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Debating SA is South Australia’s premier debating organisation. We provide supportive and challenging opportunities for school students of all abilities to debate in an exceptionally well-run, friendly, and professional program that is challenging, enjoyable, and most of all, fun.
With over 1400 students from more than 60 member schools forming nearly 300 teams, we operate South Australia’s largest, most diverse and most comprehensive interschool debating competition, held from May to September each year.
Innovative and school-friendly, the association promotes debating as an activity that is accessible to all students.
Debating SA is delighted to receive the patronage of His Excellency The Honourable Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia.
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Following today’s SA Government announcement that schools will be returning tomorrow, Wednesday 28 July 2021, we are making some further…
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SEASON DATES UPDATE - 27 July 2021
Following today’s SA Government announcement that schools will be returning tomorrow, Wednesday 28 July 2021, we are making some further modifications to the season dates for Round 4, 5 and finals.
You may recall that our criteria for proceeding is based on the advice of our host schools (which is ultimately based on SA Government advice) and our continued strong preference for face-to-face debates. We also wanted to provide a full season if at all possible.
DEBATING EVENINGS CANCELLED
*Already advised: Tuesday 27 July at Cabra, Wednesday 28 July at Glenunga, Thursday 29 July at Nazareth
*Now cancelled due to restrictions: Tuesday 3 August at Pulteney, Wednesday 4 August at Adelaide HS, Thursday 5 August at Grange Primary School
REVISED DATES
Assuming restrictions allow us to go ahead and venues allow us to proceed, the following are DRAFT dates. We are providing this information to provide some certainty to teams around preparation lead time, i.e. the below is the soonest that debates will be held.
All dates are still subject to change again and we will advise as the dates approach and as more restrictions are (hopefully!) lifted.
ROUND 4 DEBATES (Venues TBC):
*Round 4 at Cabra: Tuesday 10 August 2021
*Round 4 at Glenunga: Wednesday 11 August 2021
*Round 4 at Nazareth: Thursday 12 August 2021
*Round 4 at Pulteney: Tuesday 17 August 2021
*Round 4 at Adelaide HS: Wednesday 18 August 2021
*Round 4 at Grange PS: Thursday 19 August 2021
ROUND 5 DEBATES to proceed two weeks after Round 4 debates (shorter than usual 3-week). Venues TBC
*Round 5 at Cabra: Tuesday 24 August 2021
*Round 5 at Glenunga: Wednesday 25 August 2021 (note this is short prep round for ALL Year 10 teams)
*Round 5 at Nazareth: Thursday 26 August 2021
*Round 5 at Pulteney: Tuesday 31 August 2021 (note: Pulteney is unable to host that evening so fallback venue is Nazareth Catholic College – 1 Hartley Road, Flinders Park)
*Round 5 at Grange PS: Thursday 2 September 2021
QUARTER AND SEMI FINAL DEBATES have been pushed back 1 week from the original dates. All debates at Nazareth.
*Year 6-9 Quarter Finals: Thursday 9 September 2021
*Year 6-9 Semi Finals: Thursday 16 September 2021
*Year 10/Senior Quarter Finals: Wednesday 8 September 2021
*Year 10/Senior Semi Finals: Wednesday 15 September 2021
Grand Finals on Saturday 25 September 2021
Thank you for your continued patience and understanding during this turbulent time.
SEASON DATES UPDATE DUE TO COVID LOCKDOWN:
KEEP YOUR ROUND 4 SPEECHES
Following the SA Government’s announcement about the lockdown commencing at 6pm this evening for 7 days, we are making some modifications to the season dates.
Our focus and priority is always to provide a safe, enjoyable and in-person experience for students. We are also mindful of the lead time needed for preparing debates.
Please see the changes to the season below:
The following Round 4 evenings will not go ahead next week:
*Tuesday 27 July at Cabra Dominican College
*Wednesday 28 July at Glenunga International High School
*Thursday 29 July at Nazareth Catholic College
Round 4 for the above teams will take place on dates to be determined, so please keep your speeches and research handy, as they will be useful at a later date to be announced.
Assuming that the lockdown is lifted after Tuesday 27 July and restrictions allow, we will go ahead with the following Round 4 evenings at this stage but that may change at short notice. Again, even if these evenings are cancelled, please keep your speeches as these dates will be rescheduled.
*Tuesday 3 August at Pulteney Grammar School
*Wednesday 4 August at Adelaide High School
*Thursday 5 August at Grange Primary School
We are still considering:
*Whether Round 5 will take place at all, given the timeline with finals.
*Whether to push the finals back or modify the dates to accommodate the changes above, mindful of the timeline for Year 12 students in particular.
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.
Please take care of yourselves and we will be in contact as the advice for the coming weeks becomes clearer and new dates are set.
On Friday we held the Term 2 School Holiday workshops on Fallacies, Evidence and Reasoning and Rebuttal for students. They were empowered and challenged to think critically about their own arguments as well as how to respond to the arguments of others. Well done to all involved. Keep an eye on our socials and website for future workshops. #criticalthinking #futureleaders #welovedebatingsa
Here are the fantastic Crazy Hair Round entries from the Grange Primary School venue. Well done everyone! Winners to be announced in Round 4. #crazyhairround #welovedebatingsa
Round 3 concluded at @Grange Primary School last night. What a way to end Crazy Hair Round with all of the awesome crazy and creative hair styles! Winners will be announced in Round 4. Congratulations to all students on a fantastic evening of debating . Thanks to our ever generous hosts Grange Primary School. See you in Round 4! #round3debating #crazyhairround #welovedebatingsa
Great effort everyone! I was hoping to see the pics you guys took of my daughter. I can’t see it there though.