You can enter at a higher grade. A team of sixth formers can enter
at advanced level. (So could a team of third formers! but we don't
recommend it). Note that some schools do enter their sixth form teams
at Advanced (and 4th form at Senior) because the next year they are
a lot more experienced and do very well. On the other hand, it is
worth noting that the 1996 Junior and Senior competitions were won by
a team of third and fifth formers respectively.
The team's level is dictated by the highest form of the team members. So a team
of two sixth formers and one seventh former must compete at advanced
level. Note this also applies to any substitutes. They must be from
the appropriate form.
The Junior competition is aimed at third and fourth form students with little or no experience of debating. The competition is also open to 1st and 2nd formers. It is intended to provide a fun introduction to the sport. The Auckland Debating Association provides schools with marksheets, a draw of schools to debate against, and a list of moots. The school is responsible for providing venues and adjudicators. Results are returned to the ADA which determines which teams will go on to the octo-finals.
We recommend that adjudicators be teachers or that coaches encourage senior students involved in debating to adjudicate. Most people find that the skills they develop when adjudicating improve their debating skills.
The advanced level is the premier schools competition in Auckland. The ADA arranges venues and adjudicators, although schools may elect to make their own arrangements for a debate.
Experience
The debating draw is computed to pair schools with the same number of wins
against each other. This means that after a few rounds schools of about
even strength debate each other. This process is improved by seeding
based on previous years' results.
Of course, those schools that are more "remote" are limited in their
choices of opposition. Sorry about that.
Competitions and Adjudicators Last updated: Tuesday, 17 February 1998 at 2:40pm Copyright 2002 Wayne McDougall.
ADA, PO Box 3233, Auckland Central, New Zealand Ph +64-9-6252847 Fax +64-9-6252851 Mobile +64-21-962783 Email to president@ada.org.nz