What is The Grand Spar?
The Grand Spar is a completely free, weekly online debate spar created for the love of debating, and to ensure our fellow debaters and judges of all skill levels are given ample opportunity to immerse themselves in the joys of debating. At present, The Grand Spar attracts debaters from 27 countries spanning across 6 continents!
Speakers are welcome to spar at any time on our Discord server if there is enough interest, but the official grand spar happens weekly on Fridays, 9pm (GMT+8). Speakers will have their speaker scores tracked across 4 weeks, and at the end of those 4 weeks, the top 8 speakers overall shall be eligible to join the month’s grand finale. The finale shall be streamed online and have 2 winners, the judges’ champion will be the winner determined by an esteemed panel of adjudicators, whereas the people’s champion will be the winner determined by the public, expressed through reactions to the video streamed to The Grand Spar’s Facebook page. The judges’ champion shall receive a free team slot (each) to debate in any of the events hosted by WoLCE over the year, while the people’s champion will receive a free meal, courtesy of food delivery, regardless of which country you live in. Speakers will need to speak in at least 3 of the 4 rounds to qualify to speak in the finale, however you do not need to speak with the same partner each week, you may team up with different partners and still qualify for the finale.
If you’d rather just debate for fun that is absolutely fine as well, there is no commitment required for speakers to join every week, you can join whenever you wish to.
To make the spar accessible, we are also appreciative of judges taking the time to judge rounds. Judges that are qualified are eligible for financial remuneration, do contact the organizers after applying as a judge to find out more.
How does it work?
A 4-week league over each month with 1 round each week. Each month, the top 8 speakers are paired up for a grand finale. If you’ve always wanted to try out a no frills debate session - this is your chance: no commitments, only 1 round, and you get feedback from some of the most seasoned speakers in the scene.
Why join The Grand Spar?
Growth
The Grand Spar has been fortunate enough to have top quality volunteer debate adjudicators join us each week to assist you in your quest to verbal mastery.
Consistency
The Grand Spar ensures you continue growing week after week by giving you a platform to sharpen your debating skills.
October 2021’s Finale!
OG: Two debaters one clutched case
(ZY & Leonna)
OO: We dumped our APD partner, so we’re here
(Saloni & Pushpit)
CG: E = MCsquared
(Chien Chien & Mir Tahsin)
CO: The woman was too stunned to speak
(Pranav Anand & Therese)
Motion: THW arrest the Jigsaw Killer instead of letting them go
Info slide: The Jigsaw killer is a criminal that designs traps or "tests" for his selected targets. In order to escape, victims must make difficult and often painful choices. E.g. the 10 pints of blood test required the unwilling participants to mutilate their hands on spinning saw blades to fill a beaker with enough blood within a limited time frame to escape, and the bathroom test found victims chained to a pipe by their legs in an abandoned bathroom, and were given, among other things, a hacksaw that was too weak to saw through the metallic chains, and was instead meant for the victims to saw their own feet off to escape.
You are a detective who has been investigating the series of grotesque murders, and realized that all the victims chosen were of poor moral character, including white collar criminals and other criminals that evaded justice through suppression of evidence and/or witnesses, among others. You also realize that the tests are designed specifically to the target's moral failings, and the few victims that managed to survive their test have all turned over a new leaf and became better people. For purposes of the debate, it can be assumed that the tests, if they succeed, are 100% effective at permanently rehabilitating people.
After years of pursuing the Jigsaw killer, you finally track them down in an abandoned warehouse, and after talking to them, discover that they are dying from terminal stage cancer, and are also physically disabled from a previous suicide attempt. They have a strong philosophy on offering people a chance at rehabilitation and becoming a better person, regardless of the means necessary. They tell you that they still have unfinished work and humbly request that you let them go for them to complete it. No one (other than the jigsaw killer) will know if you decide to let them go.
April 2020’s Finale!
Motion: This house prefers a world in which people predominantly believe that all decisions, thoughts, and actions of all in the universe are pre-determined.
Government: Younger Member Decides (Tengku Amin, Lit Wen, & Scott Hong)
Opposition: Zoom Premium
(Heidi, Umar, & Timothy)
May 2020’s Finale!
Motion: This house, as person X, would choose to upload yourself onto the digital afterlife instead of going through with the surgery
Opening Government: Miguel-Gelson
Opening Opposition: Mary-Lit Wen
Closing Government: Nabil-Scott
Closing Opposition: Gillian-Nuan Ning
June 2020’s Finale!
Motion: This house believes that progressive social movements in developing countries should prioritize campaigning for changes to official laws and governmental policies over changes in mass attitudes and beliefs.
OG: John Carlo Oboy & Umar Fazlan
OO: Josef Moscovici & Theresa Lachoana
CG: Srijan Poudel & Gelson Eng
CO: Wilson Lambiquit & Nuan Ning
Adjudication Panel:
[redacted], Lim Tai Jie & Zhiyun Chia
Register Now for The Grand Spar!
Every week we have participants from across the world joining us and slots fill up really quickly. Do not miss this opportunity to join us at The Grand Spar! If the form is closed, do not worry. You can join our Facebook Event Page to get instant updates to sign up for the next session!
Hall of Fame
The winners of each month!
April 2020 (AP)
Government: Younger Member Decides
Lit Wen
Scott Hong
Tengku Amin
May 2020 (BP)
Closing Government: Nabil-Scott
Nabil Hossain
Scott Hong
June 2020 (BP)
Opening Opposition
Josef Moscovici
Theresa Lachoana
September 2021 (BP)
Closing Opposition: Gaslighting gatekeeping girlbossing our way to the finals
Pranav Anand
Francisca Renata Wijaya
October 2021 (BP)
Opening Government: Two debaters one clutched case
Chia Zhi Yun
Leonna Ronquillo
FAQs
Have you received my registration?
Our registration form has automatic respondent receipts, if you have filled it in we have received it. The teams and speakers will be reminded on discord on the day of the spar itself.
Is the timing for The Grand Spar fixed?
Yes, however we may change the time slot or add another slot if there is sufficient demand.
Do I need to pay for Zoom?
Nope, just create a free account and download the app for better connectivity.
Am I able to join The Grand Spar if I have no experience at all?
Absolutely, the only thing you will need is an understanding of the rules of British Parliamentary debating, that is all you need to spar!
Can I join if I don’t have a teammate?
Yes! We will try our best to pair you up with another single speaker looking for a partner, however there is no guarantee so we would still recommend registering as a team
Can I join for one week and then disappear?
Yup. There’s no commitment.
What happens if I am not able to make it for the spar after I have registered?
Please reach out to the organizers (you can tag us on discord) as soon as possible so we can find replacements, registering and then no-showing is disrespectful, and will mean you will be deprioritized in future spars.
Is Zoom safe?
Yup, as long as you have the latest update 5.0, all should be G. Then again, is anything on the internet truly 100% secure and unbreakable?
Is there a fee?
Nope, all costs associated with The Grand Spar is fully sponsored by WoLCE.
Is there a limit to the number of different partners I can have throughout The Grand Spar?
Nope, pair up with as many people as you’d like (limited to 1 a week though!).
How many spars do I need to attend to qualify for the Monthly Finale?
A minimum of 3 of the 4 weeks. We will rank speakers by their average speaker score to determine who qualifies for the finale.