British Parliamentary Debate Rulebook

[1] Tournament Format

The British Parliamentary Format requires four teams represented by two speakers each. Hence, the debates take place between 8 speakers on 4 factions.
The first two teams of a debate are known as the "Top Half" or the "Opening Half". The last two teams are known as the “Bottom Half” or the “Closing Half”.
Each speaker must deliver a 7-minute speech.
Each team will consist of the following members:

Opening Government will consist of "Prime Minister" and "Deputy Prime Minister"
Opening Opposition will consist of "Leader of Opposition" and "Deputy Leader of Opposition"
Closing Government will consist of "Member of Government " and "Government Whip"
Closing Opposition will consist of “Member of Opposition” and “Opposition Whip

[2] Team Composition

Teams must be composed of 2 speakers.
Each team will be given a unique team code which will be used as their identifier throughout the tournament.

[3] Iron Person Policy

Should a member of a team be absent during a round, the present member of that team can attend the debate as an "iron-person" team, subject to the following:

In judging an iron-person team, the Adjudication Panel shall treat the team as if they were an ordinary team, and fill out the ballot accordingly (indicating that the team was an iron-person team on the ballot).
The results of a debate in the Preliminary Rounds that includes an iron-person team shall be entered into the tab as follows:

The team in question shall receive the team points earned during that round, and
Both speaker scores shall be awarded to that team
The speaker who iron-personed should get the higher of the two speaker points, and the speaker who did not speak for the round should get the lowest speaker point allowed by the constitution.

Teams can only attend as an iron-person team once during the preliminary rounds to be eligible to break.
Teams cannot attend the outrounds as an iron-person team.

[4] The motion

The motion should be unambiguously worded.
The speakers should debate the motion in the spirit of the motion and the tournament.

[5] Preparation

Teams have a total of 15 minutes to prepare their speeches after the motion is released. During the preparation time, communication is only allowed between team members. The use of online resources is prohibited.

[6] Points of Information

Points of Information (questions directed to the person speaking) may be asked between the first-minute mark and the sixth-minute mark of the members’ speeches.
A speaker may choose to accept or decline points of information. If they accept, they yield the floor for up to 15 seconds, and the debater offering the Point of Information may forward an argument, make a rebuttal, or ask a question to the speaker.

[6] Speaker Scores

[7] Preliminary Rounds

[8] Break Categories

The tournament will have three break categories: (1) Open Break, (2) 16-and-Under Break, and (3) 14-and-Under Break

[9] Eligibility Criteria

A participant must be between 13-17 years old in order to be eligible to compete in the tournament. They must not cross their 18^th birthday during the day of the tournament.
For a team to be eligible to break into the 16-and-Under category, all members must be 16 years old or under. They must not cross their 17^th birthday during the day of the tournament.
For a speaker to be eligible to receive a 16-and-Under category award, they must be 16 years old or under. They must not cross their 17^th birthday during the day of the tournament.
For a team to be eligible to break into the 14-and-Under category, all members must be 14 years old or under. They must not cross their 15^th birthday during the day of the tournament.
For a speaker to be eligible to receive a 14-and-Under category award, they must be 14 years old or under. They must not cross their 15^th birthday during the day of the tournament.