The tentative team cap for this tournament is 36 teams (72 participants), with no team cap per institution. Depending on interest, we may increase the team cap later on. This will ensure that all rooms can receive high-quality judging from university-level debaters. In order to streamline the registration process, registration will be completed through the following three steps.

1. Teams must register on the preliminary registration form which will open on Monday, February 23rd, 2026 at 8:00 AM GMT+9. Spots for this tournament fill up quickly, so we suggest you register ASAP.

2. All teams that successfully reserve team spots will receive an email confirmation containing a separate form to fill out participant information and pay. The deadline for submitting participant information and payment is April 11th, 2026. Teams that neglect to confirm information for their teams by this date may have their spots dropped. The tournament cost is 150,000 KRW per team for payments submitted before the deadline.

There will be four preliminary-style rounds (with Oral Adjudication and results released in rooms) in which all teams will participate. These rounds will be followed by an awarding ceremony, awarding teams and speakers in three separate categories: Open, Junior, and Novice (tentative, criteria listed below). The tournament’s three (out of four) rounds will have open adjudication, where debaters will be informed of the outcome of the debate and given constructive feedback from their judge. Round four will be closed adjudication.

Debates will be held in parliamentary debate format, in Modified Canadian Nationals (CP) format; for those unfamiliar with the format, please refer to the Official Format Guide. The motion for Round 1 will be prepared, while all other rounds will be impromptu. Squirreling will not be permitted. A briefing on the format will be provided by our Organizing Committee before the first round.

The tournament will be open to students in grades 3-9, divided into Junior, Novice, and Open categories. 

Junior Category

includes students enrolled in grades 3-6 as of the 2025/2026 academic year. 

Novice Category

Students in Grades 3 to 9 who meet one of the following conditions:

1. This is their first-ever debate tournament OR

2. They are not currently enrolled in any external debate institution or academy (commonly referred to as “hagwons”).

Open Category 

All other participants who do not qualify for Junior or Novice.

Please note that category qualification will not be determined at the point of registration. Instead, all participants will be asked to submit additional information after registration closes, upon which final categorization will be made. This is to ensure accurate placement and equitable grouping.

Additionally, whether preliminary rounds will be power-matched across all categories or conducted within separate divisions will depend on the overall composition and number of teams per category. Should the number of Junior teams be insufficient to establish a standalone division, they may be integrated into a combined draw with other categories. In such a case, category distinctions will still apply for the purposes of awards. The Novice category may also be suspended if deemed unfeasible based on the registration outcome.

Final decisions regarding category structure, round pairings, and award eligibility will be announced to all participants following the closure of the registration period.

To request a waiver of the tournament registration fee (₩150,000/team), you may reach out to us directly via email. Please note that requesting a waiver will not impact the allocation of spots to your institution. The deadline to request a waiver is April 9th, 2026.