Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 7 and 8
Open to NSW government school students, the competition culminates in a three-day championship camp that includes workshops with some of the state's most experienced adjudicators.
Latest news
The last few zones in the state are winding up and in the meantime the 2024 knockout finals series is underway! The teams who reached finals will compete in a series of kncokout debates until a regional champion is named, and then the ten regional champs will head to a tournament hosted by the Women's College of the Univeristy of Sydney to decide the state champions. You can read more information about how the state championships work by downloading the 2024 Years 7 and 8 State Debating Championships Information (PDF 375.07 KB).
Just a reminder that teams involved in the competition need to be familiar with the 2024 Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 7 and 8 information guide (PDF 1.65 MB). In addition you can check out all the teams and the latest results as the come in here. Best of luck for the 2024 finals!
About the competition
The Years 7 and 8 age division was introduced in 1998 so that for the first time students could debate in a state-wide competition all the way from Year 5 up to Year 12. Today, debating topics cover a wide range of contemporary issues relevant to junior secondary students. Every debate in the challenge is a one hour preparation debate, so that teams do not know the topic or which side of the debate they are on until one hour before the debate starts. The state champion team will be awarded The Lloyd Cameron Cup which is named in honour of the longest-serving Speaking Competitions Officer.
Format of the competition
Teams will be organised into zones of six (occasionally fewer depending on entries) and will receive their draw before the start of Term 2. Each team will complete 3 debates against other teams from their zone whenever suits them before mid-Term 3. Once those 3 rounds are completed the team(s) with the best record will be declared the zone champions.
Zone champions move on to a regional knockout finals series following which the 10 regional champion teams attend a 3-day championships tournament in Sydney. The championships camp will run in December and includes workshops with some of the state's most experienced adjudicators.
Watch past Years 7 and 8 state finals
Enquiries
Attachments
The 2024 Premier's Debating Challenge Years 7 and 8 is proudly supported by ACCO Brands Australia.
All Arts Unit programs are inclusive. If support is required to participate in the Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 7 and 8, please email Justine.clarke@det.nsw.edu.au so that we can assist.
