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---
layout: post
title: "Introduction to BP DEBATING"
subtitle: "BP Debating"
date: 2020-01-31 10:45:13 -0400
background: "/assets/images/posts/06.jpg"
comments: true
author: Pratyush Shekhar
categories: BP DEBATING
---

**Basic Rules of BP debating**

<p>
Each debate will contain four teams, each team consisting of eight speakers.
There are two teams on each side of debate. On one side are Opening Government (OG) and Closing
Government(CG), on other side are Opening Opposition (OO) and closing Opposition
(CO). The two sides of the debate are sometimes called ‘benches’ – as in, ‘the Government bench’
and ‘the Opposition bench’. The first two teams in the debate (OG and OO) are sometimes collectively
called the ‘opening half’, whilst the third and fourth teams in the debate (CG and CO) are sometimes
collectively called the ‘closing half’.
</p>


<p>
<br>
In the order specified below, speakers from the four teams give their speeches, with each speaker
giving one speech:
<br>1. First speaker (the ‘Prime Minister’) from the OG team,
<br>2. First speaker(the ‘Leader of Opposition’) from the OO team,
<br>3. Second speaker (the ‘Deputy Prime Minister’) from the OG team,
<br>4. Second speaker (the ‘Deputy Leader of Opposition’) from the OO team,
<br> 5.First speaker (the ‘Government Member’) from the CG team,
<br>6. First speaker (the ‘Opposition Member’) from the CO team,
<br> 7. Second speaker (the ‘Government Whip’) from the CG,
<br> 8. Second speaker (the ‘Opposition Whip’) of the CO Team
</p>

<p>
The debate is presided over by a ‘Chair’, a designated individual who oversees the proceedings
of the debate, calling on speakers to speak and enforcing the rules. At Worlds, the Chair will
usually be one of the judges – the individuals who will ultimately decide the result of the debate.
Each debate will also usually have a timekeeper, who
could be the Chair, another judge, or another individual entirely, who times speakers’ speeches
</p>


**LENGTH OF SPEECHES**

<p>
Speeches last for 7 minutes. Time signals (usually a bang on the table, ring of a bell, or clap
of the hands) will be given by the timekeeper to indicate when 1 minute, 6 minutes and 7 minutes
(often indicated by a double clap/bang) have elapsed. Though speakers should ideally finish their
speech by 7 minutes, they may legitimately continue to speak in order to finish their sentence or
wrap up a conclusion. As a general rule, this shouldn’t take more than a further 15 seconds. If a
speaker tries to use this leeway to make any additional points, judges are no longer permitted to
take this into account. Beyond 7 minutes and 15 seconds, judges are no longer permitted to take
anything the speaker says into account. The Chair or timekeeper of the debate should bang the table
or clap three times at 10 second intervals after 7 minutes 15 seconds to remind the speaker that
they are now well beyond their time limit. If the speaker continues speaking past 8 minutes (which
should never happen), the Chair of the debate should ‘call order’, and instruct the speaker to sit
down
</p>

**ROLES OF TEAMS**

<p>
Each team has a role to play in the debate, and the speakers from that team should attempt to
fulfil that role effectively:
<br>(i) OG should define the motion, advance arguments in favour
of their side, and rebut arguments made by OO.
<br>(ii) OO should rebut OG's case (i.e. the general set of arguments they have offered) and advance
constructive arguments as to why their side of the table should win the debate.
<br>(iii) CG must provide further arguments and analysis in favour of the motion, which are
consistent with, but distinct from, the substantive material advanced by OG, as well as refuting
the analysis of the Opposition teams. The Government Whip must summarise the debate as a whole on
behalf of the Government bench, and should not add new arguments.
<br>(iv) CO must provide further arguments against the motion, which are consistent with,
but different from, the arguments advanced by OO, as well as rebutting arguments made by the
Government teams. The Opposition Whip must summarise the debate as a whole on behalf of the
Opposition bench, and must not add new arguments..
</p>


**POI (POINT OF INFORMATION)**
<p>
The first and last minute of each speech is known as ‘protected time’, during which no Points of
Information (POIs) may be offered to the speaker who is making their speech. During the intervening
5 minutes (i.e. between 01:00 and 06:00) points of information may be offered.
<p> A POI is a formalised
interjection from any speaker on the opposite side of the table to the speaker who has the floor.
Speakers are expected to accept at least one point of information per speech. Points of Information
are important in comparing teams and a component in assessing engagement. It is up to the speaker
who has the floor to decide which POIs to accept (i.e. allow to be made) or reject (i.e. not
allowed to be made). If a speaker offers a POI which contains multiple comments or statements,
the speaker who has the floor has the choice to answer the POI as if only the first question or
comment has been made. If this is the case, judges should disregard additional parts of a multi-part
POI (as they would, for instance, ignore new material in a whip speech).
</p>
<p>A POI may last up to 15
seconds. It can take the form of a comment or a question to the speaker who has the floor. To offer
a POI a speaker should, if they are able to, stand and say “point of information,” “on that point”
or “point”. They should not offer a POI by uttering anything which reveals the content of the POI
before it has been accepted (by saying, for example “on the law” or “not at all!”). If the POI
offered is refused, the speaker who offered it should sit down immediately. POIs may not be offered
after the 6 minute mark in a speaker’s speech, and at 6 minutes all speakers currently standing
(to indicate that they have offered a POI) should sit down. It is acceptable for a POI which was
offered and accepted before the 6 minute mark to continue to be made past the 6 minute mark –
it should continue until the POI is concluded, the 15 second time allotment has passed or the
POI is cut off. It is also acceptable for a POI offered before 6 minutes to be accepted by a
speaker dead on the 6 minute mark and then be made. Once all speakers are sitting after the 6
minute mark, no more POIs may be offered or accepted.</p>

**MOTION FOR THE DEBATE**

<p>
Each round has a specific topic, known as the ‘motion’. If debaters are uncertain about the literal
meaning of a word in the motion, they may ask the judge to define it for
them and in case of tournaments they can consult the Adjudication Core. They may not ask anyone other than a judge to explain any words in
the motion, nor may they refer to online resources. In tournaments,they may also not ask for any
further assistance from the Adjudication Core beyond a simple definition of the word they are
unfamiliar with.</p>
<p>On some occasions, the adjudication core may release an informational slide, or ‘infoslide’, prior to releasing
the motion. This usually consists of a short explanatory paragraph which can serve several purposes,
from simple clarifications of words in the motion to giving context and relevant information about
potential issues in the debate. Information provided in the infoslide should be assumed to be true
for the purposes of the debate following it. For example, if the extra information comes in the
form of a definition of a word or term in the motion, this definition should not be disputed in
the round following it. However, teams are free to provide additional definitions, clarifications
or contextual information during the debate, on top of whatever information is already provided
within the infoslide.</p>


**BREACHES OF ORDER**

<p>
For the debate to be able to proceed properly, and for all speakers to have a fair chance to
deliver their speeches, all debaters (and anyone else in the debate room) are required to refrain
from disrupting the debate. Any of the following activities are considered to be disrupting the
debate:
<br>1. Barracking/badgering </br>
2.Continuing to offer a POI after being cut off by the speaker speaking or by the Chair.
<br> 3.Speaking beyond 7 minutes with a 15 second grace period
<br> 4.Offering POIs in any way other than those described above ,when not delivering a speech or a POI,
<br>5. Talking in an audible volume or otherwise generating distracting noise engaging in other
highly distracting behaviour
<br>6. Using props (any physical object, diagram, etc.)</p>



<blockquote class="blockquote">
Teams win debates by being persuasive with respect to the burdens their side of the debate is
attempting to prove, within the constraints set by the rules of BP Debating.
</blockquote>