Debating Technological Issues
Description
Participants work together to prepare for a debate against a team from another chapter. The teams will be instructed to take either the pro or con side of a selected subtopic.
2023-24 Topic: Technology in Infrastructure
Subtopic 1: Autonomous vehicles are the answer to increasing traffic demands, especially in large urban areas.
Subtopic 2: Current carbon and renewable energy policies have a negative impact on power grid reliability and consumer pricing.
Subtopic 3: Manufacturing companies should be exempt from restrictions on waste production due to their contributions to society.
Shorewood HS, 2023 1st Place
Event Resources
EVENT EXAMPLES
Click on the links to the right to view past entries for this event!
Event Deadlines
January 11, 2024
Students will need their Participant ID number, and password, from their advisor. Only the team captain will be able to upload the file.
Teams choose one of the suptopics, and either pro or con, and then conduct research. Create a list of references, and record a 2-minute argument.
Upload a pdf file of the references, and a URL link for the video.
March 2024
Teams will attend a mandatory Debate meeting at 8:00 pm on Wednesday night. Teams will sign up for debate time slot during the meeting, and find out whether subtopic 1, 2 or 3 will be used.
Each team will debate against another team. Teams will be notified of their Pro or Con stance right before their debate begins.
If a team needs to debate twice (odd number of teams), only their best score will count.
There is no semifinal round.
Washington TSA Rules
To compete, students must belong to an affiliated TSA chapter, register for competition by December 15, 2023, and pay the $30 competition fee. Participants must also meet the January 11 event deadlines (see above) to “qualify” for the Washington TSA State Conference in March.
To compete at the WTSA State Conference, students must have been registered in December, met the Jan. 11 deadline, and then register in February for the State Conference ($420/$500 per student package price (4 or 2 students per room)).
At the state level, 3 teams of 2 per chapter may compete.