Law Foundation Cup 2025
(BC Debate Provincials)

​​​Dear Participants, Judges, Volunteers, and Coaches,

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​​Congratulations on your qualification to the BC Provincial Debating

Championship, the Law Foundation Cup! ​

 

The DSABC is pleased to invite you to attend this event.

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Please contact the DSABC president (dsabcpresident@gmail.com) for any

inquiries about the LFC. 

Event Information:
Venue: Brentwood College School,  2735 Mt Baker Rd, Mill Bay, BC V8H 1K8

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Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025 - Sunday, March 2, 2025​​

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Ferries & Transportation

​Schools are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to Vancouver Island. We will provide bussing to and from Brentwood on Saturday and to Brentwood and to Swartz Bay on Sunday. 

 

​BC Students travelling on a school field trip with valid student ID are eligible for student rates. In order to qualify, please present a Letter of Authority which is on School Letterhead and signed by the principal, stating that your group is travelling to and from a school-related activity. Make sure to have a paper copy for each terminal of departure. Please note- If traveling in multiple vehicles, a Letter of Authority must be present per vehicle at BC Ferries Terminal check-in.

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We would recommend contacting your school administration as soon as possible if you would like to book on a student rate. Example text for a letter that you may provide to your administration is available here. ​

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Hotels

Due to a lack of available rooms, we have arranged for blocks at three hotels in Downtown Victoria.  Please prioritise making travel and accommodation arrangements so that we can help address any problems or complexities that arise promptly.

 

Buses for Brentwood will leave from all three hotels.

 

1. DoubleTree Victoria.  777 Douglas Street, Victoria BC, V8W 2B5

2. The Embassy Inn.  520 Menzies Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 2H4

3. Hotel Rialto, 653 Pandora Ave., Victoria, BC, V8W 2G1

 

Details on booking, room types, and costs may be found in the document below. Please note the DSABC is subsidising all hotel rooms by $30/night - the costs shown are after the subsidy has been applied.

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Travel Subsidies 

Students traveling from the Central Interior, Kootenays, and Southern Interior will receive a travel subsidy. Information about this subsidy will be communicated to your regional coordinator. 

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Students from the Lower Mainland will not automatically receive a travel subsidy beyond the $30/night discount on the hotel. If finances are a barrier to your attendance at this event, you are welcome to request further financial support here (one form per student). 

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Registration and Fees:​

• Registration fee per team: $130 ($65/debater) 

• Non-judging observers: $50

• There are no fees for judges. 

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Submit payments here. Payment is due on February 15, one week after the registration deadline. 

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Registration Links

• Team and Judge Registration (one per school): here (due: February 8, 2025). Please make a copy of the following spreadsheets before filling out the form: 

  • Team Registration Template​

  • Judge Registration Template

• Independent Judges: here (due: February 12, 2025). 

By registering, all tournament attendees agree to abide by DSABC policies, bylaws, and code of ethics. 

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Judging Expectations:

• All schools on Vancouver Island are expected to provide one judge per team. For all other teams, this requirement is reduced to one judge per two teams, rounded up. 

  • Grade 12 students with significant debate experience may act as judges in the junior category.

• At least one judge or the chaperone in every school's delegation (but preferably all of them) must have a recent clear criminal record check. The DSABC has the ability to facilitate this online, provided we are given sufficient notice to submit the request. 

• Judges must be fluent in English and comfortable with following fast-paced speeches using high-level vocabulary.

• Delegations failing to provide appropriate judges without first alerting the tournament organizer may be subject to disqualification, prohibition from advancement to Nationals, or other appropriate sanctions.

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Tournament Format:

• Senior Debaters (Grades 10, 11, 12)

  • 2 rounds of unbracketed prepared debate in Cross-Examination Style 

  • 3 rounds of bracketed impromptu debate in Canadian National Debate Format

  • Impromptu Senior Final in CNDF for the top 2 teams

• Junior Debaters (Grades 6, 7, 8, 9)

  • 2 rounds of unbracketed prepared debate in Cross-Examination Style 

  • 3 rounds of bracketed impromptu debate in Canadian National Debate Format

 

Prepared Rounds​

​The prepared rounds (Rounds 1 and 2) in both divisions will use Cross-Examination style. The motion is: 

BIRT out-of-court settlements for workplace discrimination and harassment be banned.

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Update - Feb 17

We received a question about the prepared motion, which we are sharing here to ensure that everyone is on the same page about how to interpret the topic.

• Question: Would cases at quasi-judicial tribunals be considered ‘court’ or ‘out-of-court’?

• Answer: For the purposes of this debate, a hearing at a quasi-judicial tribunal like the BC Human Rights Tribunal is a ‘court’ case and would not be banned under the motion.  

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Debate Information

• Students will argue both sides of the prepared motion and will be guaranteed both a different opponent each round and that they will not oppose teams from their own school.

• Once bracketing begins in round 3 there will be no protections and pairings will be based solely on win/loss record and average team score. This may result in repeat pairings and/or same-school matches.

Impromptu Rounds

• All impromptu rounds will have different topics with 30 minutes of preparation time.

• Topics will be relevant to local or national politics, current events and policy discussions, and/or prevalent social or moral issues

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Advancement and Qualification

• Students must participate in the same teams and categories as in their regionals

• Teams competing in the Junior Category are eligible for qualification to the Junior Debate Nationals

• Teams competing in the Senior Category are eligible for qualification to the Senior Debate Nationals

• Any Grade 10 student who places in the top 50th percentile of the senior category will advance to the BC Qualifiers for a chance to attend the Canadian National Team Tryouts. Remaining spots at this event will be given to juniors in ranked order until we have 24 qualifiers (8 spots are reserved from each category)

 

Chaperone Policy

• Students are required to have a chaperone at all times for both online and in-person debating. 

• A chaperone can be a coach, teacher sponsor or parent/guardian who is authorized by their child’s school and is willing to take on all chaperone related responsibilities, including risk management, health, and tournament-related decisions. 

• The chaperone can also act as a judge to satisfy a team’s judging requirement. 

• Senior students are not considered chaperones. 

• All adults acting as chaperones are expected to uphold the DSABC Code of Ethics.

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Observer Policy

• Registered observers are permitted to watch students under their affiliation provided everyone in the room feels comfortable with this.

• Observers should not intervene in any way.

• Observers are not permitted to communicate with debaters during prep time or while rounds are taking place.

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Preliminary Schedule  - subject to change