Debates Committee Guidelines and Procedures

Email to a friend

The Debates Committee Guidelines and Procedures are as follows (last updated 16/6/12):

1......... The Guidelines

1.1 Amendments to Guidelines

1.2 Adoption by Board

1.3 Notice

1.4 Publication and availability

2......... Debates Committee

2.1 Meetings

2.2 Composition

2.3 Appointments

2.4 Declaration of Conflicts of Interests

2.5 Office Bearers

3......... Activities of the USU Debates Committee

4......... Use of USU premises

5......... Intervarsity Debating Championships

5.1 Principles of Intervarsity Selection

5.2 Selection Panels

5.3 General Provisions

5.4 Complaints and Appeals

5.5 Organisation Of Selection Trials

5.6 Easters IV

5.7 Australasians

5.9 Women's Intervarsity

5.10 Adjudication

6......... Discrimination, Vilification and Harassment

7......... Debaterbase, Privacy and Information

8......... Trialling for Tournaments

8.1 Eligibility for trialling for any major tournament

9......... The Points System

9.1 Requirement for funding

9.2 Points may be allocated for (categories of points)

9.3 Exceptional circumstances and contingencies

10....... Debates Scholarship

11....... The Debates Officer

12....... Patron of USU Debating

13....... Australian Intervarsity Debates Association and World Universities Debating Council

Since its establishment in 1874, the University of Sydney Union (USU) has been the pre-eminent Debating Society in the region and achieved continued success at the World Universities Debating Championships.

The USU is the recognised debating society of the Sydney University and is proud of its tradition as the most successful, accessible and progressive Debating organisation in Australia.

The USU is committed its Debating programme and in particular the pursuit of excellence, encouraging participation and developing diverse cultural communities.

In pursuance of the goals listed above and for the fulfilment of the Clause 2.1(e) of the University of Sydney Union Constitution, the Board of Directors enact the following guidelines:

1. The Guidelines

1.1 Amendments to Guidelines

1.1.1 Sections 2.5 (Officer Bearers), 3 (Activities of the USU Debates Committee), 5 (Intervarsity Debating Championships), 8 (The Points System) and 9 (Debates Scholarship) may be amended by a simple majority (half plus one) of the Debates Committee at any ordinary meeting provided requirements as to notice and meeting procedure are met and subject to ratification and adoption by the Board. Sections 1 (The Guidelines), 2 (Debates Committee) (except Section 2.5), 4 (Use of USU Premises), 6 (Discrimination, Vilification and Harassment), 7 (Debaterbase, Privacy and Information), 10 (The Debates Officer) and 11 (Patron of USU Debating) may be amended by a special majority (two thirds) of the Debates Committee at any ordinary meeting provided requirements as to notice and meeting procedure are met and subject to ratification and adoption by the Board.

1.1.2 Any member of the Debates Committee may propose an amendment.

1.1.3 With respect to any sections of this document that are direct and quoted references from any USU documents, any changes made to the original USU document will be automatically adopted for the purposes of this document.

1.2 Adoption by Board

1.2.1 All amendments to this document must be presented to the Board of Directors at its next meeting and do not come into force until ratified by the Board with a special majority.

1.2.2 The Chair of the Debates Committee shall be responsible for notifying the Board of any proposed changes and their implications on the debating community.

1.3 Notice

1.3.1 The Debates Committee shall be given at least five working days notice of any changes to this document and this should be included in motions on notice in the Agenda for the next Debates Committee meeting.

1.4 Publication and availability

1.4.1 A copy of this document shall be posted on the USU website and shall be made available to any Union member upon request at the Secretariat or ACCESS Office.

2. Debates Committee

2.1 Meetings

2.1.1 The Committee shall meet monthly although it may meet less frequently during the Long Vacation.

2.1.2 The meetings of this committee shall take place in accordance with Section 9 Conduct of Meetings of the USU Regulations:

9.1 Meetings of the Board and Committees shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing Orders as published in A Guide to Procedures for Meetings of the University of Sydney Union. The Board Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that all Board Directors and Committee members receive a copy of the guide annually.

9.2 Minutes shall be kept of meetings of the Board, its Committees and all General Meetings of the USU.

9.3 If any meeting of the USU has not gained quorum within thirty minutes of the scheduled starting time, the Chair shall declare the meeting lapsed for the reason of lack of quorum.

9.5 Quorum for all Committee meetings, except in the case of the Remuneration Committee, shall be five (5) of the Committee’s voting members, or at least half of the USU Committee’s members, whichever is the less, including at least one Director.

9.6 In the event that a Committee member has a complaint about another Committee member or Board Director, the Chair of their Committee shall resolve the issue. If the Chair is unable to resolve the problem, or is personally conflicted, the matter shall be passed to the Vice President. If the Vice President is similarly unable to resolve the issue or is personally conflicted, the matter shall be passed to the President.

2.2 Composition

2.2.1 The Debates Committee shall be composed as per Section 6.4 Debates Committee of the USU Regulations:

6.4.1 There shall be a Debates Committee comprising:

(a) the President (ex officio)

(b) the Vic President (ex officio)

(d) the Director of Debates

(e) up to eleven ordinary members appointed by the Board

(f) up to two new members appointed by the Board

USU Staff in attendence (non-voting):

(g) the Director of Student Programs, or their apointee.

2.3 Appointments

2.3.1 The appointment and removal of members of the Debates Committee shall be undertaken as per Section 4 Appointment of Committees in the USU Regulations and approved by the Board:

4.1 Committee Interviews and Selections

4.1.1 Interviews for the ordinary or new member positions on USU Committees shall be conducted by the Committee Selection Panel. The Panel shall consist of:

(a) the Vice President (ex officio)

(b) three Directors elected by the Board. In the event that the Vice President is not female, one of those Directors must be female.

4.1.2 (a) The Board will determine the opening and closing dates for applications for ordinary Committee members so long as they are opened no earlier than the first week of Semester Two and close no later than the last week of September. Applications must be open for a minimum of two weeks.

(b) Applications for new Committee members of the USU shall be opened on the first day of O-Week and close at the end of the second week of first semester. New members are those who were not members during the Committee selection period for the previous calendar year and have not previously been eligible to apply.

(c) If insufficient applications to fill the number of positions available have been received for member positions on any Committee, applications for the Committee shall be opened again for a period of two (2) weeks.

4.1.3 (a) Interviews for all ordinary Committee positions shall be in September.

(b) Interviews for new member positions shall be held in April.

4.1.4 The term of office for all ordinary new Committee members shall be from 1 January to 31 December each year, with the execption of new member positions which shall run from the date if appointment by the Board to 31 December of that year. The term of office for appointed members of Specialist Committees shall be for two years from the date of appointment.

4.1.5 The Board shall make the appointment of external members including the Chairs of Specialist Committees.

4.2 Appointment of Additional Members

4.2.1 A member of the USU, who has not been appointed in the above process as an ordinary or new Committee member, shall be eligible for membership of the Debates Committee and/or the Community Service and Charity Committee when he or she has attended three regular meetings of that Committee within a given year.

4.2.2 Any member of a USU Committee, upon becoming a member of the USU Board, shall cease to be a member of that Committee.

4.2.3 If an ordinary Committee member fails to attend two consecutive meetings without an apology or valid excuse, the Vice President in consultation with the relevant Chair, may advise the Board to replace the Committee member.

4.2.4 The Board may by special majority resolve to remove any member when it is clear to the Board that that person is unable to fulfil their duties.

4.2.5 An employee of the USU shall not be an ordinary Committee member where there is a clear conflict with their professional duties.

4.2.6 The Committee Selection Panel may select a number of reserve applicants for each Committee.

4.2.7 In the event that a member leaves a Committee, a reserve applicant for that Committee may be appointed by the Vice President.

4.2.8 In the event that the reserve list has been exhausted, appointment of additional members to the Committee shall be at the discretion of the President, Vice President and the Committee Chair in consultation with the Director of Human Resources Management.

2.3.2 The appointment of the Director of Debates shall be undertaken as per Section 13.5 of the USU Regulations:

13.5 Director of Debates

13.5.1The Board shall appoint one (1) Director of Debates annually who will assist the Chair of the Debates Committee in coordinating the USU's Debates activities, as per the position description.

13.5.2 The Director of Debates shall report to the Convenors Committee and the Debates Committee.

13.5.3 The Selction Panel shall comprise:

(a) the Vice President, Chair

(b) the Chair of the Debates Committee

(d) the Director of Student Programs, or their appointee.

2.4 Declaration of Conflicts of Interests

2.4.1 A conflict of interest arises where the business of the Committee relates to a partner, spouse or family member of the Committee member, or where the member is in business with the party concerned

2.4.2 A member of the committee should declare any conflicts of interest at the commencement of the discussion, and should not vote on the particular agenda item.

2.4.3 If the Chair has conclusive evidence of a conflict of interest that has not been declared, the Chair may declare a conflict of interest in respect of that member of the Committee and may ask the member to remove himself/herself from the proceedings.

2.5 Office Bearers

2.5.1 At its first meeting after its appointment the Committee shall appoint from among its members (excluding appointed Directors and the Director of Debates):

i. Honorary Treasurer for Debates

ii. Intervarsity Director

iii. Women’s Director

iv. Communications Director

v. Union Competitions Director

vi. Schools’ Programmes Director

vii. Social Director

viii. Development Officer

ix. Non-English Debating Officer

2.5.2 The positions defined above may be shared by up to two members of the Committee and a member of the Committee may hold more than one position, if the Committee so decides.

2.5.3 The above officers shall comply with duty statements listed below, which shall be circulated to all office bearers of the Committee at the commencement of their respective terms. Each position shall report their activities to the Debates Committee and shall liaise, where applicable, with the USU Debates Officer.

2.5.4 The Director of Debates is responsible for:

(a) Acting as chair of meetings of the Debates Committee in the absence or unwillingness of the Chair of the Debates Committee, President, Vice-President, or ordinary Board Director

(b) Co-ordinate with USU staff the activities of the Debates Committee

2.5.5 The Intervarsity Director shall be responsible for:

(a) The Union’s participation in Intervarsity Debating Competitions.

(b) Organising, under the direction of the Debates Committee,

i. the selection of Intervarsity teams in accordance with the procedures set out in Intervarsity Debating below

ii. transport for the University of Sydney contingent to and from intervarsity competitions, and

iii. the collection and payment of all moneys in respect of an intervarsity tournament

(d) Where appropriate assist the Union Competitions Director and the Women’s Director.

2.5.6 The Communications Director for Debates shall be responsible for:

(a) Organising and disseminating information on the Debates program for the USU website.

(b) Sending out information regarding USU Debates Committee activities to campus media (such as The Bull & Honi Soit), debating websites (such as www.debating.ie) and professional media (such as the Sydney Morning Herald & ABC Radio).

(d) Co-ordinating the publication of a Debates Yearbook, including the results of all Sydney contingents in tournaments across the year.

2.5.7 The Honorary Treasurer for Debates shall be responsible for:

(a) Assisting the USU in the financial management of the Debating programme.

(b) Assisting all on-campus tournament convenors in drafting budgets for tournaments, and in managing finances across the tournament.

2.5.8 The Union Competition Director shall be responsible for:

(a) Organising on-campus Debating Competitions unless a tournament convenor or organising party has been appointed.

(b) Organising Regionals Debating.

2.5.9 The Women’s Director shall be responsible for:

(a) The formulation and implementation of policies to promote female participation in debating;

(b) Organising the USU’s participation in the Women’s IV including:

i. the selection of Women’s IV teams in accordance with the procedures set out in Intervarsity Debating below

ii. transport for the University of Sydney contingent to and from the Women’s Intervarsity, and

iii. the collection and payment of all moneys in respect of the Women’s Intervarsity

(c) Organising, in conjunction with the Intervarsity Director & Director of Debates the appointment of sexual harassment officers for each intervarsity event and their training with the USU

(d) Refer issues of sexual harassment to USU staff

(e) Liaise with the USU Women’s Committee

2.5.10 The Social Director for Debates shall be responsible for:

(a) Organising social events on behalf of the Debates Committee, including post-Regionals drinks and post-Tournament socials.

(b) Organising the Chancellor’s Debating Dinner in conjunction with the USU Foundation

2.5.11 The Schools’ Programmes Director for Debates shall be responsible for:

(a) Organising USU’s Schools’ Debating Day

(b) Assisting the USU Debates Officer with developing the USU’s involvement in Schools’ debating.

2.5.12 The Development Officer shall be responsible for:

(a) The formulation and implementation of policies to promote the participation of novice debaters.

(b) Organising and managing the Regionals Seminars program.

(d) Co-ordinating with Competitions Directors, promote adjudicating and pro-am debating at Regionals, and to assist in co-ordinating development-focussed on-campus tournaments.

(e) Organising contingent Training Days for Easters, Australs and Worlds in conjunction with the Contingent Captain.

2.5.13 Replacing Office Bearers

(a) The Debates Committee may remove an Officer Bearer (2.5.5 – 2.5.12) from his or her position by a vote with two-thirds majority, if that Office Bearer is unwilling or unable to fulfil the minimum requirements of their position.

(b) The removal of an Office Bearer does not impact upon whether they will remain a member of the Debates Committee.

(c) Where an Officer Bearer is removed from his or her position, the Debates Committee may appoint one or more of its current members to fill that position, pursuant to 2.5.2.

2. 5. 14 Non-English Debating Officer shall be responsible for:

(a) Liaising with and organizing non-English debating groups on campus

(b) Organising debates in languages other than English on campus

(c) The formulation and implementation of policies to promote the participation of non-English speaking students in the programs of the USU Debates Committee

(d) Co-ordination with the Development Officers to develop, where and if possible, greater opportunities for English as a Second Language debating.

3. Activities of the USU Debates Committee

3.1 The USU Debates Committee shall organise and manage ‘Regionals’ - a weekly intervarsity debating competition

3.2 The USU Debates Committee shall represent the University in Intervarsity Championships including Easters, Australs, Worlds and Women’s competitions

3.3 The USU Debates Committee shall organise USU Schools’ Debating Day to develop high school debating talent

3.4 The USU Debates Committee shall coordinate developmental tournaments, including training sessions, the Sydney Grand Slam, and other novice and “pro-am” tournaments

3.5 The USU Debates Committee shall host annually ‘Sydney Minis’ or Australasian British Parliamentary Debating competition each December

3.6 The USU Debates Committee shall arrange the Chancellor’s Debating Dinner in conjunction with the USU Foundation.

3.7 The USU Debates Committee shall assist the Debates Officer in organising annually ‘The Great Debate’ for the Vice Chancellor’s Cup between University staff and student Union members of the Union.

4. Use of USU premises

4.1 The premises of the USU shall be available to the Debates Committee throughout the year at minimum charge for the activities outlined in Section 3 above.

4.2 In the event that USU premises are not available, the USU shall assist in sourcing alternate premises.

5. Intervarsity Debating Championships

5.1 Principles of Intervarsity Selection

5.1.1 The values which underpin the University of Sydney Union's Intervarsity Selection policy are as follows:

· The pursuit of excellence.

· The development of new debaters.

· The promotion of participation.

· A flourishing and welcoming debating community.

· Recognition that successful debaters display a diversity of characteristics.

· Objectivity, impartiality and fair treatment for all involved.

5.1.2 Selection to an intervarsity tournament is the outcome of an impartial process that assesses the merit of the performance of a debater or an adjudicator during that process.

5.1.3 While any Union member has the right to apply for funding to attend any intervarsity tournament, those members who receive funding should recognise that in accepting this funding they accept the responsibility to participate in the Committee's training and development activities as a corollary of this funding. Funding is granted in order to benefit all Union members through such training and development, not just the individual being funded.

5.2 Selection Panels

5.2.1 For Easter Intervarsity the selection panel shall include the Women's Officer. If the Women's Officer is unable to attend, the Committee shall appoint another female selector on the advice of the Women's Officer.

5.2.2 Currently enrolled students at the University of Sydney may not select debaters for Australasians or Worlds.

5.2.3 The Committee must ratify each selector before s/he may be invited to join the selection panel.

5.2.4 The following criteria should be used to assess the suitability of a proposed selector:

i. Impartiality – it is desirable for the proposed selector to have and to be perceived to have no personal relationships with the people they will be selecting.

ii. Experience – as a minimum, no selector should be appointed to select for a tournament that they have not attended.

iii. Goodwill – selectors who have a record of experience with and goodwill towards Union debating should be preferred.

5.2.5 When a panel of 3 or more selectors is formed, at least 1 of the selectors shall be female.

5.3 General Provisions

5.3.1 Debaters representing the Union at Intervarsity Tournaments must debate in the teams for which they have been selected, unless they are filling a vacancy in a higher team.

5.3.2 Only bona fide student members of the USU proceeding towards a degree in the semester before the respective Intervarsity are eligible to try out and represent the USU or the University in all intervarsity tournaments. Valid student identification and Access Cards must be shown at the selection trials.

5.3.3 Selections for Intervarsity tournament are governed by the procedures outlined in the Organization of Selection Panels section below.

5.3.4 The Chair of Debates is to check the results of all selections for intervarsity teams before their publication to ensure that they conform to these Regulations. If the Chair has a conflict of interest, s/he must arrange for another Board Director on the Committee to carry out this task.

5.3.5 These Intervarsity Guidelines must be available to all Union members, and must be included in both the Orientation Week Handbook and the first newsletter produced in each semester. Any notice advising details or results of selections should include the notice: "These selections are governed by the USU Debates Committee Guidelines and Procedures which is available from the Board Secretariat in the Holme Building or at the ACCESS Centre in the Manning Building."

5.4 Complaints and Appeals

5.4.1 Any complaint relating to selection is to be made to the Chair of the Debates Committee. Decisions of the Chair may be appealed to the USU Debates Officer.

5.4.2 The decision of the USU Debates Officer is final.

5.5 Organisation Of Selection Trials

5.5.1 This procedure applies to the following tournaments:

· The Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships

· The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships

· The World Universities Debating Championships

5.5.2 If the IV Director is not intending to trial as a debater for a tournament listed in Section 1, then he or she is responsible for organising all aspects of the selection trials for that tournament.

5.5.3 If the IV Director intends to trial as a debater (or is undecided as to whether he or she intends to trial) for selection in a tournament listed in Section 1, then the following shall apply in respect of that tournament:

i. Notification to the Committee of intent to trial as a debater

a. The IV Director shall notify the committee as soon as possible of his or her intent to trial as a debater, and

b. The IV Director shall propose candidates to the committee to organise those trials, preferably giving priority to other committee members.

c. The committee shall authorise another/others to organise the selection trials for that tournament.

ii. Duties of the selection trials organiser

a. The following are duties exclusive to the person(s) organising selections:

i. Contacting potential selectors and arranging the dates and times of trials accordingly;

ii. Formulating a random draw for teams and selection times for the trials;

iii. Providing the selector(s) with debaters’ indications as to who they want and do not want to debate with (where provided by debaters)

iv. Liaising with the selectors on the day(s) of selection trials and providing food/drink where applicable;

v. Notifying trialists of the selectors’ decisions;

vi. Reporting to the Committee where applicable.

b. Where appropriate, the committee may authorise that the responsibility of trial selector under part (a)(i) be delegated to a USU employee approved by the USU Programs manager.

5.5.4 All other IV director duties with respect to a tournament listed in Section 1 shall remain unchanged.

5.5.5 Pursuant to Section 5.5.3.ii.s.iii, the trial organizer is to direct the selectors that:

i. Speaking positions vetoed by trailers are upheld during preliminary rounds to trials but do not need to be followed or considered in call-backs or team formation.

ii. Preferences indicted by trailers as to who they would like to debate with, are not binding in any way. Preferences may be considered in team formation once the contingent has been selected. Preferences cannot be used to move a debater into the contingent, if not otherwise selected.

iii. Individuals who declare a conflict (i.e. that they will not debate with someone) with one of their initial team members should be contacted by the selectors. The selectors can inform that individual of their current team member(s). Should the individual still wish to uphold the conflict, they will drop to the next team. Only the person declaring the conflict may move teams: it should not affect any other selections. The selectors cannot inform that individual of any team’s ranking or of the composition of the team they would be moved to should they uphold the conflict.

5.6 Easters IV

5.6.1 The purpose of the Union's participation in the Easter IV Tournament is to encourage the participation of new debaters.

5.6.2 Pending the number of teams allocated by the host university, the Committee shall fund the registration of at least six (6) teams for Easter IV each year. If, after the original round of funding has been allocated, space for additional teams is made by the host university, additional teams may not be funded.

5.6.3 Only novices shall be eligible to be selected for the Easter IV Competition.

5.6.4 For Easter IV the proportion of females selected and funded in teams must be at least 50%. At least four (4) females must be selected in the top three (3) teams. There must be one male and one female in each funded team unless insufficient numbers of either sex apply for selection.

5.6.5 For the purposes of Easter IV, a novice is a debater who has not debated at Australasians, Worlds or three Easter IVs.

5.6.6 All Easters teams should receive the same funding. Funding should be set to as close to the registration cost as possible.

5.6.7 Unfunded debaters must debate in the teams in which they are selected. There are no requirements in respect of the sex of members of unfunded teams except that the contingent must be at least one-third female in accordance with AIDA rules.

5.6.8 The Committee should endeavour to send as many experienced coaches as possible to the Easter IV. Coaches should be selected by a special Committee meeting to be called at discretion on the basis of the curriculum vitae submitted by applicants.

5.7 Australasians

5.7.1 Pending the number of teams allocated by the host university, the Committee shall fund the registration of at least three (3) teams to Australasians each year. If, after the original round of funding has been allocated, space for additional teams is made by the host university, additional teams may not be funded.

5.7.2 No person shall be eligible for funding as a debater for more than five (5) Australasians.

5.7.3 In the Australasian IV Debating Championship, the minimum number of novices sent and funded shall be equal to the number of teams funded. This rule will not apply where the host university sets the number of teams allowed per institution at four or less. In this case, at least three novices shall be sent and funded.

5.7.4 In the Australasian IV Debating Championship, the minimum number of females funded shall be equal to the number of teams funded and the minimum number of females sent shall be equal to the number of teams sent. At least one-third of the contingent, inclusive of adjudicators, shall be female-identifying. At least three females must be selected in the top three teams.

5.7.5 For the purposes of Australasians, a novice is a debater who has not debated at Australasians or Worlds.

5.7.6 Self-funding Australasians debaters must debate in the teams in which they are selected.

5.8 Worlds

5.8.1 Pending the number of teams allocated by the host university, the Committee shall fund the registration of at least two (2) teams for Worlds each year. If, after the original round of funding has been allocated, space for additional teams is made by the host university, additional teams may not be funded.

5.8.2 No person shall be eligible to receive funding to attend Worlds as a debater more than four times.

5.8.3 In the event that two or more teams are funded to attend to the Worlds IV Debating Festival, at least one novice shall be funded.

5.8.4 Funding for the World Universities Debating teams shall be provided on the condition that the selected team(s) conduct debating skills seminar/workshops upon request both before and after the Competition.

5.8.5 For Worlds there shall be at least one female funded per two teams funded and the minimum number of females sent shall be equal to at least half the number of teams sent. In the event that an odd number of teams are sent, the number of females required to be sent shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. At least one-third of the contingent (debaters and N-1 adjudicators) shall be female. In the event that only one team is sent to Worlds, however, there will be no quota for female or male debaters.

5.8.6 For the purposes of Worlds, a novice debater is a debater who has not debated at Worlds, and a novice adjudicator is a debater who has not debated or adjudicated at Worlds.

5.8.7 Selection trials for Worlds shall take place no more than a fortnight after the Women’s IV.

5.8.8 For trials for Botswana Worlds 2011 only, the organiser of selections may convey any resolutions of Committee to the selectors and trialists, where those resolutions refer to the extent to which selectors are allowed to consider past performance in selecting teams for that tournament.

5.9 Women's Intervarsity

5.9.1 Pending the number of teams allocated by the host university, the Committee shall fund the registration of at least two (2) teams for Women’s Intervarsity each year. If, after the original round of funding has been allocated, space for additional teams is made by the host university, additional teams may not be funded.

5.9.2 Selections for Women’s shall balance the goals of providing a highly competitive contingent and developing novice female debaters.

5.9.3 In balancing these goals, selectors shall pair debaters based on their experience. Women who have debated at Worlds, spoken in an octo-final at Australs, or debated at two or more Australs should be considered ‘pros’, and paired with novices.

5.9.4 Women in their first year of a university degree should always be considered novices.

5.9.5 Preferences indicated by trailers as to who they would like to debate with, are not binding in any way. Selector(s) should be conscious that the expression of preferences by trialists does not undermine the values of the ‘Selection Policy’ as outlined in 5.1.1.

5.10 Adjudication

5.10.1 The Committee shall appoint a subcommittee sho shall select adjudicators as required for each tournament as soon as possible after debaters have been selected.

5.10.2 Adjudicators will be selected by live adjudication, but may be selected by video adjudication or by CV if an applicant is genuinely unable to attend the selection trial.

5.10.3 Members of the adjudication selection subcommittee should have previously debated or adjudicated at the tournament in question for Australasians and Worlds, or at either Australasians or Worlds for the Easter IV.

5.10.4 Novice adjudicators for the Easter IV shall be selected in the same way as the qualified adjudicators being sent.

5.10.5 The Committee shall fund:

i. at least six (6) qualified adjudicators for Easter IV;

ii. at least three (3) novice adjudicators for Easter IV, where 'novice' means an adjudicator who has not adjudicated or debated at an Australasians or Worlds or more than one Easter IV;

iii. The Committee shall fund N-1 adjudicators to all other tournaments. For the purposes of Australs and Womens the Committee may fund, if funds allow, adjudicators in excess of N-1.

iv. within the provisions of (iii) above, at least one adjudicator who has not previously attended Australasians as an adjudicator or debater should be funded where more than three teams are sent to an Australasians;

v. within the provisions of (iii) above, at least one adjudicator who has not previously attended Worlds as an adjudicator or debater where more than two teams are sent to a Worlds.

vi. In the event that additional team allocations by the host university are made after the USU has announced the contingent and/or distributed the funding, any N-1 funding provisions in excess of 5.10.5 (iii) will not necessarily apply.

6. Discrimination, Vilification and Harassment

6.1 The USU is committed to promoting equal opportunities and equality for all its members. In this spirit, the USU guidelines and policies contained in the USU Policy Document apply to the activities of the Debates Committee.

6.2 For each intervarsity tournament to which USU sends participants, the Women’s Officer, Intervarsity Director & Director of Debates shall appoint at least one (1) male & one (1) female from the contingent to the role of sexual harassment officer.

7. Debaterbase, Privacy and Information

7.1 The Debates Committee may collect information of interested USU members including their details for the purposes of the ‘Debaterbase’.

7.2 This Debaterbase shall be used to make announcements relevant to the activities, events and meetings of the Debates Committee.

7.3 The USU shall hold the information collected by the Debates Committee and will facilitate the means by which announcements are to be released as practicable.

7.4 The USU will not release this information to any other party unless expressly authorised.

7.5 The USU privacy policy shall apply with respect to any information gathered in the development and/or maintenance of the Debaterbase.

7.6 The USU, the Communications Director, and the Director of Debates shall be the only authorised parties to send information and notices using the Debaterbase.

8. Trialling for Tournaments

8.1 Eligibility for trialling for any major tournament

8.1.1 In order to be eligible to register to trial and to trial for any major tournament, a student must be both an Access Card holder and a member of the University of Sydney Union.

8.1.2 In order to represent the University of Sydney Union at any major tournament a student must be both an Access Card holder and a member of the University of Sydney Union.

8.1.3 In order to be eligible to trial, a student must register to trial (in person or by CV) before the cut off date, which shall be advertised through debaterbase and shall be at least 48 hours before the trial day.

8.1.4 No student shall represent the USU at a tournament without trialling during the official trial period (this includes trialling by CV where appropriate) – irrespective of whether they are self funded.

8.1.5 No student shall trial without having accumulated at least 50% of the points required in each category to attend the tournament.

8.1.6 Pending any special consideration (9.3), no student attends the tournament unless he/she has accumulated the requisite points before the tournament commences.

9. The Points System

9.1 Requirement for funding

9.1.1 Never funded for Australs or Worlds as a debater or adjudicator: 50 debating points.

9.1.2 Never funded to debate at Australs or Worlds, but funded as an adjudicator at either Australs or Worlds: 50 service points, 25 debating points and 25 adjudication points.

9.1.3 Previously funded to debate at Australs or Worlds: 50 service points, 25 debating points, 75 adjudication points.

9.2 Points may be allocated for (categories of points)

9.2.1 Service points

i. Two hour shift at O-Week stall: 20 points

ii. Attend a Schools Day: 30 points

iii. Attend a meeting of the Debates Committee: 20 points

iv. Deliver a seminar at Regionals: 20 points

v. Select Easters teams: 30 points

vi. Participate in a Public or Demonstration Debate: 20 points

vii. Tab Direct an Internal Tournament: 30 points

9.2.2 Adjudication points

i. Adjudicate an entire internal tournament (i.e. Grand Slam, Sydney Open): 30 points

ii. Adjudicate at Regionals: 20 points

iii. Coach an Easters Team: 30 points in addition to adjudication points for adjudicating that team at Regionals

a. For this requirement to be met, the coach must adjudicate their team at least once at Regionals and on at least one other occasion.

9.2.3 Debating Points

i. Debate at an internal or external tournament (i.e. Grand Slam, Sydney Open): 25 points

ii. Debate at Regionals: 20 points

iii. Debate at Regionals as a ‘Pro’ in a Pro-Am team where the team is assembled by the organisers of Regionals: 25 points

9.3 Exceptional circumstances and contingencies

9.3.1 Inability to fulfil requirements in one or more categories: Where a person feels that they will not be able to meet the points requirement under one or more of the three categories they should raise this with the Director of Debates as soon as is reasonable after the problem becomes apparent to them. The Director will present the person’s case to the USU’s Director of Student Programs. Where the Director of Student Programs feels that the person is genuinely unable to meet the requirement(s), they may require the person to gain an equal number of points in a different category, or undertake some other task of value to the debating program.

i. To guide the Director of Student Programs, being genuinely unable includes circumstances such as the following:

a. Inability to attend Regionals because of class-clash

b. Inability to attend weekend events because of serious work commitments

c. Inability to attend events because of absence from Sydney

ii. The Director of Student Programs should only grant such dispensation where the person requesting it has made reasonable attempts to raise the problem as soon as it was apparent to them and where they cannot accrue sufficient points in the correct category

9.3.2 Carryover of points between Semesters

i. Points accrued in one calendar year cannot be used to secure funding in a later year.

ii. If a person receives funding to attend Australs, the points they have accrued will be subtracted from the points required for funding (see 1) and any balance will carry over to Semester Two.

9.3.3 Failure to meet points requirement and appeals

i. Where a person is selected as a debater or adjudicator but fails to meet their points requirement in any category, subject to special dispensation being granted under 8.3.1, they will not receive funding to attend the tournament in question.

ii. In this situation the person has the right to appeal this outcome. Their appeal will be heard by a panel consisting of the USU’s Director of Student Programs, the President of the Union and the Vice-President of the Union and advised by the Director of Debates and the Chair of Debates.

iii. Appeals will be granted only in exceptional circumstances.

iv. In considering an appeal, the panel should consider:

a. The reason that the person failed to meet their requirements

b. Whether or not the person took reasonable steps to avoid failing to meet their requirements

c. The past contribution of that person to the Debates programme

d. The effect on the contingent of that person not receiving funding

9.3.4 In order to be eligible to attend any major tournament, a student must be both an Access Card holder and a member of the University of Sydney Union.

9.3.5 A student may not represent the Union at a major intervarsity tournament if he/she has any outstanding debts to the Union.

10. Debates Scholarship

10.1 The USU shall facilitate the award of the Debating Scholarships that it may decide from time to time up to $4000.

10.2 The rules and criteria for the award of the scholarship shall be set by the USU, but may not be amended once applications for the Scholarship have been opened.

10.3 The application process and procedures are to be administered by the Debates Officer of the USU.

10.4 The USU Board shall appoint a scholarships committee to determine the outcome of any scholarship applications.

10.5 The scholarships committee shall consist of:

(a) the President, ex-officio

(b) two appointees of the USU Foundation

11. The Debates Officer

11.1 The Debates Officer shall be a staff member of the University of Sydney Union appointed by and shall report to the General Manager.

11.2 The General Manager may from time to time change the roles and responsibilities of this delegated officer.

12. Patron of USU Debating

12.1 The Debates Committee may appoint a Patron subject to the approval of the USU Board.

12.2 The Patron of the Debates Committee shall remain in this position unless:

i. Another patron is appointed by the Debates Committee

ii. The Patron relinquishes his/her role

iii. The Patron is deceased or otherwise incapacitated

13. Australian Intervarsity Debates Association and World Universities Debating Council

13.1 The Debates Committees may appoint one representative to the Australian Intervarsity Debating Association and the World University Debating Council.

13.2 The Debates Committee’s representative to the Australian Intervarsity Debating Association and the World University Debating Council shall be the following:

i. the Director of Debates

ii. where the above (i) is unable, the Intervarsity Director

iii. where the above (i) & (ii) are unable, an appointee of the President

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30