Results
You can access the tournament results by clicking here.
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This is the Tournament Portal for our 2022 Spring West Tournament which will be held online on February 11-13th, 2022.
Registration
Registration for the 2022 Spring West Tournament will open on January 17 and will close on January 28.
Press Releases
English pre-tournament press release.
Bulgarian pre-tournament press release.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb 11, 2022
18:00 - Student Leader Meeting
19:00 - Opening Ceremony (Zoom)
19:10 - Guest Speaker
19:30 - Students Social Meeting (Zoom)
19:45 - Judge Corner (Google Meet)
Saturday, Feb 12, 2022
10:00 - Round 1 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
11:30 - Round 1 Flight A: Debate (Prepared) and Poetry
13:30 - Round 2 Flight B: Oratory, Prose, and Duo
15:00 - Round 2 Flight A: Debate (Impromptu) and Poetry
17:00 - Break
17:30 - Round 3: Duo, Novice Prose
Semifinals: Varsity Prose, Oratory
19:00 - Round 3: Debate (Prepared), Novice Poetry
Quarterfinals: Varsity Poetry
Sunday, Feb 13, 2022
10:00 - Round 4: Debate (Impromptu)
Semifinals: Varsity Poetry
12:00 - Finals: Prose, Oratory, and Duo
13:30 - Finals: Poetry and Debate (Prepared)
16:00 - Closing Ceremony (Zoom)
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 review our Coaches’ Checklist and make sure their teams are up to date.
Debate Motions
This House believes that, on balance, societies benefit from religious belief and practice.
This House supports governments significantly increasing their use of automated decision making in public policy decisions (e.g. criminal justice policy, allocation of healthcare resources, housing development, etc.).
Infoslide: Automated decision making involves the use of data, machines and algorithms to make decisions in public administration with little to no human oversight or intervention.This House supports the use of "nudging" in public administration.
Infoslide: Nudging is an attempt to influence people’s choices or behavior in order to achieve policy goals. Typically, this is done by making small changes to the way decisions are presented, while still allowing for freedom of choice. Some examples of "nudge" policies are requiring calorie counts on menus, using an "opt-out" system for organ donation registration, and mandating graphic warning labels on cigarette packaging.
Impromptu motion hints:
Big Tech / Free Speech, Education / Career Path
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: This House supports the use of "nudging" in public administration.
Motion: This House supports governments significantly increasing their use of automated decision making in public policy decisions (e.g. criminal justice policy, allocation of healthcare resources, housing development, etc.).