+ Each debate will contain four teams, each team consisting of eight speakers. +There are two teams on each side of debate. On one side are Opening Government (OG) and Closing +Government(CG), on other side are Opening Opposition (OO) and closing Opposition +(CO). The two sides of the debate are sometimes called ‘benches’ – as in, ‘the Government bench’ +and ‘the Opposition bench’. The first two teams in the debate (OG and OO) are sometimes collectively +called the ‘opening half’, whilst the third and fourth teams in the debate (CG and CO) are sometimes +collectively called the ‘closing half’. +
+ + +
+
+In the order specified below, speakers from the four teams give their speeches, with each speaker
+giving one speech:
+
1. First speaker (the ‘Prime Minister’) from the OG team,
+
2. First speaker(the ‘Leader of Opposition’) from the OO team,
+
3. Second speaker (the ‘Deputy Prime Minister’) from the OG team,
+
4. Second speaker (the ‘Deputy Leader of Opposition’) from the OO team,
+
5.First speaker (the ‘Government Member’) from the CG team,
+
6. First speaker (the ‘Opposition Member’) from the CO team,
+
7. Second speaker (the ‘Government Whip’) from the CG,
+
8. Second speaker (the ‘Opposition Whip’) of the CO Team
+
+ The debate is presided over by a ‘Chair’, a designated individual who oversees the proceedings +of the debate, calling on speakers to speak and enforcing the rules. At Worlds, the Chair will +usually be one of the judges – the individuals who will ultimately decide the result of the debate. + Each debate will also usually have a timekeeper, who +could be the Chair, another judge, or another individual entirely, who times speakers’ speeches +
+ + +**LENGTH OF SPEECHES** + ++ Speeches last for 7 minutes. Time signals (usually a bang on the table, ring of a bell, or clap +of the hands) will be given by the timekeeper to indicate when 1 minute, 6 minutes and 7 minutes +(often indicated by a double clap/bang) have elapsed. Though speakers should ideally finish their +speech by 7 minutes, they may legitimately continue to speak in order to finish their sentence or +wrap up a conclusion. As a general rule, this shouldn’t take more than a further 15 seconds. If a +speaker tries to use this leeway to make any additional points, judges are no longer permitted to +take this into account. Beyond 7 minutes and 15 seconds, judges are no longer permitted to take +anything the speaker says into account. The Chair or timekeeper of the debate should bang the table +or clap three times at 10 second intervals after 7 minutes 15 seconds to remind the speaker that +they are now well beyond their time limit. If the speaker continues speaking past 8 minutes (which +should never happen), the Chair of the debate should ‘call order’, and instruct the speaker to sit +down +
+ +**ROLES OF TEAMS** + +
+ Each team has a role to play in the debate, and the speakers from that team should attempt to
+fulfil that role effectively:
+
(i) OG should define the motion, advance arguments in favour
+of their side, and rebut arguments made by OO.
+
(ii) OO should rebut OG's case (i.e. the general set of arguments they have offered) and advance
+constructive arguments as to why their side of the table should win the debate.
+
(iii) CG must provide further arguments and analysis in favour of the motion, which are
+consistent with, but distinct from, the substantive material advanced by OG, as well as refuting
+the analysis of the Opposition teams. The Government Whip must summarise the debate as a whole on
+behalf of the Government bench, and should not add new arguments.
+
(iv) CO must provide further arguments against the motion, which are consistent with,
+but different from, the arguments advanced by OO, as well as rebutting arguments made by the
+Government teams. The Opposition Whip must summarise the debate as a whole on behalf of the
+Opposition bench, and must not add new arguments..
+
+The first and last minute of each speech is known as ‘protected time’, during which no Points of +Information (POIs) may be offered to the speaker who is making their speech. During the intervening +5 minutes (i.e. between 01:00 and 06:00) points of information may be offered. +
A POI is a formalised +interjection from any speaker on the opposite side of the table to the speaker who has the floor. +Speakers are expected to accept at least one point of information per speech. Points of Information +are important in comparing teams and a component in assessing engagement. It is up to the speaker +who has the floor to decide which POIs to accept (i.e. allow to be made) or reject (i.e. not +allowed to be made). If a speaker offers a POI which contains multiple comments or statements, +the speaker who has the floor has the choice to answer the POI as if only the first question or +comment has been made. If this is the case, judges should disregard additional parts of a multi-part +POI (as they would, for instance, ignore new material in a whip speech). +
+A POI may last up to 15 +seconds. It can take the form of a comment or a question to the speaker who has the floor. To offer +a POI a speaker should, if they are able to, stand and say “point of information,” “on that point” +or “point”. They should not offer a POI by uttering anything which reveals the content of the POI +before it has been accepted (by saying, for example “on the law” or “not at all!”). If the POI +offered is refused, the speaker who offered it should sit down immediately. POIs may not be offered +after the 6 minute mark in a speaker’s speech, and at 6 minutes all speakers currently standing +(to indicate that they have offered a POI) should sit down. It is acceptable for a POI which was +offered and accepted before the 6 minute mark to continue to be made past the 6 minute mark – +it should continue until the POI is concluded, the 15 second time allotment has passed or the +POI is cut off. It is also acceptable for a POI offered before 6 minutes to be accepted by a +speaker dead on the 6 minute mark and then be made. Once all speakers are sitting after the 6 +minute mark, no more POIs may be offered or accepted.
+ +**MOTION FOR THE DEBATE** + ++Each round has a specific topic, known as the ‘motion’. If debaters are uncertain about the literal +meaning of a word in the motion, they may ask the judge to define it for +them and in case of tournaments they can consult the Adjudication Core. They may not ask anyone other than a judge to explain any words in +the motion, nor may they refer to online resources. In tournaments,they may also not ask for any +further assistance from the Adjudication Core beyond a simple definition of the word they are +unfamiliar with.
+On some occasions, the adjudication core may release an informational slide, or ‘infoslide’, prior to releasing +the motion. This usually consists of a short explanatory paragraph which can serve several purposes, +from simple clarifications of words in the motion to giving context and relevant information about +potential issues in the debate. Information provided in the infoslide should be assumed to be true +for the purposes of the debate following it. For example, if the extra information comes in the +form of a definition of a word or term in the motion, this definition should not be disputed in +the round following it. However, teams are free to provide additional definitions, clarifications +or contextual information during the debate, on top of whatever information is already provided +within the infoslide.
+ + +**BREACHES OF ORDER** + +
+ For the debate to be able to proceed properly, and for all speakers to have a fair chance to
+deliver their speeches, all debaters (and anyone else in the debate room) are required to refrain
+from disrupting the debate. Any of the following activities are considered to be disrupting the
+debate:
+
1. Barracking/badgering
+2.Continuing to offer a POI after being cut off by the speaker speaking or by the Chair.
+
3.Speaking beyond 7 minutes with a 15 second grace period
+
4.Offering POIs in any way other than those described above ,when not delivering a speech or a POI,
+
5. Talking in an audible volume or otherwise generating distracting noise engaging in other
+highly distracting behaviour
+
6. Using props (any physical object, diagram, etc.)
+ Teams win debates by being persuasive with respect to the burdens their side of the debate is +attempting to prove, within the constraints set by the rules of BP Debating. ++ + + + +