Public Forum

Baltimore Catholic Forensic League

Public Forum--

Tournament Results Qualification Guidelines Judge information

2007 September Public Forum Debate Topic Resolved: That the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated.

2007 October Public Forum Debate Topic Resolved: That the United States should encourage the implementation of a soft partition of Iraq.

2007 November Public Forum Debate Topic Resolved: That eliminating United States government budget deficits should be prioritized over increasing domestic spending.

2007 December Public Forum Debate Topic Resolved: That the United States would be justified in pursuing military options against Iran.

2008 January topic; Resolved: In a democracy, civil disobedience is an appropriate weapon in the fight for justice.

2008 February Public Forum Debate Topic
Resolved: That Russia has become a threat to U.S. interests.

2008 March Public Forum Debate Topic
Resolved: The US system of presidential primaries is contrary to democratic values.

Public Forum Debate is a team event that advocates or rejects a position posed by the resolution. The debate topic changes monthly. CHECK HERE ABOUT THE 15TH OF EACH MONTH FOR THE NEW TOPIC. The focus of the debate is a clash of ideas in a persuasive manner that can be understood by a "lay" judge. Good debaters should display logic and analysis. They should use evidence when needed. They should win their case AND refute that of their opponents. They should communicate effectively, using the fundamentals of good speaking. There are NO burdens on either side.

Timing of the debate is as follows:

First Pro Constructive	4 minutes
First Con Constructive	4 Minutes
Crossfire	3 minutes (the Con must ask the first question then either debater can ask questions)

Second Pro Constructive	4 Minutes
Second Con Constructive	4 Minutes
Crossfire	3 minutes (the Pro must ask the first question then either debater can ask questions)

First Pro Summary	2 minutes
First Con Summary	2 Minutes
Grand Crossfire	3 minutes (One member of the pro team must ask the first question then any debater can ask questions)

Second Pro Final Focus	1 Minute
Second Con Focus	1 Minute

Total prep time through out the session is 2 minutes per team

In making the decision the judges should consider the following questions:

Which Team is more persuasive?

Did the debaters back up their assertions with logical thinking and evidence when needed?

Where the debaters fair in their interpretation of the resolution and one another’s statements?

Were arguments intelligent? Did debaters try to use many weak arguments instead of a few solid ones?

Did the debaters speak in such a way that their ideas were understandable?

Were debaters courteous and professional?

Judges may not discuss the debate

The winning team may NOT have fewer points than the opposing team.

The judges should distance themselves from the content of the debate. Personal values should not influence the decscision.

Any rulings or questions should be forwarded to the tab room personnel.

For the Qualifying tournament in March, the same quota guidelines that are used for LD and Policy debate will be used for public Forum. We will use the results from the 3 best tournaments for each team throughout the season. The BCFL will qualify a total of six (6) Public Forum teams to the CFL grand national tournament in Wisconsin in the spring of 2008.

return to top

Public Forum Results

	12	Eligible for Finals				Seeds determined by best 3 tournament records
	8	Finals Qulaifiers
		T1	T1	T1	T2	T3	T3	T4	T4	T5	T5	T6	T6	# T	total wins	TOTAL POINTS	Seed
CODES		W	PTS	W	PTS	W	PTS	W	PTS	W	PTS	W	PTS
WTGW		0	0.0	3	172.0	0	0.0	3	176.0	3	172.0			3	9	520	1
WMMS		0	0.0	3	166.0	3	168.0	0	0	3	168.0			3	9	502	2
LBTR		0	0.0	3	172.0	3	158.0	2	171.0	0	0.0			3	8	501	3
LBWK		0	0.0	3	168.0	2	154.0	3	162.0	0	0.0	0	0	3	8	484	4
WMCC		0	0.0	0	0.0	2	162.0	0	0.0	2	162.0	3	170	3	7	494	5
BCSR		2	168.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	2	153.0	3	162.0			3	7	483	6
WMPK		0	0.0	2	160.0	0	0.0	0	0	2	160.0	3	159	3	7	479	7
TJWM		0	0.0