Skip to content
Tournaments

USC IV 2027

What it took to break here, what gets set, and a plan for the week before.

In person, Los AngelesBP

Sat 10 Apr 2027

From 3 tabs, newest USC IV 2026.

How many points to break?

10points, the middle of
the last 3 editions

Safe points at the last 3 editions with a figure: 10, 13, 10, newest first. The last team in averaged 78.5 speaks in 2026.

What will they set?

Out of 26 past motions with a topic, from 3 editions.

How many teams, and how many break?

8of 37 teams made the open break
in 2026

Field strength: Average in 2026, from the ratings of the debaters who went.

Who has set the motions?

  • 🇺🇸 Ricky H.
  • 🇺🇸 Meg K.
  • 🇬🇧 Matt C.

Chief adjudicators in 2021, the newest tab that lists them.

What should you do first?

Work through “Generating arguments”

Your prep week starts 6 days before the tournament. 6 tasks in the plan below.

Your chance of breaking here and your average on each topic this tournament sets, from your own tab.

Import a tab

Your prep week

Built on the topics set most here. Import your tab and it switches to your weakest topics.

0 of 6 done. Ticks save on this device.

  • For Social & Identity motions, the topic set most here.Open the lesson
  • Mechanism, actors, weighing. Use the prep timer below.Pull a motion
  • Start with: This house prefers Feminist Sexual Ethics to Libertarian Sexual EthicsPast motions
  • Ask for a Social & Identity motion on your weaker position.
  • Pull a motion
  • Check the schedule and the break line. No new material the night before.

Prep timer

15:00

Past motions

3 editions with motions on record, newest first.

USC IV 20268 motions
  1. Round 1This house prefers a world without the existence of marijuanaPractise this motion
  2. Round 2This House would replace the Provincial System of wildlife management with the Nunavut System in all Canadian territories and northern regions with Indigenous populations (e.g., Northwest Territories, Yukon)Practise this motion
  3. Round 3This house believes that The Lord of the Rings is a better depiction of Christian Values than The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobePractise this motion
  4. Round 4This house prefers Feminist Sexual Ethics to Libertarian Sexual EthicsPractise this motion
  5. Round 5This house regrets the U.S.-Israeli intervention in the Black September CrisisPractise this motion
  6. SemifinalsTHR the resurgence of Eastern Orthodoxy in post-Soviet statesPractise this motion
  7. Grand FinalTHPAW where the KMT came into power over the CCP after the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949)Practise this motion
  8. Novice FinalsTHS the revolutionariesPractise this motion
USC IV 20229 motions
  1. Round 1THBT schools should teach children to be skeptical of parental authorityPractise this motion
  2. Round 2This House Regrets the rise of second-wave digisexual technologiesPractise this motion
  3. Round 3When trying to create walkable/dense cities THP the process of infilling existing communities vs the creation of new neighborhoods purpose built to be walkable/densePractise this motion
  4. Round 4TH, as the rapper, would accept his offer.Practise this motion
  5. Round 5THBT economists should refrain from using historical comparatives in their analyses of potential responses to contemporary economic crises (Ex comparing the 2008 crash to the Great Depression)Practise this motion
  6. Round 6In democratic post-colonial states, This House believes that opposition parties to the party of independence should claim and use the legacy of anti-colonial resistance.Practise this motion
  7. SemifinalsTHR the narrative that art ought primarily be an act of self expressionPractise this motion
  8. Novice FinalsTHR the narrative that art ought primarily be an act of self expressionPractise this motion
  9. Grand FinalTHW Open the BoxPractise this motion
USC IV 20219 motions
  1. Round 1THS the use of conditional cash transfer programs to families in order to encourage pro-social behavior (e.g., sending one’s children to school, compliance with state vaccination campaigns, etc.).Practise this motion
  2. Round 2TH, as the feminist movement, would choose to glorify traditionally feminine traits (e.g. motherliness, politeness, gracefulness, etc.) instead of traditionally masculine ones (e.g. assertiveness, bluntness, aggressiveness, etc.).Practise this motion
  3. Round 3THBT Islamic authorities in South East Asia should issue a fatwa denouncing Wahhabism.Practise this motion
  4. Round 4THR the rise of left-wing antiestablishment politicians (e.g., Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) within the Democratic Party.Practise this motion
  5. Round 5TH opposes the romanticisation of art that is pursued for non-material gain (e.g. glorifying the ‘Starving Artist’).Practise this motion
  6. QuarterfinalsTHP a world where people predominantly believe that life possesses no intrinsic meaning.Practise this motion
  7. SemifinalsTHBT the European Central Bank should monetize the government deficits of Eurozone countries experiencing financial crises.Practise this motion
  8. Grand FinalTHS the creation of an open marketplace for the buying and selling of luck between individuals.Practise this motion
  9. Novice FinalsTH, as the small business owner, would accept the help of the Mafia.Practise this motion

The break, year by year

The points that were safe, the last team in and how many broke, at each edition with results.

YearSafe on (points)Last team in (speaks)Open break
20261078.58 of 37
20221377.28 of 50
20211077.816 of 69

Every break in 2026

  • Open break8 teams
  • Novice break6 teams

Who sets the motions

Chief adjudicators by edition, where the tab lists them.

  • 2021🇺🇸 Ricky H., 🇺🇸 Meg K., 🇬🇧 Matt C.

How speakers score here

Speaker averages and what finishing high has taken.

average speaker score, 3 editions
76.1
where most speakers land
74.1 to 78.0

What finishing high has taken

  • Top speaker80.6
  • 10th speaker78.4
  • 20th speaker76.7

Median speaker average at each finishing spot, 3 editions.

Prep these too

Coming up, and their past motions cover the same topics. Topic match is how alike the two topic mixes are: 100% would be the same mix.