The CKSTEM Debate Summer Contest- 2021, popularly known as CDSC-2021 is an initiative by Competitive Kids STEM to provide students with an opportunity to showcase their oral presentation, communication and debating skills.

CDSC is designed for students in Grades 5-10 globally. In this contest, we will be focusing on both - public speaking as well as debate. This competition is for students who are new to debating and are either newcomers or have less than one year of formal debating experience.

Public Speaking and Debate is the best way to become proficient in the 4 “Cs” of 21st-century skills—critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, and a 5th, civic awareness.  It benefits students in many ways, they acquire better poise, speech delivery, and public speaking skills. It increases student retention of information learned, improves listening as well as note-taking skills in addition to building self-confidence, critical thinking and creativity. 

Participating in this contest provides them with the perfect opportunity to not only remain engaged throughout the summer but also develop their communication and leadership skills which allow them to be better prepared for the school year ahead.

Preliminary Round: July 5^th-11^th, 2021 (Pre-recorded video submission of speeches)

• Focus on Public speaking and oral presentation

• Participants will present one prepared persuasive speech - 3 minutes long

• 2 Groups: Gr 5-8 & Gr 9-10 & topics will be provided in advance for them to prepare

• Students will need to submit a video presenting their speech from the list of topics provided for their group.

• Submission of video speeches to our portal will be open on June 27^th, 2021 from 11:59 pm ET till 11:59 pm ET on June 28^th, 2021.

• Preliminary Results: Top 10% of students (per group) will be the finalists 

Final Round: August 7^th, 2021, 12 pm-3 pm ET (Live over Zoom Call)

• This will be a debating contest and have two speakers per team, following the CNDF format  

• Students will be divided into 2 groups: Grades 5-8 & Grades 9-10

• 2 debate rounds- 1 prepared and 1 impromptu

• For the prepared round, the resolution will be released per category to the finalists from the preliminary round

• Evaluation: Individual scores for both debate rounds (prepared and impromptu) will be combined to arrive at final marks

• Final Results & Award Ceremony: 7^th August @ 3:30 pm ET. 

• Medals for the top 3 debaters + $100 CAD vouchers for CKSTEM Courses

• Certificate of merit (top 10%) + $50 CAD vouchers for CKSTEM Courses

• Certificate of honorable mention (top 25%) + $25 CAD vouchers for CKSTEM Courses

• Certificate of participation (everyone who participated in the contest)

To find out more details about this contest, please review frequently asked questions. If you would like to learn more about the Competitive Kids STEM organization, you can find details here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to get the latest update.