For college students · no experience needed

Delegate Guide

Everything you need to walk into the convention ready: how to prepare each proposal for both sides, a simple four-part speech, a model speech, how to draft a perfecting amendment, how to question, and — if you’d like to hold the gavel — a Convention President script.

1. Prepare each proposal for both sides

Before the tournament you’ll receive the docket — the proposals the convention may debate (see Sample Proposals for the style). You do not pick your side in advance, so prepare both. For each proposal, build a two-column page: your two or three strongest reasons to support it and to oppose it, each backed by one piece of evidence — constitutional text, founding-era history, a court case, or a present-day fact — with where you found it. Then note the other side’s best objection and your one-line answer to it.

Tip

Anchor at least one reason on each side in the founding argument the proposal descends from — every sample proposal names it — and one in a question Americans face now. The strongest convention speeches show the through-line from 1787 to today.

How much prep time, and when? You’ll have the docket well before October, so nearly all preparation happens ahead of time. There is no separate prep period inside a session: you’ll use your prepared notes and your flow to adapt as the debate unfolds, drafting your next speech while others hold the floor.

2. The four-part speech

State your side in one sentence. “I rise in support of…” or “I rise in opposition to…”
Give two reasons, each with one piece of evidence. Constitutional text, history, or a present-day fact. Name your source.
Answer the other side. Take the strongest point against you and reply in a sentence or two.
Close in one sentence. Restate your side and ask for the convention’s vote.

Two solid reasons beat five rushed ones. Most novice speeches run two to three minutes — about 250–350 words.

3. A model speech

Here is a complete sponsorship speech for sample proposal SG-1 (congressional term limits — on the Sample Proposals page). Read it aloud; it runs about two minutes. The labels on the left are not spoken.

Model sponsorship speech · ~2 minutes

Open (state your side): “Madam President, fellow delegates: I rise in support of this proposal, which limits members of Congress to twelve years of service in each house.”
Reason one + evidence: “First, rotation in office is a founding idea, not a modern gimmick. The Articles of Confederation limited delegates to three years of service in any six, and Jefferson worried that officials who never leave power forget the people they serve. A republic depends on legislators who return to live under the laws they pass.”
Reason two + evidence: “Second, term limits open the doors of public service. Incumbents win re-election at rates above ninety percent — not always because voters are satisfied, but because challengers face steep barriers. Regular open seats invite teachers, veterans, and engineers to serve, not only career politicians.”
Answer the other side: “Some will say term limits discard experience and hand power to unelected staff. But Section 3 phases the limit in, giving the institution time to adapt — and no one argues the presidency collapsed when the Twenty-Second Amendment limited it.”
Close: “The framers trusted rotation; so should we. I urge the convention to adopt this proposal, and I welcome your questions.”

Now flip it

For practice, write the opposition speech using the same four parts. Lead with the strongest point against: voters already hold the term-limit power at every election, and the Constitution trusts them with it. Ready-made reasons for both sides are in the SG-1 brief — but put them in your own words.

4. Drafting a perfecting amendment

The convention’s signature skill. A good perfecting amendment fixes a specific objection without gutting the proposal — and can turn opponents into supporters, which matters when adoption takes two-thirds.

Listen for a fixable objection. “Twelve years is too short” is fixable; “term limits are wrong in principle” is not.
Write the exact change. “In Section 1, strike ‘twelve years’ and insert ‘eighteen years.’” Hand it to the Clerk.
Move it and make one tight argument: name the objection it cures and why the proposal is stronger with it.
Count the room. An amendment that wins votes from both sides shows judges exactly the negotiation skill this event exists to develop.

5. Asking & answering questions

After each speech there is a short questioning period; asking and answering both count toward your score. Keep questions to one sentence, aimed at the argument: a cost the speaker ignored, a clause they didn’t address, evidence they didn’t have. When answering, stay calm and brief; if you don’t know, say so and pivot to what you do know. During prep, write one question per proposal for each side — you’ll always have a hand to raise.

6. Flowing (taking notes)

One proposal per page, a line down the middle: “In favor” on the left, “Against” on the right. One line per speaker — name and main point in a few words; feel free to abbreviate. Draw an arrow when a speaker answers another; star any point nobody has answered — that’s your next speech. Track pending amendment language in the margin; the Clerk holds the official text.

7. Convention President script

The Convention President runs the convention: recognizing speakers fairly (fewest speeches first; ties to the longest wait) and putting questions to a vote. It is a leadership role and it is scored, and the Clerk sits beside you to help with the tally and timing. Read this script and you’re ready.

Convention President — what to say

To open: “The convention will come to order. I’m [name], and with your consent I’ll preside this session. The first proposal before us is [title]. Who rises to sponsor?”
To run questioning: “Thank you. We have one minute of questioning. Delegates seeking recognition, please rise. … The convention recognizes Delegate [name].”
To handle an amendment: “Delegate [name] moves to amend — the Clerk will read the language. Is there a second? … One speech in favor, one against. … All in favor of the amendment? … Opposed? … The amendment [is adopted / fails]; debate resumes on the proposal as [perfected / written].”
To move to final adoption: “The previous question has been moved and seconded. All in favor of closing debate? … Debate is closed. The question is on final adoption of [proposal], which requires two-thirds. All in favor? … Opposed? … The proposal [is adopted / fails].”
To close: “Thank you, delegates, for a thoughtful session. The convention stands in recess.”

A note on names. Most conventions use “Delegate” with a last name (“Delegate Lee”), and “Mr. President,” “Madam President,” or “Mx. President” for the chair. Your elected President will set the convention.

8. Calming the nerves

Everyone is new. This is a Novice division — and this event has never been run anywhere before. You are all founding delegates.
Read from your notes. Your prep page and your flow are allowed; no one memorizes.
Speak once early. The first speech is the hardest; aim to speak on the first proposal.
It’s a negotiation, not a performance. The two-thirds rule means the room is listening for reasons to agree with you.

Next: pick one sample proposal and fully prepare both sides, then check the Schedule. Curious how you’ll be scored? Read the Judge Guide — it makes you a stronger delegate.