Main Tournament Rules

Congressional Debate Rules
Revised for the 2026 tournament (clarified agenda 8 Oct. 2025).

​​Latebreaking Updates (“Live Doc”) Section

Watch this space for relevant information posted during the tournament.

Sectioning (Pairing) Explanation

To be posted when Round 1 is sectioned.

Judge Expectations & Penalties

1. All Congressional Debate judges are committed through the entire tournament unless the coach who hired that judge has made prior arrangements with tournament management.
2. Ahead of the tournament, all judges must complete both NSDA courses on judging Congress, and complete the Harvard Debate Council parliamentarian course.
3. Judges must report to their assigned contest room by 15 minutes prior to the round start time OR, when not assigned, to standby area (see Tabroom judge pool for location, which may differ by day). We will take attendance for standbys. Schools of judges who do not show for their assignments or as standbys will be fined $150 as a disincentive for not meeting that school’s obligation.
4. Judges must write constructive, encouraging feedback and award points to speakers and presiding officers (POs) during a round. Judges assigned to rounds must remain in the contest room (virtual or in-person) until they have submitted their ballot with rankings, which must be within 15 minutes of the round’s last speech.  They may return and edit comments before the end of the tournament, but at minimum, points for each speech and PO as well as  ranks must be submitted in a timely manner. Schools of judges who leave before submitting their rankings will be assessed a nuisance fine of $50 per occurrence. To avoid fines/misunderstandings, we encourage judges who are experiencing technology problems or have other mitigating circumstances to proactively communicate with Congressional tournament staff (using the text hotline).

>> Full listing of Congressional judging resources >>

Glossary

• Authorship: speech delivered by a delegate from the school who submitted the legislation.
• Sponsorship: speech delivered by any other contestant. There is no such speech as a “first affirmative.”
• Judges: all adults (scorers, parliamentarians) assigned to a room who contribute to determining which students advance. Scorers evaluate each speech with specific comments and award a point value score, as well as rank their choice of top 8 performing students in each round to which they are assigned. Parliamentarians may provide holistic, evaluative feedback to students each round, and at the end of the session, rank-order every contestant in the chamber.
• Session: levels of competition. Prelims and earlier elim  sessions consists of multiple rounds.
• Round: each individual timeslot of competition where a  different student presiding officer is elected, with different scorer judges. In the Varsity division, each session has its own agenda and keeps the same students assigned to it with one parliamentarian judge who holistically ranks all contestants at the conclusion of each round.  
• Recess: a brief break or pause in a round; not appropriate for receiving coaching.
• Tabroom.com: online platform used to schedule (section) and score the tournament.

• For Everyone: Communicates postings, judging assignments, and tournament communications.
• For Judges (scorers/parliamentarians): place to access ballot for each round assigned.

• Tab Room: headquarters room for Congressional tournament operations personnel; where judges and contestants may ask questions.
• Judge Pooling Room (also known as judge room or judge lounge): place where unassigned judges should report as a standby, just prior to each round. This could be an in-person room or a Zoom-based room for the online tournament.

1. Event Rules

1. In addition to rules provided herein, we we defer to non-conflicting National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) rules, which cannot be altered or suspended. The current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be used where these rules are silent.
2. Presiding Officer (PO): POs may serve one preliminary round unless no one else wishes to run. Each round, the tab room will check election records to verify adherence to this rule. The elected PO will not relinquish the chair once elected.

3. Legislation, agenda, and authorship speeches

1. Each high school's coach may submit one item of student-written legislation on Tabroom.com by the deadline shown on Tabroom.com (see image below for example), only using templates provided on Tabroom.com or CongressionalDebate.org. Middle school coaches may submit up to (3) three items, but no more than one per student or topic category. Coaches should review to ensure quality, suitable for substantive debate. Before uploading, legislation should include in the “introduced by” line its topic area focus (e.g., Introduced by Anyville High School in the topic area of Defense):

Commerce (business, banking, finance)
Defense
Education and Health Care
Elections and Government Reform
Energy, Environment, and Scientific Development
Foreign Relations and Aid
Immigration and Border Protection
Justice (including policing, firearms, and drugs)

2. Following the submission deadline, legislation will first be assessed (school/student identity removed) to select a field of bills and resolutions best suited for debate, and distributed as evenly as possible across the topic areas above. Then, about 4-5 days following the submission deadline, registered contestants will have 4-5 days to  vote for their favorite items (contestants registered after that period will not have the opportunity to vote). Coaches are responsible for ensuring student accounts are active and attached to their contestants; coaches do not vote. From among the student vote, highest-rated items will be earmarked for finals, followed by each set of rounds prior. The lowest-rated items will not make the docket. Each varsity round will have three items of legislation assigned. Each JV/Middle School round will have two items assigned. Legislation will be released by three weeks prior to the start of the tournament.
3. The order of the legislation is the agenda order.
4. If the author of a bill or resolution – or his/her teammate – is not present at the tournament or relinquishes authorship rights, another student may sponsor.
5. In the Middle School division, an individual contestant may only deliver up to one authorship speech per round.

4. Debate structure:

1. Recognition of speakers: the PO must use the tournament-provided preset recency numbers for each contestant in the room for each round.

1. There is no requirement pertaining to number of speeches on the same side, i.e., no “minimum cycle”. Some topics are more nuanced, and there can still be ample unique arguments and opportunities to build upon and branch off of speakers on the same side. However, judges should discount redundant arguments that simply rehash or paraphrase arguments already made.

2. Closing Appeal: when the chamber has ended debate on legislation, the author/sponsor must deliver a Closing Appeal speech of up to 90 seconds, with no questioning period, and scored for points, but not counting toward precedence/recency. After this speech, the PO immediately takes a vote on the legislation, without any motion. Please see this page for more guidance.
3. Questioning: all rounds use direct questioning, where the PO will recognize contestants for continuous 30-second blocks of unmoderated, question-and-answer exchanges between the floor speaker and recognized questioner. Recognition for direct questions must follow the same preset recency table, but may use reverse order of that list.
4. Rules pertaining to debate structure (§1.4) may not be suspended.

5. Penalties: Judges will be instructed they may reduce ranks/points for the following:

1. A speech on the wrong side is ruled out of order by the PO (after confirming with the parliamentarian). The speech counts toward recency, but receives one point.
2. Over Time: Judges are instructed to deduct points for students cavalier about extending beyond speaking time of three minutes. The PO must keep accurate time and announce when the speaker has finished; judges shall penalize for inaccurate timing and/or reporting.

6. Parliamentary procedure: only motions contained in this abbreviated table of essential motions may be used at this tournament.
7. Voting: The PO determines voting method on each question before the chamber.

1. Final votes on legislation, amendments, and motions to appeal chair require a recorded vote, and vote totals are based on total number of legislators in the chamber (not just present and voting). A majority of the total is required for passage; therefore, a PO may cast a vote following count of colleagues. Only aye votes cast count toward passage in those cases.
2. Voice voting (or informal counting by visual means for online competition) is acceptable for all other votes, but a recorded vote must be taken if any legislator calls for a division of the chamber; however, roll call votes are prohibited. The chair determines whether the chamber agrees with the motion/question using number of legislators present in the chamber at the time of the vote. Because of this system, the PO must track the number of legislators in the chamber at all times.

8. Amendment Process:

1. Legislators move personal privilege to submit to the PO to submit written amendments (or may do so prior to a round convening or reconvening after recess.
2. Anytime after the sponsor speech, a motion to amend is in order. The PO — who may first consult with the parliamentarian — will announce if the amendment is germane and will read the contents to the chamber; or rules it dilatory and the process stops.
3. A one-third second vote of all members is required to debate the amendment. Legislators may move to lay on the table or call previous question on the amendment at any time.
4. If a speech on the amendment is recognized, the first is a sponsorship speech, and speaker recognition is on basis of precedence/recency; the author of the amendment is not guaranteed the sponsorship speech. The sponsor accepts responsibility for mechanics of the amendment and yields to two minutes of questioning.
5. All amendment speeches receive a score and count towards precedence/ recency. Speeches should focus on the amendment itself, and how it affects the original outcome of the legislation. A majority vote is necessary for the chamber to adopt the amendment. If the amendment carries, further debate should consider the legislation as amended.

9. Rounds & Recesses

1. Judges should not spend session time giving paradigms or preferences. Students may consult Tabroom.com paradigms ahead of the round.
2. Chambers will be limited to no more than two (2) five-minute recesses or one (1) ten-minute recess per round (inclusive of “in-house” recesses). Recesses are considered a brief pause in a round, equivalent to prep time in other debate events, and not appropriate for receiving coaching.
3. Rounds may end earlier or later than posted end times with permission sought by the parliamentarian of the tab room; such decisions may not be made unilaterally by parliamentarians or other judges. Tab determinations will account for responsible usage of session time by contestants as well as constraints with tournament venues/spaces. Beyond that, this tournament’s position is that within reason, a round can be extended without an expectation of “hard stops.”

4. Students may forgo moving personal privilege to immediately report to the tab room, if they are in distress. Any judge who notices a student leaving without moving personal privilege should notify the tab room, for safety purposes.

10. Internet access: open access to the Internet is allowed during sessions for the purpose of accessing information/research pertinent to debate, and to share presiding recognition protocols; communication with contestants by others outside their chamber for the purpose of advising on speech content or round strategy is prohibited.
11. Decorum: preliminary chambers are designated as a house; members are “Representatives.” Elimination round chambers are senates; members are referred to as “Senators.” At the start of each session the PO shall lead the chamber in the Pledge of Allegiance. “Open chambers” are prohibited. Spectators are absolutely allowed and ENCOURAGED in chambers, but may not assist contestants during rounds.
12. Competition spaces: violation of these rules could result in immediate disqualification.

1. Do not move furniture. Do not unplug anything. Please throw away trash.
2. Do not bring food into chambers, except water. Please eat in common areas/cafeterias.
3. Contestants and judges: please help us clean up chambers after each session - recycle containers/plastic, throw away trash, straighten tables/desks, etc.  Parliamentarians, please return flag and gavel to tournament staff.

13. Middle School: Videoconference meeting platform (NSDA Campus):

1. When not speaking, all participants (contestants, parliamentarian, scorers) should have their microphone muted.
2. Student placards must be visible/on-camera. We recommend printing a placard in black ink, in at least a 50-point font; if printing is unavailable please use a black marker and print neatly. A Harvard Tournament template is posted on the tournament Tabroom.com site.
3. All participants are required to be visible on camera, unless exercising a point of personal privilege. Any difficulties with the on-camera requirement must be cleared by the Tournament Congressional Debate Coordinator (TCDC). If a chamber participant is required to go off camera:

1. Students: notify the PO using an oral motion, or via the videoconference chat feature.
2. Judges: please use appropriate discretion and notify each other through the videoconference chat feature.
3. Please mute the camera/microphone following notification.

4. Under no circumstances is recording or screen capture by any person allowed.
5. Service outages or equipment issues - all technology and logins should be tested the week before the tournament. Should a speaker lose connection with the platform, the chamber should give them a few minutes to reconnect; if the reconnect time exceeds 5 minutes, the chamber should move on. The parliamentarian should notify tournament staff, who will determine how to proceed (e.g., recoup the speech).
6. Sit or stand for speeches? There is no required way to deliver the speech; contestants may choose to sit or stand, however, the tournament highly discourages platform moving (walking) when delivering, as that can sacrifice visibility for judges.
   

2. Tabulation Procedures and Advancement

1. Tabulation protocols.

1. Contestants are randomly assigned to different sections/chambers in each preliminary round, with a maximum of 14 legislators per chamber (contestants and parliamentarians will move chambers from round to round and will be sectioned with different students). Two judges are assigned to each section, each round, with one listed as parliamentarian to facilitate PO election and adjudicate procedural issues.
2. Judges’ ranks are inputted, with non-ranked students considered as ranks of 9.
3. Legislators with the lowest cumulative rank total across all chambers, after dropping the worst rank, advance to the next level of competition, employing the following tiebreakers:

1. Reciprocal fractions of ranks, except the 1 worst
2. All ranks (including the worst)
3. Reciprocal fractions of all ranks (including the worst)
4. Parliamentarians’ ranks
5. Reciprocals of parliamentarians’ ranks

2. Sectioning and Advancement Protocols

1. Advancement for Varsity and JV is based on the following table. The final round is 1 chamber / 1 round of 12 contestants.

* Up to top 120 Varsity contestants, in cumulative rank order across the quarterfinal field, will earn TOC bids.

2. Middle School division: the same protocols as JV will be used, except there will be three preliminary sessions, not four. Advancement  is based on the following table. The final round is 1 chamber / 1 round of 12 contestants.

Comparison of Previous and New Sectioning Protocols

In addition to providing a more humane schedule and less research burden, these changes also minimize manipulative games-playing by students, rendering unnecessary any pre-tournament agenda setting and PO campaigning. The system was designed and calibrated by two mathematician-educators who also pointed out how the blending of students and field-wide cumulative ranks provide more fairness and mathematical fidelity in determining contestants most deserving of advancing to the next level.

3. Awards

1. Advancing Contestants: All elimination round participants earn an award; the tournament will establish procedures for claiming awards.
2. Leadership Award:  Modeled after the NSDA National Tournament, ranking by peers in the final round exemplifies peer respect beyond competitive excellence.
   
3. Annual High School Sweepstakes Award: a plaque is presented to the school winning this award each year.

1. Independent/unaffiliated entries and those part of non-school “club” teams are NOT eligible for sweepstakes; only contestants registered by an accredited, school-based program are eligible.
2. Up to 5 contestants per high school, across both varsity and JV,  earn:

1. 5 points each for prelims
2. Plus 4 points each time presiding
3. Plus 10 points for each contestant advancing to quarterfinals
4. Plus 15 points for each contestant advancing to semifinals
5. Plus 20 points for finals
6. Plus 5 points for 4th, 5th, and 6th places; 10 points for 2nd and 3rd places, and 15 points for champion.

3. Tie-breaks: higher number of entries, number of highest-earning entries, number of breaks, number of presiding officer terms (each time a contestant serves as a PO = a term).
4. A New School Award is presented to the delegation earning the most points from among schools participating in their first Harvard Congressional Debate.

4. Annual Middle School Sweepstakes Award: a plaque is presented to the school winning this award each year.

1. Independent/unaffiliated entries and those part of non-school “club” teams are NOT eligible for sweepstakes; only contestants registered by an accredited, school-based program are eligible.
2. Up to 5 contestants per high school earn:

1. 5 points each for prelims
2. Plus 4 points each time presiding
3. Plus 10 points for each contestant advancing to semifinals
4. Plus 15 points for finals
5. Plus 5 points for 4th, 5th, and 6th places; 10 points for 2nd and 3rd places, and 15 points for champion.

3. Tie-breaks: higher number of entries, number of highest-earning entries, number of breaks, number of presiding officer terms (each time a contestant serves as a PO = a term).

5. Cumulative High School Sweepstakes: Annual sweepstakes points are added to high schools’ cumulative totals each year to determine standings. The winner is announced, with a plaque named in honor of Congressional tournament founder, the late Brent Pesola, presented the following year. When a school wins, its total is reset to zero. To win, a school must have point-earning Congressional Debate entries in the year it places first in standings.

Advice & Clarifications

Procedure & Presiding

• Ethics and competitive integrity: Congressional Debate is an educational activity inspired by the legislative process, but unlike the dealmaking, lobbying, and political intrigue that can happen in actual legislatures, this is an educational activity that prioritizes equity and access over privilege and power.
• PO election: May be conducted by StrawPoll, facilitated by the parliamentarian. PO candidates should clearly say and spell their names aloud; there’s no need to write on a board.

• POs and speech recognition:  This is a legislature, not an auction: POs should call for speakers on a particular side — once — then pause, and then call for an opposing side speech if no one seeks recognition. There are only two (2) types of speeches introducing legislation to the floor: authorship (spoken by the person who wrote the legislation or is from that school, or sponsorship (spoken by someone when the author is not present or does not seek recognition to speak). There is no such speech as a “first affirmative,” and when it is clear the author is not in the room, the PO should exclusively call for sponsors, since there are no authors in the room. Finally, there is no “minimum cycle” rule nor rule pertaining to alternating speeches or speeches in general, following the authorship/sponsorship.
• POs, timing and signals:  Time signals for speeches -- including closing appeals -- should be given when one minute remains, 30 seconds remain, and within 5-10 seconds of time elapsing. There is no set “grace period.” Students should begin to wrap-up shortly after the signal at one minute remaining. That should not preclude a student from taking a few seconds to finish a thought — and the same reasonable standard should be applied for direct questioning periods (rather than such an abrupt cutting-off by the PO).  
• Online timing/signals:  gavels should NOT be used for the middle school virtual tournament: POs should use visual signal cues, unless a student has a visual impairment and requests an auditory signal. 
• POs & Motions:  Do not ask for motions (nor say “barring motions.”) The NSDA rulebook has expressly discouraged this for at least 30 years. The following motions do not exist:  “open the floor for debate,” “convene,” or “amend the agenda.”
• Closing Appeal:  Please see this page for more guidance.

• Decorum and professionalism: Treat one another as valued colleagues. Some lighthearted snarky comments on occasion are okay, but avoid comments that come across as mean-spirited. Be especially mindful of direct questioning. POs and speakers alike must always use honorifics (Representative ____), and never just last names.

• Precedence/recency: POs should consider keeping an online spreadsheet/table for precedence/recency, and sharing a link to contestants and judges for access and transparency. The agenda and votes on each legislative item also could be kept on such a document for a more efficient record of the round (preferred over using chalkboard/whiteboard).

Sensitive Topics and Content/Trigger Warnings

Students always have the prerogative to not speak on a particular item for which they are uncomfortable. We remind judges that students do not need to speak on every bill, which is particularly relevant because we're using the NSDA pilot to limit debate to one hour on each legislation. Students in any kind of emotional, mental, or physical distress should follow protocols in §1.10.4.

Online Tournament Technology

• Equipment recommendations:

• A laptop or tablet, with camera capability. Ensure the camera and microphone are permissioned to run in Google Chrome or other browser. All platforms are web-based and do not require separate software to run.
• External microphone/headset with microphone to ensure you can be heard and to help block background noise. Headphones (e.g., corded mobile phone ear buds or gaming headphones) attached to the computer via audio input or USB (please note: bluetooth connections may create a delay of and lack of sync of voice with video).

• Competition location recommendations: A private space free of distraction (e.g. bedroom, living room, classroom). We understand that ambient noise may come through during competition.

• Setting up comfortable seating and a solid background behind you (e.g. wall, curtain, sheet).
• Lighting that allows the speaker to be seen on screen, and avoid being backlit by sitting/standing in front of windows or light sources.
• Judges Note: Unless a situation prevents a student from being heard (and/or seen for POs), factors in the student’s environment should not influence rating and ranking; any questions or concerns should be shared with tournament staff.

• Testing technology: We highly recommend contestants and judges test access to Tabroom.com and NSDA Campus the week before the tournament, including audio and video compatibility of electronic devices. We also suggest printing (or writing) a placard ahead of the tournament, and test visibility on the screen.  It is strongly recommended that competitors do not wait until the day of the tournament to test their equipment.
• Bandwidth/speed: Print research before the round or use a second device for research and notes. Close any apps not directly related to connecting to the round on the device you are using to connect to the Congress Chamber. This will help with connectivity issues and with performance during the round. Close excess browser tabs.
• Speaking: Speak normally; you do not need to project as you would in front of a large room.

Legislation Ranking Instructions (Pre-Tournament)

1. Competitive Integrity (adapted from the Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University):
   Our community has been reckoning with concerns of competitive integrity, particularly in terms of efforts to communicate outside the set schedule and environment (in-person or virtual space) of tournaments, where not all students have the ability or accessibility to be part of conversations. As we have extended to students the privilege of rank-preferencing legislation to determine the docket, that has attracted behaviors that have alarmed students and coaches alike. When such communication is unmoderated by adults outside a tournament, but directly related to that tournament, it can cause problems. Competitors in the past have reported feeling undue pressure and even harassment; this also extends competitive dynamics into personal lives of students outside the timeframe and context of a tournament. Both of these are unsound from a social-emotional learning (SEL) standpoint, especially as educators discuss how SEL and mental health concerns have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Equity and fairness must be hallmarks of interscholastic competition. While we do not prohibit outside communication, we ask teams to have constructive conversations about how outside-of-tournament communication pertaining to tournament dynamics, such as lobbying for votes on legislative dockets, agenda order, speech recognition, presiding officer nominations, etc., is inadvertently fostering anxiety in peers for lack of inclusion. A number of schools already have pledged to not engage in this type of communication. NOTE: We have not established a tournament-sanctioned time and place to foster such conversations between contestants from different schools, because registration is fluid over the next several weeks (meaning we could not provide this equitably), and we do not wish increase the burden of time and pressure beyond the set schedule of the tournament, as well as burden to schools of provide supervising adults to moderate such discussions; this is in acknowledgement that not all schools and students have the privilege of time and resources to participate in that extended capacity.
   
2. Students who are registered and accepted to the tournament may log in to Tabroom.com, and upon logging in, click the tab under their name for “Future Tournaments.”  
   
3. Click the blue document icon to the right of the 49th Annual Harvard National Forensics Tournament (the image shows Barkley Forum; the process is the same).
   
   Click the link button next to each bill/resolution to view/download the PDF in a new tab.
   
4. Enter a whole number, where 1 is your first choice, 2 is your second choice, and so on, through the total number of items in the list. Rank-order will determine dockets by round. No ties in rank are allowed, but students may choose to not rank certain items; however, an average of rank values will be used, so unranked items will default to the average of others’ votes.
   
5. Click the blue button at the bottom of the page, [Save Your Vote]. Students may return to this page at any time while voting is open, to edit their votes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Both In-Person/High School & Online/Middle School

Same chamber for all prelim rounds?

No. Not any longer.

Are students from the same school distributed to different chambers?

Yes, as much as possible, though if a school has equal to or more entries than the number of preliminary chambers, the tournament reserves the right to keep some chambers clear so that school’s judges may evaluate other schools. In elimination rounds, we endeavor to separate schools as much as possible.

How many per chamber? Who breaks? How many Varsity students get TOC bids?

Notwithstanding drops within 24 hours of the tournament, chambers will have 10-14 contestants each. Please see rules §2 for description of advancement to elims.  The TOC has designated this tournament with 120 varsity contestants  earning TOC bids..

Is there a predetermined docket and agenda order?

Two items will be assigned per round, and contestants should be prepared on both. The order of legislation as provided in the docket packet will be the agenda order for each round.

Is live Internet research allowed during the round?

Yes. This is an NSDA rule. Communicating (such as by email, text, or other means) with someone outside the chamber is prohibited.

How does preset recency work?

Preset recency preassigns each contestant with a numerical value, through the total number of contestants in a chamber, so that when several students seek recognition to speak, the PO will select the student with the lowest number among them. This helps ensure fairness through a truly random generation of such numbers through the Tabroom.com platform (similar to the random assignment of speaking order in Speech rounds. Each time a speaker is recognized, that determines order for subsequent recognition. Precedence (quantity of time speaking) always prefers those who have spoken least.

Leadership award voting?

Students should log into Tabroom.com at the end of finals to vote for their top five choices for the student-determined Leadership Award.

What is the tournament text hotline?

617-545-4822.

In-Person/High School Logistics

Please see the In-Person Tournament webpage and subpages for specific information on each venue, including WIFI, what food will be served and where, etc.

Judging Assignments

Judge venue assignments (though not specific rooms) and pools (when and for which location each judge is on duty) will be posted by Friday evening, so judges will know where to report Saturday morning.  We will blast specific rooms Saturday morning, before Round 1 begins.

Student  Assignments

We will communicate when we are posting/blasting chamber assignments well ahead of the first round, so contestants know where they should report Saturday morning.

Students and judges from the same school

Beginning in 2025, Varsity and JV will be held at different sites (unless varsity numbers exceed capacity at one location), but judging obligations may be combined, so for schools with entries in both divisions with one judge, they will be assigned in one venue.

Round Robin Information

Congressional Debate

Round Robin Rules
Released October 8, 2025.

​​Latebreaking Updates (“Live Doc”) Section

The round robin will be held at Hilles (Harvard Student Organization Center at Hilles).
Watch this space for relevant information posted during the tournament.

Judge Expectations & Penalties

1. All Congressional Debate judges are committed through the entire round robin.
2. Ahead of the tournament, all judges must complete both NSDA courses on judging Congress, and complete the Harvard Debate Council parliamentarian course.
3. Schools of judges who do not show for their assignments will be fined $200 as a disincentive for not meeting that school’s obligation.
4. Judges must write constructive, encouraging feedback and award points to speakers and presiding officers (POs) during a round. Judges assigned to rounds must remain in the contest room  until they have submitted their ballot with rankings, which must be within 15 minutes of the round’s last speech.  They may return and edit comments before the end of the round robin, but at minimum, points for each speech and PO as well as  ranks must be submitted in a timely manner. Schools of judges who leave before submitting their rankings will be assessed a nuisance fine of $50 per occurrence. To avoid fines/misunderstandings, we encourage judges who are experiencing technology problems or have other mitigating circumstances to proactively communicate with Congressional tournament staff (using the text hotline).

>> Full listing of Congressional judging resources >>

Objectives for this Round Robin

• Foster a rigorous, meaningful, and educational opportunity for experienced debaters without exhausting them before the main tournament begins
• Engender a sense of community among students selected to participate
• Try fun, innovative, and different formats/approaches to showcasing skills cultivated in Congressional Debate, without deviating significantly from the core skills that define the event

Structure and Rules

1. Application and selection: interested students may apply for consideration by December 10, 2025 (11:59pm EST). Only one student per school may apply; if multiple students from the same school apply, the tournament will first determine one to advance to the selection process (based on strength of their application and verification from school personnel) among students from other schools. One judge must be provided for each contestant selected.

1. The tab committee will review applications (with identifying information obfuscated), considering accomplishments, the student’s perceived comfort with presiding and parliamentary procedure, and a personal statement. If the applicant pool is particularly competitive, the committee will rank students among: (1) other applicants from the same state, and (2) other applicants from among the same geographic region (the applicant pool will be distributed as evenly as possible among different multi-state geographic regions, similar to how the NSDA distributes regions for the Competition Rules Leadership Committee.
2. Selected and wait-listed applicants will be notified by December 16, 2025 and must register in Tabroom by January 6, 2026.

2. Legislation: the tournament will announce a generalized legislation topic area on December 16, 2025. Each registered contestant must write and submit one (1) original (their work) legislation pertinent to the announced topic area  by January 8, 2026.
3. Chamber structure: One chamber will be held, with up to 15 contestants. The same number of judges will evaluate and rank contestants (except the one with whom they are affiliated).
4. Rounds: three rounds will be held that showcase various skills required in Congressional Debate–

1. In Round 1, each contestant will deliver a three-minute authorship speech, followed by four minutes of 30-second questioning blocks from the chamber. At the end of the round, students will preferentially rank the bills. The top two from the preferential ranking will advance to round 2.
2. Round 2 will follow the Main Tournament format of a Congressional Debate round, except for how presiding will happen (see rule §5, below). The authors of the two bills will deliver another authorship speech to further elaborate on the need for their bills. At the end of Round 2, contestants will digitally access a brief information document about executive branch actions related to the established topic area.  A lunch break will follow.
3. Round 3 will be an oversight hearing, where a former debater/alum will field questions as a staffperson of a federal agency in one-minute blocks from delegates pertaining to insights from the information packet. Each delegate may be recognized for up to two separate one-minute blocks, based on recency.

5. Presiding Officer (PO): Every contestant must preside during the round robin. During rounds 1 and 2, each student will preside over three (3) speeches (in which they, as PO, will not speak). POs must use tournament- provided preset recency for each round, with reverse recency for determining questioning order in Rounds 1 and 2 (in Round 3, contestants only will be questioning agency staff).

1. Judges will separately rank all POs after Round 2.
2. Based on cumulative PO rank total, the top ranked PO must preside round 3. If there is a tie, the chamber will hold an election for PO.  

6. Tentative Schedule (to be adjusted based on actual number of contestants who debate):

7. Main tournament rules §1.5 - 1.12 will apply to this round robin, including the provision for up to 10 minutes in total of recess time, which is considered equivalent to prep time in other debate events (prohibiting coaching). In addition to rules provided herein, we defer to non-conflicting National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) rules, which cannot be altered or suspended. The current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be used where these rules are silent.
8. Tabulation:

1. Each round, judges will evaluate and comparatively rank up to eight (8) contestants based on their performance in that round (non-ranked contestants will automatically receive a rank of 9). Judges should provide feedback and points, but will NOT rank the contestant with whom they are affiliated. Each round, the tournament will designate one judge as the parliamentarian for purposes of advising/ruling on parliamentary questions; however, that individual’s ranks will NOT serve as a tie-break.
2. At the end of Round 2, judges will rank their preferred presiding officers, from whom one will be selected to preside Round 3.
3. At the end of Round 3, each contestant will rank up to 5 contestants (and may rank themselves within their preferred 5), with non-ranked contestants considered as ranks of 6.
4. Placing and awards will be determined by lowest cumulative judge rank total, employing the following tiebreakers:

1. Contestant vote-cumulative rank total
2. Judge reciprocal fractions of ranks
3. Contestant vote-reciprocal fractions of ranks
4. Reciprocal fractions of ranks, except the 1 best and 1 worst
5. Contestant vote-reciprocal fractions of ranks, except the 1 best and 1 worst
6. If student’s legislation was selected to debate in Round 2.
7. Presiding officer cumulative judge ranking (following round 2).