St. Mary’s Academy invites you to the annual Marian Cup Senior Invitational Debate Tournament, to be held Tuesday, April 29, 2025. A complete agenda is located further down in this invitation.

Date: April 29, 2025

Location: St. Mary’s Academy (550 Wellington Crescent) 

Parking: Please feel free to park in any available space in the parking lot and enter the school through the Alumnae Hall doors.

Registration for Judges and Competitors: 4:00 PM - 4:30 PM (Motions at 4:45 SHARP, The judges briefing will take place in Alumnae Hall from 4:30 PM - 5:00 PM.)

Awards: 8:00 PM (approximately)

The first resolution will be distributed at 4:45 SHARP. 

Resolutions: Impromptu current affairs and issues. 

Parliamentary Debate Guidelines

The tournament will consist of two rounds of Impromptu Canadian Parliamentary debate with two different resolutions. Constructive speeches may be no longer than 6 minutes, followed by final refutations of no longer than 3 minutes. There will be a 2-minute break between constructive speeches and final refutations. The students will have an opportunity to debate one round as Government and one round as Opposition. Preparation will occur before each round. Prepared cases, casebooks, and squirrelling are not permitted at this tournament. Squirrelling occurs when the definition of the terms changes the intention of the motion in a significant manner.

Registration Guidelines

Schools may send a maximum of 3 two-person teams. Depending upon the numbers, it may be possible to send additional teams. To ensure your spot at this tournament, coaches must register their students before Monday, April 14th. Please use the specific registration form at the end of this letter. If you would like to do so, please indicate this in an email to Ms. Paula Fleury (pfleury@smamb.ca) and we will let you know after registration closes. Schools must bring a minimum of one judge for every two competitors. If you can bring additional judges, please let us know so that we can ensure there are an adequate number of judges for the tournament. All judges must register prior to April 21st, 2025.

Please use the specific registration form shared at the end of the letter. 

Snacks will be served between rounds; however, dinner is not provided.

Please email Paula Fleury at pfleury@smamb.ca or contact 204-930-1897, if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 Marian Cup.

Sincerely,

Paula Fleury, Rob McCaffrey, and Taylor Reimer
St. Mary’s Academy Debate Coaches

REGISTRATION FORMS

Team Registration Form

Due April 14, 2025 https://forms.office.com/r/2C0C5W3xkr

Judge Registration Form

Due April 21, 2025 https://forms.office.com/r/6XXFzwveEK

SCHEDULE

4:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Judges and Debater Registration 

4:30 PM - 4:45 PM: Competitors Briefing (Durocher Library)

4:30 PM -5:00 PM: Judges Briefing (Alumnae Hall) 

4:45 PM: First Motion Released

4:45 PM -5:05 PM: Prep for Round 1

5:05 PM - 5:50 PM: Round 1

5:50 PM - 6:15 PM: Break

6:15 PM: Second Motion Released 

6:15 PM - 6:35 PM: Prep for Round 2

6:35 PM - 7:10 PM: Round 2

8:00 PM: Results and Awards