Podcast
6) After-Dinner Speaking
7) Persuasive Speaking
8) Interpretive Reading
9) Dramatic Interpretation
10) Cross-Examination Debating
International Independent Schools' Speech League Rules of Parliamentary Debate
1) The debate will be presided over by Mr or Madam Speaker.
2) The government team (the side in favour) shall sit on the right hand side of the Speaker. The Opposition (the side against) shall sit on the left.
3) The speaking order will be as follows: the Prime Minister, followed by the first Opposition member then the Minister of the Crown (second Government speaker) and followed by the Leader of the Opposition (second opposition speaker). Finally, the Prime Minister will deliver the Government rebuttal.
4) Maximum speaking times are 5 minutes for the Prime Minister's first speech, 8 minutes for the other speeches and 3 minutes for the Prime Minister's rebuttal. There are no minimum times.
5) During the rebuttal, members (debaters) may not bring up any new arguments or new evidence except in direct refutation of material which has already been presented.
6) All remarks must be addressed to the Speaker of the House and not to anyone else, e.g. say "Mr Speaker" not " Mr. Speaker, honourable judges". The member must address Mr Speaker in his/her first sentence.
7) Other members (debaters and members of the audience) should be referred to by name or their constituency (e.g. the member for their last name or their city), office (e.g. the prime minister) or as "The Honourable Member" or "The Honourable Gentlemen" or "The Honourable Lady". They may be referred to as "he" or "she" but never as "you".
8) Members will speak only when called upon by the Speaker, except for points of information.
9) Points of order are raised when the person speaking has broken the rules of the house. Typical reasons for points of order are going significantly overtime, failure to address Mr Speaker, addressing someone other than Mr Speaker (e.g. referring to your opponents as you), using inappropriate language or introducing new arguments in the rebuttal. Points of Order do NOT include the debater putting his hands in his pockets, not wearing a tie or jacket, speaking from somewhere other than his/her side of the House, or other trivial infractions of the rules.
10) Points of privilege are raised if a member has been misquoted, significantly misrepresented or personally insulted.
11) Points of order or points of privilege are raised while another member has the floor (i.e. is speaking). If a member wishes to raise a point of order or privilege, he/she should stand and say " Point of order, Mr Speaker" or "Point of Privilege, Mr Speaker". The person who was delivering his/her speech must stop talking and Mr Speaker will ask the member what the point is. The member raising the point should state it as briefly as possible. The Speaker will state Point noted, and the judges may take it into account if they feel it was a valid point. The time taken to raise a point is not included as part of the member's speaking time.
12) Points should neither be too frequent nor trivial.
13) Heckles are not allowed.
14) The government must define the resolution. Their definition must be accepted unless it is undebatable or unreasonable. The resolution must be interpreted in a reasonable manner that reflects the spirit of the resolution. If the Opposition wishes to challenge the definition they must do so prior to the start of the debate by appealing to the tournament organizer. The opposition must show that the government's definition is unacceptable. Definitions may not be challenged during the debate.
15) The government may introduce a plan for implementing the resolution if they wish to, but they are not required to do so. If they do propose a plan, they must fully explain it during the Prime Minister's speech.
16) If, and only if, the government introduces a plan, the opposition may introduce a counterplan, but it is not required to do so. A counterplan is an alternative method of implementing the resolution that is significantly different from the government plan and is demonstrably better than the government plan. If the opposition wants to introduce a counterplan, they must fully explain it during the address of their first speaker.
17) Props (e.g. drawings, models) may not be used.
18) Courtesy must be shown to all other members at all times.
19) Points of Information are allowed. A point of information is a single question, no more than 15 seconds in length. It may be a fact presented in the form of a question (e.g. how can you maintain that when 80% of people …). To raise a point of information the debater stands during an opponent’s speech and says “Point of information” or “On that point”. The person who is speaking has the option of accepting that point by saying “Yes” , accepting it but not right away by saying “In a moment” or declining it by saying “No thank you” or waving them down. If they accept it, the person who raised the point can ask one question and then sit down. The person speaking then deals with it as they see fit. The time taken for the question is part of the speaker’s speaking time. If the speaker declines the point, the person offering it sits down. Mr/Mdm Speaker is not involved in the process. Debaters should not accept more than 2 points during their speeches and do not have to accept any. Points of information may not be offered during the rebuttals or in the first or last minutes of the speech
International Independent Schools' Speech League Rules of Cross-Examination Debating
1. There are two two-person teams, designated respectively "Affirmative" and "Negative".
2. If there is a chairman, he or she will open the debate and call upon each speaker in turn. The chairman may be addressed in each speaker's opening salutation as "Mr." or "Madame Chairman:, but need not be addressed otherwise. No salutation is required, but it is customary for each speaker to begin each speech with some polite form of address such as "Mr. Chairman, honourable judges, worthy opponents, ladies and gentlemen", depending upon who is present in the room.
3. Speeches are addressed to an audience consisting of the judges and all other persons in the room. Other debaters are customarily referred to in the third person during speeches, either by name ("Sally Jones said in her constructive speech…") or by title ("The first negative speaker argued that…"). In cross-examination, debaters address each other directly ("Did you say…").
4. Each speaker delivers a constructive speech and cross-examines one member of the opposing team.
5. Following his/her constructive speech, each speaker must submit to cross-examination by the member of the opposing team who is not speaking next.
6. All speakers are allotted equal amounts of time for their constructive speeches and their cross-examination respectively.
Mechanics of Cross Examination DebatingConstructive SpeechesEach team must present its main lines of argument (its "case") and the principal evidence supporting each in the course of its two constructive speeches. The members of each team may divide between them the labour of presenting the case in any way they see fit. Any constructive speech (except the first affirmative) may also include explicit attacks upon the case of the opposing team and explicit replies to attacks made by their opponents.
Cross-ExaminationThe purpose of cross-examination is to allow each team the opportunity to elicit damaging admissions from its opponents regarding their case. These admissions may then be used against them in subsequent speeches. Each speaker seeks to elicit these admissions by asking questions of the opposing speaker whom he/she is assigned to cross-examine. The person being examined is required to respond to these questions in some way. Both questioner and respondent should avoid speeches. Questions may be based on statements made earlier in the debate which the questioner expects his/her partner to present, or on any topic, which the questioner thinks, may bring his/her side advantage, regardless of its apparent relevance to the debate. Questions may not, however, be personal ("Do you use drugs?"). The questioner may not demand simple "yes" or "no" answers. The subject has the right to explain any answer briefly, but is forbidden to stall or filibuster. If the respondent is answering at inordinate length, the questioner may interrupt (as courteously as possible) in order to continue the line of questioning.
RebuttalThe purpose of rebuttal speeches is to give both teams the opportunity to summarise their cases, defend them from attacks by opponents, and press attacks upon their opponents. New lines of argument may not be introduced in rebuttals. Exception: In the first affirmative rebuttal, which follows two successive negative speeches, the speaker may deal with new issues raised in either of these negative speeches, even if this requires a new line of argument. In general, the introduction of substantial items of new evidence should be avoided in rebuttals. Exception: If the second negative constructive or the first negative rebuttal speaker has demanded additional evidence on any point in the affirmative case, the first affirmative rebuttal speaker may respond accordingly.
Evidence Both teams are expected to support their major lines of argument with sufficient evidence to make them logically persuasive. Evidence may consist of facts, statistics, and/or authoritative opinions drawn from published or publicly accessible sources (not private conversations, personal letters, or similar sources). Debaters may assert that some facts are "general knowledge", but judges must decide for themselves what value, if any, to attribute to such assertions. Debaters should always be prepared to document the source of any evidence. It is customary, but not mandatory, to cite the source of most evidence when it is introduced in a speech. Evidence may never be fabricated or deliberately misrepresented. A debater who is shown to have done so may be disqualified from further competition.
Definitions It is the duty and privilege of the affirmative team to make clear at the beginning of the debate as precisely as possible how it construes the resolution. This may be done by defining each key term individually, by paraphrasing the resolution as a whole, and/or by presenting the plan by which the affirmative proposes to implement the resolution. In prepared cross-examination debates, definitions should embody the standard meanings of the terms of the resolution in contemporary public discourse. Creative, novel, or whimsical definitions are not appropriate. The affirmative must construe the resolution in such a way as to make it debatable. They may not construe it as a tautology or a truism. The negative may challenge the definitions offered by the affirmative only at the beginning of the first negative speech and only on the grounds that the definition does not meet the requirements set out in the previous rule. The judges must decide at the end of the debate whether such a challenge is warranted. Meanwhile, the negative may either attempt under protest to make its case under the definitions offered by the previous rule and make its case under them. If the negative does not challenge the definitions offered by the affirmative at the beginning of the first negative speech, it will be assumed to have accepted them.
Speaking TimesSpeaking times are 7 minutes for the constructive speeches, 3 minutes for each cross- examination and 4 minutes for each rebuttal. Each of the four speakers does a rebuttal, starting with the first negative. Each constructive speaker is granted a thirty second grace period to finish his/her speech after the allotted time has expired. Judges will disregard anything said after the grace period has ended. The cross-examiner must stop speaking as soon as the time allotted for cross-examination has expired. If a question has been asked but the time allotted expires before the respondent is able to answer it, the respondent may choose whether to answer it. If he or she chooses to answer, the answer may continue briefly beyond the time. Rebuttal speeches must end as soon as the allotted time for them has expired. There is no grace period. Judges will disregard anything said after time has expired.
Other Duties and Privileges of the Affirmative and Negative:
Affirmative: The affirmative has the burden of proof and the compensating privilege of presenting the opening and closing speeches. The affirmative is not required to offer a plan, but since it is required to show that the resolution is feasible and does not entail significant disadvantages, the affirmative usually chooses to offer a plan. That is; a reasonably detailed description of the way in which the resolution should be implemented as the most efficient and persuasive way to accomplish these tasks.
Negative: The negative enjoys the benefit of presumption. Therefore, debates in which the speaker scores produce a tie are awarded to the negative. Strictly speaking, the negative is not required to "make a case" in order to win, but may confine itself merely to attacks upon the affirmative case. In theory, the negative wins if it mounts a completely successful attack on one major element of the affirmative case. In practice, completely successful attacks are extremely rare. The negative may introduce a counterplan, an alternative proposal. A counterplan must solve the same problems, attain the same goals, or bring about the same advantages as the affirmative claims will be done by the resolution, but by means entirely different from those stated or implied in the resolution. If a counterplan is introduced, it must be in the first negative speech.
Other Matters • Speeches in cross-examination debates may not be interrupted. There are no points of order, personal privilege, or information. Heckling is prohibited.
• Violations of rules, misquotations of opponents, and similar matters may be called to the judges' attention in constructive or rebuttal speeches, or occasionally in cross-examination. Judges will rule on these matters at the end of the debate and should consider them as they decide the outcome of the debate. The chairman has no role in such rulings.
• If there is no chairman, the judge (or chief judge if there is more than one) will begin the debate by recognising the first affirmative speaker. Thereafter, debates should speak in turn without formal recognition.
• The team with the highest total number of speaker points must always be the team, which wins the debate. If the two teams; total number of speaker points are tied, the negative team must win.
