The information comes through the provincial coordinator or provincial debate association presidents. It is also posted on the CSDF website and included in the Team Canada newsletter.Throughout the years, (as far back as 1999) the committee re-invited team members either directly into the teams, or since 2008, to the tryout, when the members association did not fill the spots. Starting in 2010, the committee can invite reserve members of the team directly to the training camp.

For the selection announcement after the try-out:

The selected debaters are phoned by the coaches within 2 weeks of the tryout. The other delegates are informed through e-mails by the chair of the committee. The names of the selected debaters are then posted on the website.

The first mandate of the committee is to win a Worlds Championship.

That being said, the committee understands that this goal will be more achievable if the provincial members hold more training and more tournaments in World Style. The committee supports provincial member initiatives in that direction. The committee keeps contact with a great numbers of Alumni of the team that are ready to help provincial members. The committee will always support any coaches that would like to become a judge at Worlds.

In addition, members of the committee will try to organize a World Style Tournament in their own region in order to increase the debaters and judges experience.  

A prepared resolution is given to the debaters prior to the try-out.

The impromptu resolutions are picked from resolutions that have been previously debated either at the World School debating championship or at the World University Debating Championship. The resolutions debated at the try-out cover a vast array of themes usually debated at this level, from science to sports, from economics to World politics. The impromptu resolutions are picked by members of the committee that do not coach any of the debaters trying-out.

The committee tries its best not to pick a resolution that was used for training or competition by the team during the previous year.

The debaters are assessed on their debating skills, their ability to improve on those skills, their ability to work as a team member, and their commitment to the team.

During the tryout and the training session;

The debating skills are assessed according to the criteria used at the Worlds. The debaters are given those criteria in advance.

Their ability to improve is judged by their ability to integrate feedback that is given after each round since each debater is judged twice by the same judge during the tryout, and again by committee members during the summer session.

Their ability to work as a team member is assessed by observation of the debaters by the members of the committee while the debaters are preparing their impromptu rounds.

The commitment is assessed by a committee member during a one to one interview.

Feedback is given to the debater after each round of debate. That is the extent of feedback after the try-out.

After the training session, the coach communicates directly with each debater and gives extensive comments on the rationale for the final selection.

Throughout the process, it should be noted that the coaches also look at their needs regarding certain positions on the team, with the ultimate goal of bringing back the World Championship.

The committee will hold the selection long enough in advance for the coach to prepare the team for the World Championship, by that we mean between 12 to 14 months in advance.

In the recent past, the tryout has taken place around 14 months before the championship. We think this is reasonable. The result at the Worlds and at the Sr Nationals in the last 4 years seems to indicate that either the selection process or the training process is working, or probably both.

A comparison of the results of Team Australia, USA, and Canada in the last few years demonstrates the need of having at least a full year of training.

The result at the Worlds compare to other nations in a similar situation as Canada and at the results at the Sr Nationals and the Oxford Cup in the last 3 years seems to indicate that this is working.

It is interesting to compare the results of the 2 countries that have a similar challenge as Canada. Both the USA and Australia have debating federation regrouping regional members spread over a vast geographical area. In 5 recent years, the results of those 3 teams were

Australia:

• 2006:1 out 35
• 2007:6 out of 35
• 2008:11 out of 39
• 2009:5 out of 39
• 2010: 5 out of 57

Canada:

• 2006:4 out 35
• 2007:4 out of 35
• 2008:6 out of 39
• 2009:6 out of 39
• 2010: 1 out of 57

USA:

• 2006:13 out 35
• 2007:12 out of 35
• 2008:26 out of 39
• 2009:28 out of 39
• 2010: 29 out of 57

Please note:

Australia has only one debating style: Worlds Style.

In 2006, 2009 and 2010, Australia made their selection 10 months prior to the tournament, in 2007 and 2008; they made their selection 2 and 4 months prior to the Championship. The consequences on the results are self-explanatory.

The USA made their selection a year in advance in 2006 and 2007.

The USA had a summer training session one year prior to the tournament in 2007. They abandon that system in the last 3 years. The consequences on the results are self-explanatory.

Australia, even with all their debaters debating in World Style, needs 10 months to prepare their team. The committee requires that the Canadian coach be given at least 12 months between the first try-out and the Championship.

The scores given by a coach to his own debater are removed from the average of that debater.

The interview of a debater is done by a committee member from a different province.

The committee will try its best to do so and would support any member initiatives in that direction. The committee keeps contact with a great numbers of Alumni of the team that will be ready to help provincial members in creating their provincial team, provincial world style tournament or provincial world style training camp.

In addition, the Committee will support with enthusiasm the application of Canadian coaches wishing to attend the World Championships as judges or observers!

By Regional tournaments, the committee is referring to a tournament that have debaters from more then one province participating; some larger University Tournaments comes to mind. These events could be transformed into a Worlds Style tournament, and the top eligible debaters invited to the tryout. If the provincial members are in agreement with this, the committee would support such initiative.

Again, the committee would look favorably into the application of eligible debaters doing well at regional tournaments done in Canadian, BP or World Style. Current tournaments meeting the regional criteria include several University-hosted outreach debating tournaments, such as the UBC and McGill High School tournaments.