2023 Schools' Competition Topics
Year 5
All debates are Prepared Debates. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.
Round 1:
That cats are better than dogs.
Round 2:
That trampolines for children are a good idea.
Round 3:
That teachers should not give lollies as a reward to students.
Round 4:
That hot cross buns should be sold all year.
Round 5:
That Santa should slim down.
Year 6/7
All debates are Prepared Debates. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.
Round 1:
That schools should ban mullets.
Round 2:
That schools should have a dog to reduce stress in the classroom. (see link)
Round 3:
That we should be able to keep native animals as pets. (see link)
Round 4:
That SA should adopt the former East German Ampelmann as a traffic signal at pedestrian crossings.
Round 5:
That Father Christmas has a harder job than the Easter Bunny
Quarter Final:
That self serve at supermarkets is a good idea
Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.
Semi Final:
That the Government should tell the public if there are aliens.
Grand Final:
That Australian primary school students should have compulsory music lessons.
Year 8
All debates are Prepared Debates. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.
Round 1:
That teachers should allow students to call them by their first names.
Round 2:
That traffic fines should be based on income.
Round 3:
That single sex schools are better than co-ed schools.
Round 4:
That private schools should be abolished.
Round 5:
That the Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake should be banned.
Quarter Final:
That there should be a mandatory retirement age for politicians.
Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.
Semi Final:
That Warner Bros should give up the DCEU.
Grand Final:
That cyborg technology should be the next frontier of human evolution.
Year 9
All debates are Prepared Debates.
Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.
Round 1:
That rewrites of Roald Dahl’s books is unacceptable.
Round 2:
That Elon Musk unblocking people on Twitter is a good idea.
Round 3:
That students at South Australian schools who hate PE should be able to help people do yard work instead. (see link)
Round 4:
That defacing works of art is an unacceptable form of protest. (see link)
Round 5:
That the Victorian Government's decision to cancel the Commomwealth Games was a good idea.
Quarter Final:
That "Influencers" are detrimental to society.
Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.
Semi Final:
That New Zealand should become the 7th state of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Grand Final:
That the ACT's decision to reduce penalties for the personal use of drugs is a good idea.
Year 10
Rounds 1 to 4 are Prepared Debates. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.
Round 1:
That the SA Police change to dress standards is a good idea (see link)
Round 2:
That composting bodies (Natural Organic Reduction) for burial is disrespectful.
Round 3:
That the South Australian Parliament’s response to the recent Extinction Rebellion protest is a bad move.
Round 4:
That we should inoculate people against depression and trauma. (see link)
Round 5:
Short Preparation Debate
The Short Preparation Topic will be released 90 minutes before the scheduled debate. View guidelines here
Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.
Quarter Final:
That the merger of The University of Adelaide and UniSA is a good idea.
Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.
Semi Final:
That Australia should adopt "15 minute cities."
Grand Final:
That we should incentivise women to have children.
Senior
Round 1: That we should change the Australian Constitution to enable an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Prepared Debate Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.
Round 2: That Australia should introduce a Universal Basic Income Scheme. (see link)
Prepared Debate Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.
Round 3: That we should reject the push of the World Economic Forum to eat insects.
Prepared Debate Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.
Round 4: Short Preparation Debate
The Short Preparation Topic will be released 90 minutes before the scheduled debate. View guidelines here
Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.
Quarter Final: That Italy's ban on lab-grown meat is a good idea.
Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.
Semi Final: That we should bring manufacturing back to Australia.
Grand Final: That in light of recent events, the Government should re-nationalise Qantas.
Special Formats of Prepared Debates
Quodlibetical Topic
There are a number of issues that can’t be easily expressed in a one-line topic. Therefore you have been given a fictitious scenario, outlined by a few paragraphs, and a topic that is based on this scenario. The following should be noted:
1. The first speaker should not attempt to define the topic word for word, but rather should define the issue(s) or dilemma(s) that the topic presents.
2. It is this issue or dilemma that should be debated in an attempt to prove whichever side of the topic, i.e. feel free to debate the particular issue generally, but be sure to link it back to the topic as this is what you want to argue for or against.
3. There is no need for the first speaker to read out the initial paragraphs as the Chairman will do this before announcing the topic, however, any speaker may refer to these paragraphs as part of his/her argument.
4. Debaters are welcome and are encouraged to conduct further research on the issues presented but note that the scenario itself is often fictitious.