Debates Committee
The GUU is a highly successful debating union, with multiple international titles. Getting involved in debating is a fun, interesting, and rewarding way to get involved in the Union. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been involved in public speaking before, debating is open and accessible to everyone.
We pride ourselves on being not only one of the most successful debating institutions in the world, but also one of the most accessible. Debating gives you access to some of the best opportunities the Union has to offer. We provide full funding for our members to represent us at tournaments in the UK, Europe, and all over the world.
All Union members can receive free debating training from our Debates Committee every Tuesday at 6pm in the Bridie library. You don’t need to sign up, everyone is always free to drop in. This is a great way to meet people, make friends, and discuss important issues. If you progress well in training, you may be selected for our competition squads.
We send members to tournaments most weekends throughout the semester, and to international tournaments multiple times a year. In the last few years alone we have sent our members – fully funded – to Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Greece, Serbia, Estonia, the Netherlands, and more!
We also run a style of debating that is unique to Glasgow called Parliamentary Debating, or Parlis. Everyone gets the chance to join one of the five parliamentary debate clubs, and to spend the year representing their club in our famous debates chamber. Each club has a distinct political philosophy, most of them more bizarre than you might normally encounter in the real world, and speakers debate a number of clauses and bills, from the perspective of their own club’s unique philosophy. Parlis take place five times a year, and have a particular focus on humour and rhetoric. Fuelled by Yakka, Debates Committee’s signature cocktail, they are always a highlight of the semester.