THE DEBATE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The organizing committee is the backbone of the debate tournament. Its members should work together
to ensure that the event will be successful. The roles of the members are: Junior Judges, Moderator,
Timekeeper, Journalist, and Secretariat. The roles and responsibilities of each committee member are
enumerated below. These are followed by a layout of the Debate in the Conference Room.
1. Junior Judge
You will assist the Chief Judge (me) in making unbiased decisions towards assessing the performance
of each team. You will be judging each speaker based on their ability to present sound logical
arguments in a confident and persuasive style. It is important for you to be tolerant of differences in
accent and to value speech delivery and the content.
A marking sheet will be provided to you before the start of the date. (See: Debate Performance
Standards and Debate Judging Sheet for details)

 Speech delivery (50%) refers to the speaker’s ability to speak clearly, expressively, and
persuasively. The tone of voice, use of gestures, and level of enthusiasm are convincing. The
points should also be clear and organized.
 Evidence (30%) refers to the speaker’s use of examples and facts. These are given to support
the reasons and references should be provided. This also covers the speaker’s ability to
effectively deal with the arguments made by their opponent.
 Content (20%) refers to the speaker’s ability to present their argument in a clear and
organized manner, regardless of their speech delivery.
At the end of the debate, the junior judges and the chief judge should remain in the conference room
and make two important decisions: (1) Best Speaker (speaker with highest average total marks), and
(2) Winning Team (team with best total overall marks).
Tools: Debate Judging Sheet, pen and paper for notetaking, active listening skills, unbiased attitude,
observant demeanor
Output: duly accomplished Debate Judging Sheet

2. Moderator
You are the neutral participant in the debate. You work alongside the timekeeper to hold participants
to their time limits. You also have the liberty to raise questions for the purpose of allowing the debater
to fully develop their argument.
Before the start of the debate, you should introduce the judges and participants. Then, you reveal the
resolution to the audience and then explain the respective sides (e.g., the affirmative team supports the
resolution while the negative team is against it). You will then briefly explain the rules and the format
of the debate and criteria for judging (see: E9_Final Debate Format and Rules.pdf).
Before each speaker begins the speech, you should briefly state their position (e.g., we have the first
constructive speaker from the Affirmative). During the speech, you should take note of the main
argument of each speaker. After the speaker has finished his or her speech, you will then briefly
restate his or her main argument for clarification before moving on to the cross-examination.
Tools: pen and paper for notetaking, a diplomatic personality, presentable attire, high self-confidence
Output: no written output. You will be graded based on your performance as a moderator in the
debate
 3. Time Keeper
You are in charge of making sure that the debate moves at a timely pace. You should monitor the
duration of each part of the speech and take note of the times. Work alongside the Moderator to
ensure that the debate runs smoothly and within the classroom time. Use the Timekeeper’s Worksheet
that I will provide to notate the time each speaker took to deliver their speech. Manage the two main
tools (stopwatch and timer) effectively.
Your responsibilities are as follows:
STOPWATCH (Speeches) TIMER (Cross-Ex & Breaks)
Before the speech, ring the bell then start the There will be a 1-minute cross-examination
stopwatch. period between speeches. Start the 1-minute
Once the stopwatch reaches 4m (1AC/1NC) or timer for this. Once finishes, ring the bell
3m (other speakers), ring the bell once. several times to end the Cross-Examination.
If the speaker is undertime, stop the stopwatch Speakers who continue to talk for more than 30
and take note of the time. seconds after the
If the speaker continues to speak, do not stop the
stopwatch until he/she ends the speech. Once There will also be breaks between rounds: two
you have done so, take note of the time as well. 3-minute breaks and one 15-minute break. Start
Once the stopwatch reaches the time limit (5m the timer for these accordingly. Once the timer
1AC/1NC; 4m other speakers), ring the bell goes off, ring the bell several times to signal the
several times. end of the break.

DO NOT STOP the stopwatch after the time For the 15-minute break, ring the timer once in
limit. Only stop it after the speaker has ended every 5-minute interval.
the speech.

Tools: stopwatch, timer, bell (will be provided), pen and Timekeeper’s Worksheet sharp attention to
details, active listening skills
Output: duly accomplished official timer sheet of the debate

4. Journalist
You are responsible for documenting the entire debate in a concise narrative format. Take turns in
video-recording the event and taking note of the main points of the debaters in each part of the debate.
If you are a fast typist, you may use a laptop instead of pen and paper for notetaking. Both journalists
(if there are two) will only need to submit one report in narrative form of what happened during the
debate. However, make sure to take note of which journalist wrote which parts of the report.
Here is a sample excerpt of a narrative report:
The debate is between QT (Affirmative) and A-Team (Negative) and the resolution is “Be it
resolved that schools should ban the selling of soft drinks within the campus.” The 1AC is Jin,
and her main argument is that it is necessary to ban soft drinks in the campus because it is
unhealthy…

Tools: video camera (I will provide my own, but you should also be ready with a spare smartphone),
pen and paper and/or laptop for notetaking and creating the report.
Output: audio-video footage of the debate and one report. Print out or write down the report on A4
sized bond paper.
 5. Secretariat
You should be the one to check the attendance of the audience and ensure that all debaters are in the
venue before the start of the debate. You must ensure that the respective tables have labels (Judges,
Affirmative, Negative, etc.) and that the team members have tags showing their role (e.g., 1AC, and
so on). You must also prepare the venue before the start of the debate and ensure that the audience
members are seated and well-behaved (i.e., not making any noise) throughout the event.
You are responsible for securing the belongings of the debaters as they are not allowed to bring
anything to their table except their research notes, papers and pens for notetaking, and drinking water.
You need to make sure that the debaters do not have any electronic devices with them as well. You
should also take turns making rounds in the audience to monitor their behavior and to take note of
classmates who are not listening (e.g., playing video games).
Tools: attendance sheet, prepared checklist, pad and paper for notetaking, materials for the debate
paraphernalia
Output: a report per secretariat on the fulfilled duties and anything that transpired relating to their
responsibilities (e.g., Classmate A was caught playing a video game, Classmate B gave a note to the
debater without permission).

Debate Layout (Conference Room)