Structure Page

Structure:
 

The general structure of the tournament will be divided into two divisions. The Premier Division is designed to encourage and develop the best debaters at each school. It offers two extra preliminary rounds of debating and uses external adjudicators for all debates. The Open Division is designed to accommodate a larger number of teams per school to foster debating among as many students as possible. Specific details of each grade can be found below.

Premier Grades:

Grade:                         Junior Premier

Age Limit:                    5th form and younger

Location:                     All debates held at a single central Auckland location.

Adjudicators:              Adjudicated by external adjudicators.

Team Cap:                   One team per school (opt-in)

Number of Rounds:     Seven preliminary rounds + finals series

Grade:                         Advanced Premier

Age Limit:                    7th form and younger

Location:                     All debates held at a single central Auckland location.

Adjudicators:              Adjudicated by external adjudicators

Team Cap:                   One team per school (opt-in)

Number of Rounds:     Seven preliminary rounds + finals series

Open Grades:

Grade:                         Junior Open

Age Limit:                    4th form and younger

Location:                     Hosted in your geographic “zone” (East, West, North, etc)

Adjudicators:              Adjudicated by coaches

Team Cap:                   Up to five teams per school

Number of Rounds:     Five preliminary rounds + finals series

Grade:                         Senior Open

Age Limit:                    6th form and younger

Location:                     Hosted in your geographic “zone” (East, West, North etc)

Adjudicators:              Adjudicated by coaches

Team Cap:                   Up to five teams per school

Number of Rounds:     Five preliminary rounds + finals series

Grade:                         Advanced Open

Age Limit:                    7th form and younger

Location:                     All debates held at a single central Auckland location

Adjudicators:              Adjudicated by external adjudicators

Team Cap:                   Up to five teams per school

Number of Rounds:     Five preliminary rounds + finals series

A Few Notes on Structure:

• In the first year all schools will be given the opportunity to opt-in a single team at both grades.
• From 2009 onwards a system of relegation/promotion will be introduced to allow the top open grade teams to displace the lowest ranked premier teams.
• A coach may be attached to no more than two teams per grade.