Rules and Regulations

Section 1: Eligibility
Section 2: Competition
Section 3: Rights and Responsibilities of Competitors

Section 1: Eligibility

1. To be eligible for competition a student must be a matriculated student in one of the undergraduate schools for the semester of competition.
2. A team for competition is to consist of two students from any of the undergraduate schools in any combination.
3. For the purposes of competition an undergraduate school in the University is understood to be the undergraduate divisions and programs of one of the following: the College of Arts and Science, the Steinhardt School of Education, the Stern School of Business, Tisch School of the Arts, the School of Social Work, the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, the College of Dentistry, the College of Nursing, and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies programs of GSP, McGhee, and Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.
4. Students from different schools may compete together on the same competitive team at this time.
5. The Coordinator will make every effort to assist interested students who are unpaired in finding a partner or to recruit such a partner.
6. Students may participate in the annual Zuckerman Forum up to five times.

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Section 2: Competition

1. All competitors will be entered in a preliminary competition tournament.
2. The tournament will consist of 4 rounds on the same day.
3. Each round will contain 5-minute constructive speeches, 3-minute rebuttals, and 2-minute cross examination. Each team will have 5 minutes of preparation time per round.
4. Each student will complete 1 constructive, 1 rebuttal, 1 response to cross examination, and one questioning during cross examination per round.
5. Rounds will be adjudicated by faculty of the University and special guest judges invited by the Coordinator or the University President.
6. Each team will complete 2 affirmative and 2 negative rounds.
7. Within each round judges will assign a winner of the debate to one side only.
8. Judges will also assign each competitor a rank and a score reflective of their speaking. These points will be used to determine ties in ranking of teams.
9. Teams will first be ranked based on number of wins, then on team points, and finally team ranks.
10. The top 8 teams will continue to the Elimination Tournament.
11. The 8 continuing teams will be announced within 3 hours of the close of preliminary competition.
12. Judges will write ballots explaining the basis of their decision. The decision of a judge may not be challenged in a round or changed once entered.
13. The 4 best judges will be invited to act as guest coaches for the teams in finals of the competition.
14. The preliminary tournament will be randomly matched for round 1, all subsequent rounds will be power-paired on record.
15. Every attempt will be made to ensure that faculty members do not judge students they have previously taught.
16. Students are limited to using evidence in rounds from publications provided on the Complete Debate Resource Bibliography.
17. During the Preliminary Tournament, all tournament procedures, alterations, questions shall be resolved by the Coordinator, who shall function as Tournament Director.

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Section 3: Rights and Responsibilities of Competitors

1. All competitors will be entitled to attend a training session on debate provided by the Coordinator.
2. Any student competitor will be free to ask the Coordinator for additional instruction or advice at any time via appointment. The Coordinator will be an impartial resource for all competitors.
3. All competitors will be entitled to the list of Complete Debate Resource Bibliography. All competitors will be restricted to the list of resources for documentation in competition.
4. All competitors may ask faculty of the University for advice on issues related to topic and argument.
5. All competitors will be expected to uphold the ethical considerations of academic discourse in the process of competition and to represent the University, their school, and themselves to the best of their ability.
6. A 15 minute forfeit rule will be in place for late competitors.
7. Teams may work together and practice with other teams prior to competition to maximize preparation.
8. Student awards may be subject to additional terms of disbursement by the University pending legal and tax obligations.

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