This is the Tournament Portal for our 2021 Fall East Tournament which will be held online on November 26-28th.

Registration

Registration for the 2021 Fall East Tournament has closed.

Press Releases

English pre-tournament press release.

Bulgarian pre-tournament press release.

Tournament Schedule

The novice and varsity divisions for Oratory, Prose and Poetry have been merged for this tournament due to low participation numbers.

All of the displayed starting times are in the Eastern European Standard Time (GMT+2) time zone.

Friday, November 26

6:00 PM - Student Leader Meeting
7:00 PM - Opening Ceremony
7:10 PM - Guest Speaker
7:30 PM - Students Social Meeting (Zoom)
7:45 PM - Judge Q&A

Saturday, November 27

10:00 AM - Round 1 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
11:30 AM - Round 1 Flight A: Debate (Prepared) and Poetry
1:30 PM - Round 2 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
3:00 PM - Round 2 Flight A: Debate (Impromptu) and Poetry
5:00 PM - Break
5:30 PM - Round 3: Oratory and Duo
Semifinals: Prose
7:00 PM - Semifinals: Poetry
             Round 3: Debate (Prepared)

Sunday, November 28

10:00 AM - Round 4: Debate (Impromptu)
12:00 PM - Finals: Prose, Oratory, and Duo
1:30 PM - Finals: Poetry and Debate (Prepared)
4:00 PM - Closing Ceremony

Judging

We welcome all high school graduates or above with C1 or higher English to judge at our tournaments. If you are new to BEST and our tournaments, visit our Judging Basics page!

Coaches, you must register if you are judging, too, and don’t forget to include your judges when you fill out your team roster spreadsheet (see below).

The Judge Sign-Up form can be reached by clicking here.

Coaching

BEST Coaches should download our Coaches’ Checklist and make sure their teams are up to date.

Debate Motions

• Given a trade-off, this House would direct environmental policy towards mitigation of climate change rather than prevention.

• This House would ban individuals credibly accused of corruption from running for public office.

• When resources are limited, this House supports hospitals that prioritize treatment of patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 to patients who are not.

Impromptu motion hints:

• Technology

• Pop Culture

Motion-related Articles

Note: These articles are meant to be a starting point for teams to find additional information about the motions. The BEST Foundation does not endorse the opinions presented in the articles, but is offering them as an additional resource for students to use at their own discretion.

Additionally, students are reminded of the plagiarism policy. Students’ speeches should be composed mainly of their own ideas, thoughts, and arguments. While students can incorporate evidence, data, and quotes from these articles into their speeches, they must cite their sources properly. Students found to have plagiarized (used another’s ideas without proper attribution) will be at risk of disqualification.

Motion: Given a trade-off, this House would direct environmental policy towards mitigation of climate change rather than prevention.

General:

1. WWF: What’s the difference between climate change mitigation and adaptation?

2. EEA: What is the difference between adaptation and mitigation?

3. Responding to Climate Change

4. Climate Change Mitigation and its effects on urban areas

5. Climate Change Mitigation - The Case of Denmark

6. Global Warming Prevention

Motion: This House would ban individuals credibly accused of corruption from running for public office.

General:

1. Eurobarometer: Corruption

2. Graft (politics)

Motion: When resources are limited, this House supports hospitals that prioritize treatment of patients who are vaccinated against COVID-19 to patients who are not.

Ethical Discussion:

1. What are the Basic Principles of Medical Ethics?

2. The pandemic and the ethical dilemma of limited resources: Who to treat?

General:

1. Would It Be Fair to Treat Vaccinated Covid Patients First?

2. If Covid vaccine refusers are turned away at hospitals and doctor offices, is that ethical?