Competitive Debate Formats & Rules
Understand the exact speech times, speaker orders, Point of Information (POI) rules, and judging criteria across the world’s major debating circuits.
Oxford-Style Debate
A traditional, formal debating format centered on a single unambiguous motion where victory is determined strictly by the delta (net change) in audience votes between pre-debate and post-debate polling.
British Parliamentary (BP)
The official format of the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Four teams compete simultaneously: Opening Government, Opening Opposition, Closing Government, and Closing Opposition.
Lincoln-Douglas (LD)
A 1v1 philosophical values debate focusing on ethics, moral frameworks (utilitarianism, deontology, social contract theory), and societal obligations.
Public Forum (PF)
A dynamic 2v2 current affairs debate format designed to be accessible to a lay judge, featuring rapid-fire crossfires and evidentiary clash.