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  • THR the rise of franchise sports leagues at the expense of bilateral/multilateral sports series.

    Infoslide

    Historically, international sports was played between sports-playing nations around the world in bilateral ('between two countries') or multilateral ('between multiple countries') series. Under a bilateral/multilateral system, sports-playing nations would invite teams from other nations to compete for a particular title, league, friendly match, and so on. Examples include the Lansdowne Cup between the national rugby teams of Ireland and Australia, or invitational games between the national cricket teams of India, Pakistan, Australia, and so on. Each country's representative sports team is owned and managed by the government, where all players on the team must hold citizenship in that country. On the other hand, in franchise leagues, sports teams are privately owned and managed. Franchise teams can consist of a mix of players from different nationalities, and often play in extensive seasons. Examples of franchise leagues are the Indian Premier League for cricket and the English Premier League for football. Recently, the rise in franchise sporting leagues has come at the expense of bilateral/multilateral sports series due to complications in scheduling and resource management.

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Round 4 · 2025-11-16

  • This house prefers a world in which all world religions codified the doctrine of the "Protestant work ethic".

    Infoslide

    The "Protestant work ethic" refers to the notion that work is a spiritually noble vocation. As such, individuals who adopt the Protestant work ethic believe ordinary labor (e.g. farming, business) are not just economic necessities, but active callings from God, and that traits in the pursuit of hard work (e.g. diligence, perseverance) are signs of spiritual strength.

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-11-16

  • This house believes that international financial institutions should refuse to fund projects that substantially increases a country’s net greenhouse gas emissions.

    Infoslide

    International financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are global organisations that give loans and grants to countries to fund large development projects, such as power plants, roads, industries, and public transport systems. A country’s net greenhouse gas emissions are the total greenhouse gasses (GHGs) it releases minus any GHGs it removes. For example, even if a country produces 1 tonne of GHGs (e.g. through factories or burning fossil fuels), its net greenhouse gas emission is zero if it also removes 1 tonne of CHGs from the atmosphere (e.g. through forest replantation or the use of GHG-capturing technology).

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Quarterfinals · 2025-11-16

  • This house believes that the US Democratic Party should aggressively “fight dirty” going forward.

    Infoslide

    In politics, “fighting dirty” refers to the use of tactics by political parties that are technically legal, but are deemed as against the spirit of democracy. Examples of "fighting dirty" include excessively redrawing electoral districts in their favour, launching smear campaigns against their opposing politicians, pitting their opposing politicians into scandals, etc.

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Semifinals · 2025-11-16

  • This house prefers the use of jury trials over bench trials.

    Infoslide

    In criminal trials, a jury is a group of usually 12 ordinary citizens chosen at random to hear the evidence of the case given to the court, decide what facts of the case they believe, and deliver a verdict of the case (i.e. "guilty" or "not guilty"). Members of the jury are prohibited from discussing the case with anyone other than another member of the jury until the trial is complete. The decision of the jury must be unanimous or reach an acceptable majority. If the jury decides a "not guilty" verdict, the accused is let go; if the jury decides a "guilty" verdict, the accused is convicted of the crime and the judge proceeds to determine the criminal sentence. Although the judge cannot directly influence the jury, they typically brief members of the jury how to properly and fairly assess the evidence of the case. A criminal trial that includes a jury is called a jury trial. A criminal trial that does not have a jury is called a bench trial. In bench trials, only the judges themselves hear a case and decide the verdict.

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Senior Quarterfinals · 2025-11-16

  • Assuming feasibility, This house supports 'Farmageddon'

    Infoslide

    <div>'Farmageddon' is an advanced virtual reality technology which allows participants to accurately experience life from the first-person perspective of a random factory-farmed animal (e.g. a cow, a chicken, a pig). Once logged in, the user retains their memories from outside the simulation but experiences the animal's sensations as if they were real.</div><div><br></div><div>One session lasts for an hour in real life, but time is dilated to make the user feel as if they've spent a month in the simulation. Once you enter, you cannot leave until the simulation ends. If it were to exist, every adult would be required to enter the simulation.</div>

    Singapore International Schools Debating Championships 2025 · Senior Finals · 2025-11-16

  • This house supports the establishment of government run grocery stores in urban food deserts

    Infoslide

    For the purposes of this debate, a food desert is defined as an area in which the majority of the population is: 1) more than 20 minutes from a grocery store by the dominant mode of transport in that area 2) low income

    ANU Spring 2025 · Round 5 · 2025-11-15

  • This house believes that history is thick rather than thin

    Infoslide

    A thick view of history holds that that the macro state of society at a given point is largely determined by overwhelming structural forces which made that state close to inevitable. A thin view of history holds that it is largely as a result of a small number of factors (e.g. events, people or processes) which could easily have been different and lead to different outcomes, making that state subject to a substantial degree of randomness.

    ANU Spring 2025 · Novice Final · 2025-11-15

  • This house believes that the US rescue package for Argentina is in the interests of the Trump administration

    Infoslide

    The US rescue package for Argentina had two elements: 1) A currency swap line which allows Argentina to swap Pesos for USD 2) The US Treasury purchasing pesos on the open market This deal was announced immediately prior to the Argentinian Mid Term elections.

    ANU Spring 2025 · Grand Final · 2025-11-15