ICYD Selections

ICYD Selections 2026

The International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD) is the largest and most prestigious competition for 15 and under debaters in the world. It is conducted every year alternatingly by the Cambridge and Oxford Unions in the UK. The upcoming championship in 2026 is set to be held at Oxford University in May 2026.

Each year, ISDS carefully chooses and trains enthusiastic individuals to form the Indian contingent for the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD) through our National Selection process and a competitive invitational tournament.

ISDS’ History at ICYD

ISDS-coached teams have been ICYD Champions and have consistently featured among the tournament’s Top 10 speakers since 2021 – including a hat-trick of Open Championship wins (2021-23), a 2024 run ended in an Open finals finish and ESL Championship, most recently, wins in both the Open and ESL categories at ICYD 2025 in Cambridge.

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India’s Past Performance at ICYD

The Indian Schools Debating Society (ISDS) has represented India at ICYD since 2017, winning the championship five times.

2017
● Champions
● Top 2 Speakers
2020
● Grand Finalist
● Top Speaker
2021
● Champions
● Top Speaker
2022
● Champions
● Top Speaker
2023
● Champions
● ESL Champions
● Top Speaker
2024
● ESL Champions
● Top 3 Open Speakers
● Grand Finalists
2025
● Champions
● ESL Champions

Registration Information

If your school has missed participating in ISDS’ national selection process, you can enter our ISDS ICYD selection.

Please register as a two member team from the same school.

Note: If your school has already entered the National Selection process, they will receive an invitation to participate based on students’ performance at the selection process.

Eligibility:

  • Age: Open to all students who will be aged 15 and below on August 31st 2026
  • Team: Two members per team
  • Team Composition: Preferably each team should have at least one female member
  • Registration Fee: Rs. 3000/- per team

Deadline:

Saturday, 7th March 2026 at 12:00 PM IST

Format and Logistics

  • Date: Saturday, 14th March, 2026
  • Timings: 8:30AM – 5:30PM IST
  • Format: British Parliamentary
  • Logistics: The ICYD Selections will be conducted over 2 rounds.
    ROUND 1:
    Four debate rounds, including two prepared motions and two impromptu motions, will be held on 14 March. There will be no additional elimination rounds. Topics for two rounds will be released three days in advance, and the topics for the other two will be released 30 minutes before the debate begins.
    ROUND 2:
    Following Round 1, high-performing teams may be invited to an additional round of spar debates as part of the final stage of the process. In previous years, we have invited 6-8 teams to this stage; however, the number of teams invited will depend on performance and may vary from year to year. These additional rounds, if required, will be conducted on weekday evenings between March 16 and 20.
  • Debater Briefing: ► View details here