The Basics

For those of you who are new to debating, this page answers some frequently asked questions about the basics, particularly in relation to the DAV’s Schools Competition.  You can always contact our school’s debating coordinator if you have any other specific questions.

 

How long do I speak for?

There are set time limits for how long debaters in each should speak for. Each debate will have a chairperson whose role is to provide the adjudicator and the audience with the topic of the debate, introduce each speaker and keep time throughout the debate. The chairperson will should be supplied by the affirmative team.

The chairperson will knock once (or ring a bell) when the speaker has spoken for the minimum about of time, and will knock twice (or ring a bell again) when the speaker has spoken for the maximum amount of time.

As a general rule, if you speak for 30 second less than the first knock, or 30 seconds longer than the second knock, you will lose marks.

 The speaking times for each grade are as follows:

  • A Grade (Year 12): between 6 and 8 minutes.
  • B Grade (Year 11): between 6 and 8 minutes.
  • C Grade (Year 10): between 5 and 6 minutes.
  • D Grade (Year 9): between 4 and 5 minutes.
  • JSP (Year 7 and 8): between 3 and 4 minutes

 

 

What will the debating space be like?

Most of your debates will take place in a room which accords with the following layout. The positioning of the teams is not overly important, but please note the location of the speaker and the direction which they should be facing:

 

 

Is my team arguing the Affirmative or Negative side?

You can find out which side your team is arguing by looking at the your region’s Draw on the DAV Website. For each round, your team will appear in a table, with the Affirmative teams listed on the left, and the Negative teams listed on the right.

You can also use this page to see who you are competing against, your topic and the date of the next debate.

Competitors in the Junior Secondary Program should use the STL Link JSP site to check their draw and topics.

 

 

Where and when are the debates held?

All debates during the DAV School’s Competition (aimed at students in Years 9 to 12) are held at Brighton Grammar School’s senior school. Full details on the time and place of the debates can be found at the bottom of the DAV Schools Competition page. Note that your team must be present an hour early for secret topic debates (see the Secret and Advised Topics page for more details on these rounds).

All debates during the DAV Junior Secondary Program (aimed at students in Year 7 and 8) are held in the St Leonard’s College middle school building. Please note that your start times will vary depending upon whether you are in Group A or B. For more information please see the DAV JSP page on STL Link.