21st HKPDS Summer Workshop & Tournament 2025
1) Opening of Registration of Trainees
2) Opening of Application to be a Trainer or Assistant Trainer
We are opening the Registration of Trainees and Application to be Trainers/Assistant Trainer from today for the 21st HKPDS Summer Workshop & Tournament 2025 from today till 6pm, 25th April 2025, Hong Kong Time, UTC + Eight.
Kindly note that this is an IN-PERSON, intensive BP debate summer camp with a 4-Day of BP Training Programme and a 3-Day Tournament at the end.
Please read the Event Information below before signing up as a Trainee. As we tend to be over-subscribed every year, please register as soon as you sure you could join us.
Event Information:
1. Dates: 5th to 11th August 2025(Tuesday to Monday)
2. Training Venue: Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated Wong Kam Fai Secondary School at 6, On Muk Lane, Shek Mun, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
3. Eligibility as Trainees:
a) This event is primarily for secondary/high school students of between 13 to 18 years of age. If you are younger than 13, please tell us at the end of this Form where we ask "Anything else you would like us to know?". Limited number of slots will be given to deserving university students. Please be honest with us when providing your personal information to us to assess your suitability to attend our event.
b) As this is a Hong Kong debate event, we endeavour to have at least 40% of the trainees from Hong Kong as part of our mission to develop HK high school debate students, in addition to accepting overseas trainees who will add diversity, multiple perspectives and make the event as inclusive as possible.
4. Training and Tournament Processes:
a) Trainees will be placed in different classes based on their prior debate competitive/workshop experience (Novice, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced-Intermediate and Advanced) in groups of 16.
b) Each Group will be taught by 2 Trainers or 1 Trainer and an Assistant Trainer. They will deliver lectures on debate theories, debate skills and debate content. They will also conduct debate practice rounds to continually assess, give feedback to the Trainees for the personal improvement of each debater. The training schedule is arduously rigorous, starting from 9am and ending at 7pm from Day 1 to Day 4. Day 5 is Electives Day where trainees could choose short one-hour courses offered by the Trainers.
c) Demonstration Debates by the Trainers and Assistant Trainers will be staged for the benefit of the Trainees. There will be Special Lectures delivered by Invited Speakers.
d) As a tradition, there will be Public-Speaking Competition for the Trainees
e) Day 5 to Day 7 will be the Tournament where trainees will form BP teams and debate in 7 Preliminary Rounds over two days, before the Break Rounds on 11th August 2024 to reveal the Champions of the 21st HKPDS Tournament 2025.
5. Training & Tournament Schedule:
5th August 2025, Tuesday
08:30 – 09:30 Registration of Participants
09:30 – 10:00 Opening Ceremony/Speeches by President of HK Metropolitan University and President of the Hong Kong Finance Association/Briefing by Conveners/Introduction of Trainers
10:00 – 10:30 Introduction to BP Debating/Keynote Speech by Invited Guest Speaker
10:30 – 11:45 Demonstration Debate 1
11:45 – 13:30 Group Training (1)
13:30 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 19:00 Group Training (2)
6th August, Wednesday
08:30 – 09:00 Announcements
09:00 – 13:00 Group Training (3)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 19:00 Group Training (4)
7th August 2025, Thursday
08:30 – 09:00 Announcements
09:00 – 12:00 Group Training (5)
12:00 – 13:30 Demonstration Debate 2/Guest Lecture by Invited Speaker
13:30 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 18:00 Group Training (6)
18:00 - 19:30 Special Lecture by Invited Speakers
8th August 2025, Friday
08:30 – 09:00 Announcements
09:00 – 13:00 Group Training (7)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 19:00 Group Training (Eight)
19:00 – 19:45 Confirmation of Teams
9th August, Saturday
08:30 – 09:00 Roll Call and Tournament Briefing
09:00 – 11:00 Debate Round 1
11:00 – 13:00 Debate Round 2
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 16:15 Debate Round 3 + Break
16:00 – 18:15 Debate Round 4 + Break
18:15 – 19:15 Public Speaking Preliminary Rounds
10th August 2025, Sunday
08:30 – 09:00 Roll Call and Tournament Briefing
09:00 – 11:15 Debate Round 5 + Break
11:15 – 13:15 Debate Round 6
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 16:15 Debate Round 7 + Break
16:15 – 18:00 Debate Round 8 (Silent)
18:00 – 19:00 Public Speaking Semi Finals + Travel Arrangements for Break Night Dinner
19:00 – 22:00 Break Announcements & Break Night Dinner
11th August 2025, Monday
08:30 – 09:00 Roll Call of Open Octo Finalists & Judges
09:00 – 10:30 Open Octo Finals
10:30 – 12:00 Open Quarter Finals/Junior Semi Finals
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Open Semi Finals/Junior Final
15:00 – 16:00 Grand Final of Public Speaking
16:00 – 17:30 HKPDS Cup Open Grand Final
17:30 – 18:15 Award Presentation & Closing Ceremony
19:30 – 22:00 Thank You Dinner for Trainers & Organisers
6. Two-Tier Registration Fees:
There is a two-tier Registration Fee for Local Hong Kong students and Overseas Students:
a) Registration Fee for Local Hong Kong Students: 2450HKD per person (excludes local transportation)
b) Registration Fee for Overseas Students: 475USD per person (excludes hotel accommodation)
The Registration Fees collected will go to paying for the air tickets, hotel accommodation, daily meals, local transportation, SIM cards, Octopus subway cards of our Trainers and Assistant Trainers. The Registration Fees will also pay daily lunch of all participants, for the two social events, photo wall, banners, event gifts (tote bags/t-shirts), prizes for winners, e-certificates for all students and tokens of appreciation for the Trainers, Assistant Trainers, Organisers and Volunteers.
Overseas trainees are strongly encouraged to stay at the Event Hotel called Alva Hotel (
https://www.alva.com.hk/en/), which is a short walk to the Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated Wong Kam Fai Secondary School at 6, On Muk Lane, Shek Mun, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
7. Non-Profit Event:
No profit is made for the event. All the Trainers/Assistant Trainers/Organisers are performing their roles as selfless Volunteers who are compensated only for expenses required for them to be in Hong Kong to provide a free expert debate education service as a personal contribution to good debating and a personal sacrifice of time and effort.
8. Registration Deadline:
Please fill in ALL the sections of this Registration Form for Trainees. The deadline for Phase 1 Registration of Trainees is 25th April 2025, 6pm, Hong Kong Time, UTC + Eight.
9. If you have a BP partner to form a team to debate at our Tournament from 9th to 11th August 2025, please ask that person to register as a trainee and BOTH of you should indicate that you wish to pair up with each other to debate as a BP team at our Tournament on the last 3 days of our event.
10. We will email you to confirm your slot and arrange for your payment of the registration fees on 2nd May 2025.
11. Please write to Mr Loke Wing Fatt at this email address if you need more information and further clarifications:
bG9rZXdpbmdmYXR0IHwgZ21haWwgISBjb20=
12. Registration Form for Trainees:
To register as a Trainee, please click on the following link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedLkZRE7JBHI-JWd_rsjKFaoGyGM5rU37iktVtt2d7bKfSTQ/viewform
13. Training Opportunity:
If you are a sincere, disciplined, experienced university debater or an adult who has good debate competition achievements and is keen to intensively train high school students in BP debating, you could apply to be a Trainer or Assistant Trainer by writing to Mr Loke Wing Fatt at this email address,
bG9rZXdpbmdmYXR0IHwgZ21haWwgISBjb20= before 25th April 2025, 6pm, UTC+8, stating your suitability and your best-estimated travel subsidy from your home country to HK on 4th August 2025 and departing on 12th August 2025.
As a Trainer or Assistant Trainer, you will be provided with twin-sharing accommodation from 4th to 12th August 2025 at the Alva Hotel (
https://www.alva.com.hk/en/ ), a generous meal allowance, Sim Card, taxi subsidy, an Octopus Rail Card, customised gifts, and be given a Thank You Dinner while joining all the 150-odd trainees in the Break Night Dinner Party on 10th August 2025, for your voluntary work as a debate educator to keen, hard-working trainees.
Thank you.
Loke Wing Fatt
Executive Director
21ST HKPDS Summer Workshop & Tournament 2025
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