FDT Academy
Tournaments
Debate and Public Speaking tournaments provide an opportunity for students to practice the skills they learn in the classroom.
Competing in tournaments is a key component of studying Debate. Whether you are a beginner or an expert debater, there is a tournament that is suitable for you!
To participate in a tournament, you will need to keep an eye out for emails from FDT’s Tournament Coordinator. If you receive this email, it is because you are in a grade that is suitable for this tournament. These emails will contain key information about upcoming tournaments, including: (a) tournament date and time, (b) tournament style, (c) eligibility requirements (grade and experience level). To register for any tournament that interests you, you can do so via the registration link in the email.
Once you have registered for a tournament, you will receive follow-up emails from our Tournament Coordinator. Payment and logistical details will be emailed to you, along with opportunities like tournament prep classes.
Please note that when we send a tournament email and request interest, we won’t be in touch about final decisions and teams until after the deadline has passed.
To view all of the upcoming tournaments that FDT intends to participate in, you can visit our Tournament Homepage.
Key information
Different Types of Debate Tournaments
Most Speech and Debate Events in BC, Ontario, and most provinces require participation in your province’s Debate/Speech Organization.
- DSABC (BC) – www.bcdebate.ca
- ASDA (AB) – www.albertadebate.com
- OSDU (ON) – www.osdu.org
If you are looking to compete at Regional, Provincial, and National Events, you will need to be a member of your school team, and your school needs to be a member of the provincial organization. Often, you need a teacher or staff member to support the club, but some schools will allow a parent to support the club. If your school does not have a debate team, you can try to make one (ask our admin team about this)!
Otherwise, you can compete with FDT at a wide variety of tournaments. There are many local events, university-sponsored events, and international competitions that you can compete in directly with FDT. FDT also hosts a few in-house tournaments, which are great for beginner debaters who have participated in 3 or fewer tournaments.
teammates
How Teams Are Created
When creating teams for debate tournaments, FDT’s main goal is to create the strongest and fairest teams. This is based on feedback from instructors, who look at students’ skillset and level of debate knowledge. We kindly ask that everyone respect the good judgment of our instructors and administrative team.
FDT will always respect teammate preferences, except in extremely rare cases, such as:
(a) Preferences would negatively affect one or more other teams.
(b) Preferences were selected without the consent of all debaters.
(c) A discussion with the parents of one or more of the debaters has resulted in a decision to break team-mate preferences.
what to expect day-of
Etiquette During Tournaments
Looking sharp and behaving professionally will be helpful in achieving success at a tournament. The following ‘dos and don’ts’ will be helpful for all students preparing to compete at a tournament.
Do
- Determine what you will wear a few days beforehand.
- Ensure that your attire is professional and follows the Western Business Dress Code standard (i.e. no sneakers, jeans, or inappropriate images/language on shirts).
- Ensure that your clothing is clean, ironed, and fits well.
- Ensure that your clothing is not transparent and that it’s an appropriate length (i.e. no sleeveless tops or short shorts/skirts).
- Tuck your shirt in and straighten up your tie if necessary.
- When applicable, wear your uniform if you attend a private school.
- Try to match your teammate, and look like a cohesive pair.
Don’t
- Behave inappropriately (i.e. no horseplay, loud displays, inappropriate language, etc.).
- Leave the venue at any time without permission from your chaperones, instructors, school or FDT.
- Cancel after confirming that you will attend a tournament, as your teammate will be counting on you.
- Wear loungewear or gym clothes (e.g. track pants or sweatshirts).
- Wear tight clothing that you have outgrown.
- Wear distracting clothing or accessories.
- Soil your clothes with food or drink while at the tournament.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tournament FAQs
All debate students should compete in tournaments! This is the best way to practice what you learn in class. Each tournament invitation will specify if there are eligibility requirements, such as grade or experience level.
Students with no debate experience at all should take at least some classes to learn the event format and practice speeches before joining a tournament. If they have other forms of experience, like Model UN, public speaking, or even theatre, they may be ready sooner. Our instructors can evaluate individual students and recommend when they're ready to try a tournament competition, but the most important factor is a student's enthusiasm. Our FDT In-House tournaments are a great opportunity for first-time debaters who want competition experience early on.
For most students, two months of class is enough time to learn the basics of CNDF debate, and an introductory-level tournament like the FDT In-Houses is a great opportunity to practice what they've learned so far. For older students, those with previous speech experience (e.g. Model United Nations, public speaking, even theatre), or very enthusiastic new debaters, two months may be enough time to make competing at larger & higher-level tournaments worthwhile. While getting tournament experience early is a great way to improve & learn, ask your student's coaches for recommendations about tournament readiness. It's more important to learn from the first few tournaments to hone skills & learn from mistakes than trying to win every round.
We will always state who you must attend a tournament with on the Tournament Home Page. There are certain tournaments you must attend with your school’s debate team. You can compete with FDT in all other tournaments (as long as you meet the eligibility requirements). If your school does not have a debate team, FDT can help you with that.
CNDF is a good foundation for BP style, but students would need to learn additional BP-specific speech formats, strategies, and speaking times before competing. BP is very fast-paced and requires different teams to accomplish position-specific tasks in their speeches, has much shorter preparation time (15 minutes for BP vs. up to 30 minutes for CNDF), and assumes greater background knowledge about a wider range of topic areas. Students with a strong command of CNDF will be ready for BP after a preparatory lesson or two, but should practice at least one full round in class before a tournament.
BP is the main style for international university debate tournaments, including the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Exemplary high-level debate rounds from past WUDCs can be found in full on YouTube, and any student new to BP should watch at least one before attending BP tournaments, bearing in mind high school BP has 5 minute speeches rather than 7 for university BP.
WSDC is a very different style from CNDF. Speeches are 8 minutes long rather than 6 in CNDF and teams have up to 5 debaters rather than 2 in CNDF. The speaker roles differ as well, and have WSDC-specific expectations for the types of arguments and development of cases from each speech to another. CNDF is a solid foundation for students to learn WSDC, but they should work with a coach in class or privates before attending WSDC tournaments.
You can request to be partnered with someone specific on the signup sheet – if two people request one another, they will be partnered. If you do not specify a partner, one of FDT’s instructors will partner you up.
Yes! However, if spots for the tournament are limited, we may not have room for students outside of FDT. Does your partner want to join FDT? If so, let us know!
After registration is completed and you are confirmed to participate in a tournament, your fees are nonrefundable and you cannot drop out. Debate is a team sport so if you drop out of the tournament, it could mean that your partner will be left without a teammate and will not be able to participate. If for some reason you must drop out, you need to inform the Tournament Coordinator immediately.
Same as above. We will do our best to find you a new partner.
The schedule of a specific tournament can be found on the signup sheet.
The fees go towards the registration fee, the judge requirement, the FDT coach, and the tournament coordination process.
Students who cannot provide their own judge (e.g. a parent, relative or friend) will need to pay for an external judge’s time.
It varies – prep classes typically take place during the week leading upto the tournament.
At in-person tournaments, yes, so long as their child wants them to be present and other debaters are comfortable. Online tournaments have various rules, so it is dependent on the specific tournament. There may be a fee associated with observing a tournament.
Individuals over the age of 18 who have a strong command of the English language.