In the Netherlands, debate tournaments where debaters can cross verbal swords are organised on a regular basis. These tournaments are generally organised by debating societies.
The Nederlandse Debatbond plays a role when allocating and recognizing NK (Dutch Debating Championships) titles and is involved with organizing the Dutch Debating League. In the past, the Nederlandse Debatbond was involved with organizing the Nederlandse Debatmasters and the Dutch Mace, which are both no longer organized.
At tournaments organised by the Nederlandse Debatbond and its affiliated societies, the novice regulations are used to determine whether a speaker is a novice debater.
Do you want to import this debating calendar into your own one? Then take a look at the Dutch Debating Calendar!
Tournaments that will be held in the Netherlands this year
| Date | Tournament Name | Format | Language | Registration | Miscellaneous remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 24, 2021 | Tilburg Women’s open | Brits Parlementair | English | Teams, Judges | Only for women |
| May 8 & 9, 2021 | Groningen Open | British Parliamentary | English | Teams, Judges | |
| May 15 & 16, 2021 | Erasmus Rotterdam Open | British Parliamentary | English | Teams & judges | |
| May 22, 2021 | Dutch Debating Championships (NK Debatteren) (Utrecht) | British Parliamentary | Dutch | Teams & judges | |
| June 5, 2021 | NK Eloquentia | Eloquentia | Dutch and English |
Tournaments for high school debaters
The following tournaments are only open to high school students, but everyone is welcome to judge.
| Date | Tournament Name | Format | Language | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19, 2021 | Benelux debatcompetitie online 3 | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Open |
| April 23, 2021 | Benelux debatcompetitie online 4 | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Open |
| June 4, 2021 | Benelux debatcompetitie online 5 | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Open |
Tournaments that have already taken place
| Date | Tournament Name | Format | Language | Miscellaneous remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 21 and 22, 2020 | Erasmus Rotterdam Open | British Parliamentary | English | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| March 28, 2020 | NK Beleidsdebatteren | Policy Debate | Dutch | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| April 4, 2020 | Benelux Debattoernooi Hilversum | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| April 11 | DSDC Open | World Schools | English | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| May 2 and 3, 2020 | Kalliope Groningen Open | British Parliamentary | English | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| May 9, 2020 | Benelux Debattoernooi Hoofddorp | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| May 10, 2020 | Online Schools Debate Tournament | American Parliamentary | Dutch | Only open to high school students but everyone is welcome to judge |
| June 13, 2020 | Brabants Debattoernooi (Breda) | American Parliamentary | Dutch | |
| June 20 and 21, 2020 | Delft Open | British Parliamentary | English | |
| June 27, 2020 | Benelux Debattoernooi Finals Day | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Cancelled due to coronavirus |
| October 30, 2020 | Online Benelux Debattoernooi | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Only open to high school students but everyone is welcome to judge |
| November 1, 2020 | Halloween Pro-Am (online) | British Parliamentary | English | At least 1 inexperienced debater per team |
| November 28 & 29, 2020 | Online Dutch Schools Debate Championship | World Schools | English | Only open to high school students but everyone is welcome to judge |
| November 28 & 29, 2020 | Amsterdam Open (online) | British Parliamentary | English | |
| December 11 2020 | Benelux debattoernooi online | Lagerhuis+, Hogerhuis, Retorica | Dutch | Only open to high school students but everyone is welcome to judge |
| December 19, 2020 | Nijmegen Online Open | British Parliamentary | English | |
| January 16 & 17, 2021 | Utrecht Online Open | British Parliamentary | English | |
| February 7, 2021 | Dutch Oxford Schools | British Parliamentary | English | Only open to high school students but everyone is welcome to judge |
| February 13, 2021 | Bonapartiaans Debattoernooi (Amsterdam) | American Parliamentary | Dutch | |
| February 27 & 28, 2021 | Leiden Open | British Parliamentary | English |