• The competition is open to full or part time MBA Students.
• All communications from the organizing committee will be in English.
• A team arriving late to any step of the competition will be disqualified.

Participants will register as individual players. The competition will consist of two elimination rounds and the final.

ROUND 1 :

The organizing committee will randomly assign the participants to one of 8 teams. A team will consist of 2 participants.

                        Preparation:

The topic of the debate will be communicated to the teams at least 30 minutes before the debate. Each team will then have 30 minutes to organize their arguments in their assigned preparation room.

There is no restriction on the material allowed in the preparation room. Therefore computers with Internet access and reference books are permitted. However cellular phones are strictly forbidden during preparation.

Any participant leaving the isolation room before the end of the allotted time will be disqualified unless accompanied by an official HEC Sustainability Challenge Chaperone.

The organizing committee cannot be held responsible for the technical problems that may arise during the resolution or during presentations.

              Presentation:

The teams will debate for 15 minutes in front a jury composed of professionals and Professors of HEC Montréal. Only one member of a team will be permitted to speak at a time. No material can be use during the debate; each participant will be allowed to use 1 sheet (double sided, handwritten) that he prepared during the 30 minutes preparation time.

The sequence of the presentations will be:
Team A presents its opening arguments – 3 min.
Team B presents its opening arguments – 3 min.
Team A Rebuttal – 3 min
Team B Rebuttal – 3 min
Question period from the judges – 3 min.

The time allocated will be strictly enforced. Participants will be penalized 1 point for every second below 2min 45 seconds. A yellow warning will be lifted by the academic coordinator 30 seconds before the end of the time devoted to the presentation. Then another red warning will be shown at the end of regulation time, to indicate the end of the presentation.

                        Evaluation:

Performance will be evaluated on an individual basis according the matrix below.
    
ROUND 2 and final

8 participants will be invited to round #2. The same procedure will apply. After round #2, 2 participants will be selected for the final match and two others will be disputing the 3rd place. The final matches will be a 1 on 1 debate.

Evaluation matrix
In round #1 and #2, a given participant will get points only on the constructive speech or the rebuttal speech; according to his role.

1. CONSTRUCTIVE SPEECH
Points :  5       a)Interesting introduction
10     b)Logical development
10     c)Incisive conclusion
5       a)Mastery of topic
Sub-total : 30

2. REBUTTAL SPEECHES
5       a)Mastery of topic
10     b)Solid arguments
10     c)Clear demonstration
5       d)Clear position
Sub-total : 30

3. LANGUAGE
10     a)Clear pronunciation
10     b)Vocabulary and sentence structure
10     c)Dynamic flow and intonation
Sub-total :  30

4. GENERAL IMPRESSION
5       b)Respect for opponents
5       c)Observance of instructions
Sub-total : 10

Total individual marks : 70 points.