WADL SDC Senior 2026
All debates postponed — tonight at Mt Lawley Senior High School
All debates at Mount Lawley Senior High School tonight (Thursday, 21 May 2026) have been postponed due to a power outage at the school. Coordinators have been emailed with further details. For assistance, contact coo@wadl.org.
Welcome to the draw page for the WADL Schools Debating Competition (SDC) – Senior Division.
Here you can find the draw, motions, venue information, and general competition rules.
Quick Links
Competition Structure
Round Topics
- R1 – Politics (Prepared)
- R2 – Science & Technology (Prepared)
- R3 – Education (Impromptu)
- R4 – Environment (Impromptu)
- R5 – Justice & Ethics (Impromptu)
Prepared and impromptu motions differ between Week 1 and Week 2 venues. Week 2 prepared motions will be released one week after the Week 1 motions to ensure equal preparation time across venues.
Byes
Byes are randomly assigned to teams in venues with an odd number of teams registered. Byes are rotated across schools, so that no one team will receive a bye twice.
If your team does not appear in the draw for a round, or is scheduled against a "WADL" team, your team has a bye for that round.
If your team would still like to debate during a bye round, please contact tab@wadl.org. We may be able to organise a practice debate against an adjudicator.
Ironing PolicyClick to view ironing policy
- Teams normally consist of three speakers.
- In non-final rounds, a team may debate with two speakers. This is called "ironing".
- A team may iron up to two times during the competition.
- If a team is ironing:
- One speaker must give two speeches.
- The repeat speaker will receive two separate scores.
- The second speech will be judged as if it were delivered by a different speaker.
- All other aspects of adjudication remain unchanged.
- Ironing is not permitted in finals.
Timeslots
Novice: 5:15pm (earlier) • 6:15pm (later)
Junior: 6:15pm (earlier) • 7:15pm (later)
Senior: 7:15pm
The draw displays only the later timeslot.
- If a time appears after your room (e.g. CCGS 4 – 6:15), the debate is in the later session.
- If no time is shown, the debate is in the earlier session.
For impromptu rounds, teams must arrive 1 hour 15 minutes before their scheduled debate time.
Venues
Debates are hosted at venues across WA. Debates are held across two weeks, so ensure you are arriving at your venue at the correct date and time. Click on a school to view it in Google Maps.
WEEK 1 — Starting 10/03
Tuesday W1
Wednesday W1
Thursday W1
WEEK 2 — Starting 17/03
Tuesday W2
Wednesday W2
| R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/03 Perth Modern School (PMOD) |
01/04 Perth Modern School (PMOD) |
06/05 Perth Modern School (PMOD) |
27/05 Perth Modern School (PMOD) |
10/06 Perth Modern School (PMOD) |
Thank you for being part of this year's WADL Schools Debating Competition. We hope you get the most out of SDC 2026, and we look forward to seeing you in the debate room.
If you have any questions, queries, feedback or would like to flag a mistake made in the draw, please contact Jacob Atkinson at tab@wadl.org.