Grades

The Auckland Schools Debating Competition caters to students of all ages and skill levels. The tournament is split into two main divisions: Premier and Open. The Premier Division is for students serious about competitive debating. It has more rounds of debating, more challenging topics, fewer teams per school and has first priority to the best external adjudicators in the region. The Open Division has a higher team cap per school and encourages all students of any skill level. There are fewer debates during the year with more approachable topics.

We encourage all schools to enter a team in each Premier Grade as this Division allows for the best development of speakers.

Full specifications of each grade can be found below.

Premier Advanced

Team Cap Per School	1 team per school. Extra teams dependent on capacity.
Price	$80 per team
Age Limit	Year 13 and below
Number of Rounds	7 Preliminary rounds. Break to Quarter Finals.
Adjudicated By	ASD-accredited external adjudicators.
Speaking Times	Speeches 8 minutes. Replies 4 minutes.
Points of Information	Allowed.
Style of Debates	All debates are limited preparation. One hour notice of moots is given.
Venue	One single central Auckland venue. Click here for venue details.
Times	Advised Subject and Impromptu Debates start at 6:30pm or 8:00pm. Topics and sides will be announced one hour before these times (at 5:30pm and 7:00pm respectively). Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early.

Premier Junior

Team Cap Per School	1 team per school. Extra teams dependent on capacity.
Price	$80 per team
Age Limit	Year 11 and below
Number of Rounds	7 Preliminary rounds. Break to Quarter Finals.
Adjudicated By	ASD-accredited external adjudicators.
Speaking Times	Speeches 6 minutes. Replies 3 minutes.
Points of Information	Allowed.
Style of Debates	Round One will be an ‘advised topic’ debate (click here for more detail on ‘advised topics’). All other debates are limited preparation. One hour notice of moots is given.
Venue	One single central Auckland venue. Click here for venue details.
Times	Advised Subject and Impromptu Debates start at 6:30pm or 8:00pm. Topics and sides will be announced one hour before these times (at 5:30pm and 7:00pm respectively). Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early.

Advanced Open

Team Cap Per School	The grade will be capped at 50 teams. Each school will be allowed up to 4 teams on an even basis dependent on capacity.
Price	$80 per team.
Age Limit	Year 13 and below
Number of Rounds	5 Preliminary rounds. Break to Octo Finals.
Adjudicated By	ASD-accredited external adjudicators.
Speaking Times	Speeches 8 minutes. Replies 4 minutes.
Points of Information	Allowed.
Style of Debates	Round One will be an ‘advised topic’ debate (click here for more detail on ‘advised topics’). All other debates are limited preparation. One hour notice of moots is given.
Venue	Two central Auckland venues. Click here for venue details.
Times	Advised Subject and Impromptu Debates start at 6:30pm or 8:00pm. Topics and sides will be announced one hour before these times (at 5:30pm and 7:00pm respectively). Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early.

Senior Open

Team Cap Per School	4 teams per school. Extra teams dependent on capacity.
Price	$35 per team.
Age Limit	Year 12 and below.
Number of Rounds	5 Preliminary rounds. Break to Octo Finals.
Adjudicated By	Teachers. Every team entered must have a teacher attached who will undertake adjudicating duties. Training sessions will be offered at the beginning of 2010.
Speaking Times	Speeches 6 minutes. Replies 3 minutes.
Points of Information	Allowed only by mutual agreement.
Style of Debates	Round One will be a prepared debate. The topic will be announced more than one week in advance. Rounds Two and Three will be 'advised subject' debates (click here for more detail on 'advised subjects'). Rounds Four and Five are limited preparation debates. For limited preparation and advised topic debates, one hour notice of the moot is given.
Venue	There are five geographic Zones: North, South, East, West, Central. Teams debate in their nearest zone during preliminary rounds. Octo-finals onwards will be held at a central Auckland location. Click here for venue details.
Times	Prepared Debates start at 4:30pm or 5:45pm. Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early. Advised Topic and Impromptu Debates start at 5:30pm or 6:45pm. Topics and sides will be announced one hour before these times (at 4:30pm and 5:45pm respectively). Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early.

Junior Open

Team Cap Per School	4 teams per school. Extra teams dependent on capacity.
Price	$35 per team.
Age Limit	Year 10 and below.
Number of Rounds	5 Preliminary rounds. Break to Octo Finals.
Adjudicated By	Teachers. Every team entered must have a teacher attached who will undertake adjudicating duties. Training sessions will be offered at the beginning of 2010.
Speaking Times	Speeches 5 minutes. Replies 2.5 minutes.
Points of Information	Not allowed.
Style of Debates	Rounds One and Two will be prepared debates. The topic will be announced more than one week in advance. Rounds Three and Four will be 'advised subject' debates (click here for more detail on 'advised subjects'). Round Five will be a limited preparation debate. For limited preparation and advised topic debates, one hour notice of the moot is given.
Venue	There are five geographic Zones: North, South, East, West, Central. Teams debate in their nearest zone during preliminary rounds. Octo-finals onwards will be held at a central Auckland location. Click here for venue details.
Times	Prepared Debates start at 4:30pm or 5:30pm. Check the draw on our website for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early. Advised Topic and Impromptu Debates start at 5:30pm or 6:30pm. Topics and sides will be announced one hour before these times (at 4:30pm and 5:30pm respectively). Check the draw for your specific time and aim to be 15 minutes early.