Australian National Schools Debating Championships
The Australian Debating Federation holds an annual Australian National Schools Debating Championships. The championships, which are contested by eight teams of high school students from each of Australia's eight states and territories, date back to 1971. The tournament uses the Australasian 3-on-3 debating style, and each debate is adjudicated by three nationally-accredited adjudicators (with five for the premilinary final, and seven for the Grand Final).
While team selection methods vary from state to state, debaters are generally chosen through trials and workshops held by their state's affiliate to the Australian Debating Federation. Each team consists of four members and (generally) two reserves who may or may not elect to accompany the team to the NSDC tournament. Teams typically train intensively for 3–5 months prior to the tournament.
The tournament is held annually over 8–10 days, roughly rotating around the state and territory capitals. Teams compete in a seven-round competition, with each team debating each other once. At the end of these rounds, the four top-performing teams progress to the final rounds, where they compete in semi-finals, a preliminary final, and a Grand Final.
During the NSDC, five outstanding individual debaters are selected by the chief adjudicators to form the National Schools Team which represents Australia at the World Schools Debating Championships. Australia has a record of exceptional performance at the WSDC, at which it has won a record eight Championship titles..
Read more about this topic: School Debating In Australia
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