MeW 2010 - DEBATE RULES

GENERAL RULES

  1. This competition is opened to all medical students in Cairo, Ainshams and Azhar University.
  2. A debate team should consist of 3 people from the same university.
  3. Preliminary rounds will be held on 16th and 18th March. The winners for this round will be representing their university for final round to compete between 3 universities: Cairo, Al-Azhar and Ain Shams University.
  4. Final round will be held on 20th March 2010.
  5. Rules for debaters:
·         A debate team should consist of three people.
·         All members of the debate team must participate (speak). A single member of the team should take each segment. The closing segment should be given by only 1st or 2nd  debaters , the 3rd member is not allowed to participate in this segment.
·         A coin flip prior to the start of the debate will determine which team has the affirmative and which has the negative.
·         The debate format will be as follows:
5 minutes opening from affirmative
5 minutes opening from negative
4 minutes rebuttal from affirmative
4 minutes rebuttal from negative
4 minutes rebuttal from affirmative
4 minutes rebuttal from negative
4 minutes closing from affirmative
4 minutes closing from negative
·         A reminder for all the debaters not to mention sensitivity of a person, religion and race in their speech.

·         The debaters should accept at least three P.O.I (point of information) during their speech. If not, the mark will be deducted.

·         The debaters should control their emotion while giving the speech.

6. Anyone interested in debating can register and provide your details before or on 12th
    March 2010. The details should include:
·         Full name (all team members)
·         Academic year
·         University

  Contact the representatives below:


Cairo University:
-Mohd Idris Mohamad Diah                 

(0113716062)
-Nor Azlin Abd Rahim                        

(0118329050)
Ain Shams University:
-Nazmi                                                   

(0145842956)
-Syarifah Amirah binti Habit Mustafa   

(0118044892)
Al Azhar University:
-Ahmad Izofi Zainudin               

(0118951475)
-Nur Zakiah Bt. Sallehuddin           

(0119214582)

  1. All the participants should be alert with any announcement or advertisement regarding the competition.
  2. All the participants should be prepared with all the motions for the competition;

9.  Suggestions for Debating

  • You have to be prepared to argue both sides. This means that your team must have researched both sides extensively from good reputable sources.
  • Listen very carefully to your opponents.  Rebuttals are only as strong as your ability to undermine their arguments with evidence or carefully constructed counterarguments of your own.
  • Arguments should be made from logical constructions, almost like a mathematical proof. You should avoid emotional argumentation, that is "I'm right because everyone knows that it's right."
  • Arguments should be supported with expert opinions, gathered from your research. Also avoid citing sources that seem dubious or that are unsupportable unless they are personal anecdotes designed to create the foundation for a point.
  • You will be cut off at the end of the time limit. This means that you need to practice timing your responses to ensure that you've made your argument within the time allowed. Otherwise the audience will be left hanging.
  • The first and last impressions are most important. Make sure that you have good openings and closings for your debate.  Make sure your closing statements address the arguments of your opponents.
  • Don't worry about getting every little bit of information out there. Your listeners will respond much better to clear argumentation. Speak slowly and clearly. This is very important to remember, especially under the stress of speaking in front of an audience. Speak for clarity not for volume.