Tournament Qualification

The DSABC is the BC arm of the Canadian Student Debating Federation (CSDF)

We are responsible for qualifying BC students to both National and International events.

Here you will find all of the major events that we host, and how you can qualify for them!

BC British Parliamentary Provincial Championship

The event has 2 categories:
- Junior (⩽ 15 years old) and Senior (> 15 years old)
All paid members are welcome to attend this event. There are no pre-qualifying events.
This event qualifies students for the Canadian British Parliamentary Debate Championship.
Note: Students must attend this tournaments with a partner from their own school.

BC Public Speaking Provincial Championship

This event takes place in late November to early December.
All paid members are welcome to attend this event. There are no pre-qualifying events.
Junior Details:
- Students in grades 6-9 are eligible to compete in the Junior Category.
- In Juniors, this event qualifies students for the Canadian Junior Public Speaking Championships, which usually takes place in May at Mulgrave School.
- Junior description of events: bit.ly/JrSpeechCategories
Senior Details:
- Students in grades 10-12 are eligible to compete in the Senior Category.
- In Seniors, this event qualifies students for the Canadian Senior Public Speaking Championships, which usually takes place in early to mid-February at St. John's Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg.
- Senior description of events: bit.ly/SrSpeechCategories
Students are not permitted to use any content delivered before September 1st of that academic year.

BC Regional Debating Championships

Each of the eight debating regions in BC holds an annual regional
debating championship .
These events are usually held in late January or early February.
The events have 2 categories:
- Junior (Grade 9 and Under), Senior (Any Grade)
All paid members are welcome to attend these events. There are no pre-qualifying events.
These events qualify for the BC Provincial Debating Championship (The Law Foundation Cup).
Notes:
- Students must attend this tournaments with a partner from their own school.
- To attend regionals, debaters must have participated in at least one tournament in the past calendar year
  (incl. non-DSABC events, university debates, pizza debates, etc).

BC Provincial Debating Championship (Law Foundation Cup)

This event is hosted by a different region of BC each year in early March.
The top debaters from each region are invited to this tournament.
- The size of each region’s delegation is based upon the number
  of schools and debaters in each region, which changes annually.
Debaters are advanced from the Regional Championships as teams.
- No substitutions are permitted under any circumstances.
- Teams must compete at the level they qualified from at Regionals.
This event qualifies for the Canadian National Junior and Senior High School Debating Championships.

Canadian British Parliamentary Debate Championships

This event is hosted by a different province each year in early December.
The event has 2 categories:
- Junior (⩽ 15 years old) and Senior (> 15 years old)
Students qualify for this event from the BC British Parliamentary
Provincial Championship.
- BC's allotment of spaces at this event changes year to year, but typically we are able to send:
  - 6 Senior teams
  - 4 Junior teams
The top teams at this event will attend the Oxford or Cambridge Union Schools Debating Championships in the United Kingdom.

Canadian Senior National Public Speaking Championships

St. John's Ravenscourt in Winnipeg is the annual host
of the Canadian Senior National Public Speaking Championship
This event takes place in early to mid-February
Students qualify for this event from the
BC Senior Public Speaking Provincial Championship
- BC's allotment of spaces at this event changes year to year, but typically we are able to send:
  - 4 - 6 top speakers overall
The top 6 students at this event will represent Canada at the World's Public Speaking Championships

Canadian Senior National Debating Championships

This event is hosted by a different province each year in early April
Students qualify for this event from the Law Foundation Cup
- Students may be any grade level, but must advance from the
  Senior category of the Law Foundation Cup
- Typically we are able to send 4 - 6 teams
Students compete in a mix of prepared and impromptu debates using CNDF style.

Canadian Junior National Public Speaking Championships

Mulgrave School in West Vancouver is the annual host of the
Canadian Junior National Public Speaking Championship
This event takes place in early-May
Students qualify for this event from the BC Junior Public Speaking Provincial
Championship
- BC's allotment of spaces at this event changes year to year, but typically we are able to send:
  - 6 - 10 top speakers overall

Canadian Junior National Debating Championships

This event is hosted by a different province each year in late-May
Students qualify for this event from the Law Foundation Cup
- Students must have competed in the Junior category
The qualification breakdown for this event is as follows:
- Top 3 overall ranking teams
- Top 3 overall ranking teams in the next 3 unrepresented regions
Students compete in a mix of prepared and impromptu debates using CNDF style.