RULES
There will be three rounds of debate in both the Novice and Advanced divisions on the resolution: "Resolved: that the United States federal government should establish and maintain a universal single payer national health insurance program.” The affirmative side has an obligation to define the terms at the start of the debate, but, of course, in a way that allows for good debate to take place. For a more complete discussion of affirmative and negative responsibilities please refer to the judging overview.
The tournament is a switch-side tournament, meaning that over the course of the day each 2-person team will debate on both sides of the resolution. Each 4-person team will consist of one 2-person team which debates the first 2 rounds on affirmative and the third on negative, and another 2-person team which debates the first 2 rounds on negative and the last on affirmative.
FORMAT OF THE DEBATES
| first affirmative constructive speech | 7 mins. |
| cross examination by second negative | 3 mins. |
| first negative constructive speech | 7 mins. |
| cross examination by first affirmative | 3 mins. |
| second affirmative constructive speech | 7 mins. |
| cross examination by first negative | 3 mins. |
| second negative constructive speech | 7 mins. |
| cross examination by second affirmative | 3 mins. |
****************** 3 minute rebuttal break *******************
(Recall that there can be no new
lines of argument presented in the
rebuttal speeches.)
| first negative rebuttal | 4 mins. |
| first affirmative rebuttal | 4 mins. |
| second negative rebuttal | 4 mins. |
| second affirmative rebuttal | 4 mins. |