N4CSGA Spring Conference
April 7-9, 2017
Sheraton Imperial Hotel
Debate Competition Rules:
Here's an overview of how the debates will work at the N4CSGA Spring Conference on Friday, April 7, 2017 from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel:
The Lincoln-Douglas Style (some call it Oxford Style):
Here are the basics of the Lincoln-Douglas style debate:
Opening Statement: Agree (5 minutes)
Opening Statement: Disagree (5 minutes)
Rebuttal: Agree (3 minutes)
Rebuttal: Disagree (3 minutes)
Closing Statement: Agree (2 minutes)
Closing Statement: Disagree (2 minutes)
Each team MUST have a minimum of 2 students and can have a maximum of 3students.
Each debate will last for 20 minutes and will consist of two schools debating each other in the Lincoln-Douglas style as outlined above.
During the opening statement, each team is allowed to have two members presenting for their opening statement. Only one person can present during the rebuttal and closing statement.
The opening statement is time for a team to establish their claim and their most compelling reasons to agree or disagree with the claim. The rebuttal time is a period for the team to defend their stance and/or to question the opposing team’s comments. The closing statement is each team’s final chance to persuade the audience that their stance is the best choice.
A panel of 3 judges selected by the N4CSGA Executive Board will determine the winner of each debate.
While there is no overall or ultimate winner, there will be one winner from each debate round and all the winners will be announced during the announcement portion of the business meeting on Sunday, April 9, 2017.
Nathan Branson, Carteret Community College SGA advisor will serve as the moderator for all the debates.
The student teams will be assigned to agree or disagree with a specific claim, like the following:
Claim: Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed.
Directions: Complete a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
Topics (or claims) assigned to each debate can be found on this GRE website.
All claims will be chosen from this pool:
Schools are allowed to request ONE topic (from the pool of topics listed on the website above) that they would prefer to debate one. This does not mean the school will receive the given topic, but their request will be considered when schools are assigned topics.
All questions related to debate should be directed to Nathan Branson at
When will colleges find out about their claim?
Individual SGA teams (2-3 members) MUST register by Monday, March 20 at noon using the attached registration form.
Registration forms need to be emailed to Gilbert Umberger at by the March 20 deadline.
No late registrations will be accepted.
The N4CSGA will email individual teams their claim no later than Wednesday, March 29 to enable them to research it ahead of time, so it will be less spontaneous. This will also make for a better debate.
Colleges may write down their informationONLY on 3” x 5”index cards and bring them to conference to be used in the debate.
N4CSGA Spring Conference
April 7, 2017
Lincoln-Douglas Style Debate Contest
Registration Form
Email registration to by Noon on Monday, March 20th, 2017
Name of College: ______
Advisor: ______
Advisor’s email address: ______
Email address to send claim for debate: ______
Team member’s names:1) ______
2) ______
3) ______
We would like to request the following topic: ______
______
Topics may be found at:
______
______
For N4CSGA Use Only:
Claim assigned: ______
Scheduled debate time: ______