** Results/Standings (to be populated after festival) **

Note for judges applying to be hired: WISDAA is only able to contract with individuals with a United States Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number (EIN). This includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or non-citizens with correct immigration status to work in the United States.

We are excited to invite middle + high schools (in Wisconsin or beyond) to participate in our WORD debate festival format.

What makes it a festival?

• No elimination rounds; contests emphasize participatory, learning mindsets
• Schools register debaters by round (see schedule) for maximum flexibility (including mixing/matching debate categories).

Categories & Fees

School Fees:

We will manually add a one-time season (school year) fee of $40 for non-WISDAA member schools.

Entry Fees:

In 2025-26, all schools (including WISDAA member schools) pay entry fees.

• Congressional Debate (1 student = an entry); $1/entry
• World Schools Debate (3-5 students* = an entry); $3/entry
  * in a Worlds round, 3 students may speak

In Worlds, we do allow "hybrid" entries, consisting of students from multiple schools; each school will be assessed a prorated fee for participants.

Adjudicators

All schools are expected to provide adjudicators (judges) equivalent to the number of entries (or fraction thereof) participating during a given time slot. Those requirements are:

• Congressional: 1 adjudicator per 6 entries or fraction thereof
• Worlds: 1 adjudicator per 2 entries or fraction thereof

Uncovered adjudicator slots will be assessed a $40 fee per adjudicator per round not provided and/or for rounds assigned but not worked by registered adjudicators.

Topics

Congressional legislation (one bill per round) will be posted to the right in early September. The Worlds topics for this contest are:

• Impromptu topic area: To be announced by early October
• Prepared motion: This house would expand corporate anti-trust liability to prevent monopolistic practices.
  

World Schools Debate Rules for Evidence

1. Teams may not bring nor utilize any handwritten, printed, or published materials with them into the room (or area) in which they connect for impromptu debates, with the exception of a published English language dictionary or a published bilingual dictionary and a published single-volume encyclopedia or almanac per team. No digital resources are permitted.
2. With the exception of using electronic devices to connect to a videoconference platform for online debates, teams may not use any electronic storage and retrieval devices, including tablet or laptop computers or hand-held cellular telephones (except the use of cellular phones for timing—see §8.3 below.) Notes should be in paper form.

Schedule