The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC)

The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) is an annual English-language debate competition for high school-level teams representing different countries.

Interested in the competition?

Competition Overview

High school students (14-19 years old)

Eligibility

$720

Entry fee

Depends on the countries

Registration Deadline

July 14-24, 2026 in Kenya

Competition Date

📌 Note: Aralia is not the organizer of this competition. For official rules, deadlines, and updates, please refer directly to the competition organizer. Aralia provides listings and information about competitions for student reference. Aralia is an online education platform offering competition preparation classes to students worldwide.

Competition Details

1. Format

The World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) uses the World Schools Style format, blending Asian Parliamentary and Australian debate styles. In each debate, two three-member teams (Proposition and Opposition) deliver eight-minute speeches, with a final four-minute reply speech per team. Points of information may be offered by the opposing team during most of the eight-minute speeches, though speakers can refuse them.

The WSDC typically spans 10 days, featuring prepared and impromptu preliminary debates. The top teams advance to the knockouts, culminating in the Semifinals and then the Grand Final.

Champions and runners-up are ranked 1 and 2; all other teams are ranked based on the championship round they reached, using preliminary round rankings to break ties.

2. Scholarship

Students can also apply for scholarships to cover the registration fee, travel, and other costs that are not included.

3. Team Structure

A team shall have at least 3 and no more than 5 members.