How the Competition Works

The Big Green Challenge this year is using a simple form of debate, where each speaker has 4-6 minutes to speak.

Each debate has a topic, called a motion, which will be given to teams in advance. The motion always begins with the words 'This house...', for example: 'This house believes that renewable energy is great'. In the debate, the two teams are called the proposition who are in favour of the motion, and the opposition, who are against it. Of course, this means you might end up defending something you don't agree with - however, what matters is how well you argue the point!

Teams take turns in speaking. Here's a quick guide to the roles your team members take, and what they do:

	Team A (Proposition)	Team B (Opposition)
1st Speakers 4 mins	Defines the motion Sets out the general arguments of Team A	Responds to the definition Briefly rebuts previous arguments Sets out Team B’s arguments
2nd Speakers 6 mins	Rebuts arguments of last speaker Sets out Team A's main arguments in detail	Rebuts arguments of last speaker Sets out Team B's main arguments in detail
3rd Speakers (Summation) 5 mins	Sums up and rebuts main opposition arguments at length Sums up main proposition arguments Does not introduce new material	Sums up and rebuts main proposition arguments at length Sums up main opposition arguments Does not introduce new material

Interruptions!

While someone from the other side is speaking, you can make a point of information. You do this by standing up and saying 'point of information'. The current speaker can then either say "yes please", in which case you make your point very briefly (no more than 15 seconds) - or "no thanks", in which case you have to sit down. You can gain points by doing this, if you make a point you think the speaker is ignoring - but don't do it repeatedly, or you'll lose points!