Columbia IV 2025

Oct 4, 2025 · BP

The field

Ultra Premier

Expect the absolute best in the world to attend.

90 teams (This edition)

Motions

Columbia IV 2025 (2025)11 motions

Round 1THW ban DPAs
Round 2THR the dominance of single-use zoning in American cities
Round 3THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter Way
Round 4THW choose the academic offer over turning pro
Round 5THR the increasing trend of regional institutions replacing global governance and development institutions (e.g. the African Development Bank replacing the World Bank)
QuarterfinalsTH, as Pope Leo XIV, would continue Pope Francis' legacy (e.g. strong critique of social and economic injustice, efforts to decentralise Church authority, the Church doors being open to non-traditional Christians)
SemifinalsTHBT NATO should actively pursue salami-slicing against Russia
Grand FinalTHBT the world will be a better place with the "riches get stiches" policy
ESL SemifinalTHBT it is in the interest of Central American countries to prioritize China over the US as their main economic ally
ESL FinalTHS the rise of Hermit Culture
Novice FinalTHS the rise of Hermit Culture

What gets set here

Social & Identity36%

International Relations27%

Law & Crime18%

Politics9%

Religion9%

Practice Social & Identity motions ›Read: Generating arguments ›

You vs this tournament

What gets set here, next to how you have scored on each category across your own imported rounds.

Social & Identity · 36% of motions hereno rounds on record yet
International Relations · 27% of motions hereno rounds on record yet
Law & Crime · 18% of motions hereno rounds on record yet
Politics · 9% of motions hereno rounds on record yet
Religion · 9% of motions hereno rounds on record yet

This week's plan

Built from what this tournament sets most. Import more tabs and this plan tunes itself to your weak spots.

0 of 7 done. Ticks save on this device.

T-7Read the roomGo through this page once so nothing on the day surprises you.
T-6Work through "Generating arguments"Foundations for Social & Identity motions, the biggest slice of what gets set here.Open the lesson ›
T-5Prep sprint: one Social & Identity motion, 15 minutes, full caseMechanism, actors, weighing. Time it like the real thing.Pull a motion ›
T-4Case-prep past motions this tournament actually setStart with: THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter WayMotion archive below ›
T-3One practice round with a partner or clubmateAsk for a Social & Identity motion and your weaker bench.
T-2Second sprint: International RelationsPull a motion ›
T-1Light review and logisticsReread the numbers above, check the schedule, sleep. No new material the night before.

Breaking here

19% of teams break

Teams usually guarantee their break on 11 points.

Break on speaks? Average at least 79.0.

Last edition: 17 of 90 teams broke.

~??% estimated break chance

??.?–??.? estimated speaker score

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Break categories

This tournament runs a separate break for each category. From the most recent edition:

Open break17 teams
ESL break15 teams
Novice break4 teams

How scoring works here

76.6 avg speaker score

Most speakers land between 74.3 and 78.9.

This is 0.6 points below tournaments of similar calibre.

What finishing high has taken:

Top speaker pace 83.0

Top-10 pace 79.8

Top-20 pace 78.8

Median average speaks at each finishing spot, across 1 edition.

Comparable: Vienna Pre-EUDC 2026 (77.2), LSE Open 2021 (78.3)

Top speeches

The highest individual speaker scores recorded at this tournament.

Debater	Speech	Motion	Score
🇺🇸 Amitai P.	MG	THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter Way	84
🇺🇸 Amitai P.	MO	THR the dominance of single-use zoning in American cities	84
🇬🇧 Theo C.	DPM	THW choose the academic offer over turning pro	83
🇺🇸 Amitai P.	PM	THW choose the academic offer over turning pro	83
🇨🇦 Andrew L.	DPM	THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter Way	83
🇬🇧 Imran R.	PM	THW choose the academic offer over turning pro	83
🇨🇦 Sherry S.	PM	THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter Way	83
🇬🇧 Nikhil A.	DLO	THR the dominance of single-use zoning in American cities	83
🇬🇧 Lucie S.	GW	THS the widespread adoption of the Frankfurter Way	83
🇺🇸 Rebecca L.	OW	THW choose the academic offer over turning pro	83
🇬🇧 Lucie S.	DPM	THW choose the academic offer over turning pro	83
🇺🇸 Amitai P.	MG	THR the increasing trend of regional institutions replacing global governance and development institutions (e.g. the African Development Bank replacing the World Bank)	83

Scout a CA

Search for a Chief Adjudicator to see what topics they tend to set and review past motions.

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Prep with these too

Same kind of motions, same kind of field. Worth running through their past motion sets too.

Brazil Open 202571% topic match
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Ottawa Round Robin 202466% topic match