Primary Schools State Debating Championships
Representative regional teams engage in a series of round-robin debates and workshops with experienced adjudicators. At the end of 5 rounds of competition, 4 teams compete in semi-finals with the winners going on to meet for the state championship.
![The primary debating team winners for 2018 hold their trophy](/sites/default/files/styles/square/public/2021-07/The%20Arts%20Unit%20Debating%202018.jpeg?itok=KblIAcAl)
What is the Primary Schools State Debating Championships?
In our debating competitions we split NSW up into ten different regions. In Term 3 each region runs debating trials to pick a squad of their very best primary school debaters. That squad goes on to represent the region against the other nine regions at a championships debating camp where the 40-odd best debaters in the state battle it out to see which region comes out on top. The camp at which the championships is held generally runs from a Sunday afternoon until Wednesday morning in November, and there's a fee for students who are selected to represent their region, though there's also some assistance available to speakers to help with travel costs. You can see a lot more detail information on the championships by downloading the 2024 Primary Schools State Debating Championships Information Guide (PDF 432.32 KB)
What are the rules of the championships?
- Competitors must be from Year 5 or Year 6 and attending a NSW government public school. Only one student may be selected per school and each student may compete at state level only twice.
- The regional representative squad can consist of up to five members.
- Debates will run following the standard rules of the Premier's Debating Challenge, including a one-hour unassisted preparation time and a 4-minute speaking time.
- Each team will debate five times in the round-robin section of the championships.
- The four teams with the most wins will move on to the semi-finals. They will be ranked by the adjudicators so that the best two teams are given the opportunity to meet in the state final.
- In the event that teams draw for semi-final spots, tiebreakers will be applied in the following order: head-to-head, strength of win, strength of schedule, adjudicator ranking. If more than 2 teams are drawn, the tiebreakers are applied in order until one team is eliminated and the process is restarted.
- The winners of the semi-finals will proceed to the state final. All teams are expected to attend the state final.
How do I find out about the trials in my region?
The trials for the 2024 tournament will be advertised here as soon as they're planned. We'll also email any teacher who has a team in the Premier's Debating Challenge as soon as the plans get nailed down.
Region | Trials information |
---|---|
Hunter/Central Coast | 2024 information TBC |
Illawarra and South East | Friday 13 September @ Goulburn South Public School (application to come) |
New England | Thursday 12 September @ Nemingha Public School (email: lauren.nay2@det.nsw.edu.au) |
North Coast | 2024 information TBC |
Northern Sydney | 2024 information TBC |
Riverina | 2024 information TBC |
South Western Sydney | 2024 information TBC |
Sydney | Thursday 8 August at Leichhardt Public School (click to apply) |
Western NSW | Friday 13 September at Bathurst West Public School (click to apply) |
Western Sydney | 2024 information TBC |