Oxford Schools' Italian National Open
The national all-comers tournament to qualify for one of the world's most prestigious and historic debate competitions
Novice & Open Divisions Available
Thank you to:
What is Oxford Schools?
The World's Largest British Parliamentary Debate Competition
3500+ teams compete annually, but this is the first time Italian students can compete in Oxford Schools.
It has never been easier to represent your country in debate on a stage of this scale.
Have Fun with a Familiar Format
Try out the original debate format from which World Schools debating was derived from. Easy, familiar, and Fun.
Beginner Friendly
A separate division is hosted for people new to BP Debate.
ECL Friendly
Cosmos employs special match-making to accomodate teams whose first language is not english
How Does British Parliamentary (BP) Debate Work?
The World Schools Debate Format was derived from British Parliamentary Debating, making them very similar and the skill sets interchangeable. It is the second most popular format in the world, with high profile competitions including Oxford Schools' and the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC).
Limited Preparation
Teams only have 30 minutes to prepare their arguments. This may seem stressful to debaters new to the format until you realize you can easily argue with your friends for hours with no preparation.
Easy & Fun
The format and style of debate is designed to be fun and easy to approach.
How Does the Italian National Open Work?
All debaters are judged by humans and receive feedback for every debate.
Cosmos has a limited number of spots for all qualifiers so people are encouraged to register as soon as possible
BP debate teams are made of 2 people. If you don't have a partner, Cosmos can find you one.
You do not have to be affiliated with your school to participate.
No Restrictions on how many teams an organization can send
Top performing teams are invited to represent their country at the Online Global Qualifier (Feb 23rd)
Top 2 teams from the Open Division of the Online Global Qualifier are Invited to Finals' Day hosted in person at Oxford University (March 15th)
Eligibility Restrictions
Age Restriction?
While there is no official age restriction for Oxford Schools', the competition is typically for students of high school age. Students of middle-school age (grade 6-8) may compete if prior communication is made with Cosmos.
Individual registrations are allowed
BP debate teams are made of 2 people. If you don't have a partner, register on your own and Cosmos will aim to find you a partner
Independent registrations
While debaters may compete independently from an educational institution, all participants must attend an educational institution. This is primarily for user safety purposes, and is verified during our registration process.
Multiple registrations
You may register for both national and wildcard qualifiers to increase your odds of making it to the online global final.
How is this different from Cosmos's other Regional Qualifiers?
The Italian National Open is in partnership with the national debate organization of Italy, Società Nazionale Debate Italia APS. The goal of the competition is to expose more Italian students to BP debating, and select BP Teams to represent Italy Internationally at Oxford Schools. You may still participate in Cosmos's other regional qualifiers, found here