What is Verbattle? 
Verbattle is the largest, most exciting and a unique debate and dialogue platform, with the fundamental purpose for thought and opinion exchange. Verbattle as a respected debate competition is well known nationally and is also associated with The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) and Global Debates a UN initiative.

What is Verbattle Junior?
The biggest state level debate tournament for school children in the age group of 12 to 16 years, conducted annually. Verbattle Junior 2010 is being organized for the sixth consecutive year this November.

Who is organizing Verbattle Junior? 
The main organizer is TV  House, a media company, experienced in producing T V shows & entertainment events.

When exactly are the Verbattle tournament competitions? 
Verbattle Junior 2010 will start with Zonal event in Mangalore on the 8th of November, 2010, and culminate with the finals on the 20th of November, 2010.

How many teams are expected to participate in Verbattle Junior? 
Invitations are sent to more than 3000 institutions. A minimum of about 500teams are expected to participate from all over Karnataka. Including the number of teams participating in the selection rounds at the institution level, not less than 5000 students would have participated in the overall process of the event.

Where are the different stages of the event going to be held? 
All the state level competitions will be held in Bangalore and the zonal rounds will be held in the respective zone centers.

How many members should a team consist of? 
A team should consist of two students.

Is there any entry fee? If yes, how much? 
Yes, an entry fee of Rs. 500/- is charged per team.

When will the registration begin? 
Registration will begin on 25th September, 2010.

Will individual teams be allowed to participate on their own? 
Entry through institutions is desired, but independent teams with authorization letter from the institution will be allowed. But the team will be recognized by the name of the institution. Both the team members should be from the same institution (that is, in case the institute has many units/ branches the members of the team shall belong to the same unit or branch, though they may study in different classes or disciplines in the unit).

Is there an age limit for the participants? 
They should be in the age group of 12 to 16 years as on 1st October 2010. Age criterion is strictly adhered to based on the declaration in the application.

What are the prizes offered? 
A cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/- plus a lot of other useful prizes are offered to the winning team. The other two finalists teams will receive a cash prize of Rs.10,000/- each and other prizes.

Are there any other prizes?
Yes, there will be a zonal winning team prize of Rs. 2000/- per zone and the best team of State Prelims carrying a cash prize of Rs. 5000/-

Is there a special prize?
Yes. There will also be a Mentor Award carrying a cash prize of Rs. 10,000/- for the winning Mentor and Rs. 2000/- each for the finalists Mentor. This is valid only if the mentor is a teacher and has taken part in all stages.

What about Certificates?
This time onwards, Certificate will be issued to all participating students eliminated at each level.

Will the event be telecast on T V? 
Verbattle for five years was telecast at prime time on Udaya News Channel. This year too the show will be capsuled in a highly viewer friendly manner and will be shown on Sundays on Udaya News (Varthegalu) Channel for half to one hour over the period of conduct of the tournament.

Who conducts the debates? 
Deepak Thimaya, eminent T V personality in Karnataka, is the founder of Verbattle. Mr Thimaya, with his unparalleled and distinct knowledge and experience in various fields, monitors, supervises and conducts the debates. (more information about him may be found on www.deepakthimaya.com )

On what basis would the debates be judged? 
The judges would award marks for logic, arguments, language, presentation, correctness, accent, body language, presence of mind and time management. Conduct of the debaters on stage, their ability to think on their feet, wide exposure to knowledge, comprehension and listening skills and appealing talents also will attract winning marks.

What are the desired qualities in a debater? 
The debaters should be confident, self assured, well informed, open minded, sensitive, sensible, affable, accommodative, intelligent, quick thinking and a very good listener. A good debater would win without fighting.

How is the selection done when there are different sets of judges?
Each complete phase of the event is divided by the number of sessions of judges. The contests/teams per session are proportionally considered for the number of teams to be selected for the whole phase.

What is the aim of Verbattle? 
Verbattle encourages young minds to think freely, process thoughts aptly, convert thought strains into simple language and present arguments logically; with clarity in speech, acceptable accent, audible voice and corresponding gestures, by appealing to the audience with his or her knowledge, communication abilities and great virtues of human tolerance and understanding. The broader aim of Verbattle is to encourage children to develop into right thinking citizens of a healthy society. The dream is to create leaders for our nation of tomorrow.

Who are the people / departments associated with Verbattle? 
Eminent personalities and well-known organizations have been associated with Verbattle and have continued their support. Verbattle has witnessed a galaxy of luminaries from different fields who have graced its various events in the past years.

Any special attraction this year?
This year we see more audience participation, and more audience engagement with the debaters. A unique platform called Open House will be held at all venues where the audience will get to interact with special guests who will share their knowledge and experience from their respective fields. For instance, in Bangalore, during State Prelims, the following Open House sessions will be held:
meet a politician
meet a writer
meet a journalist
meet an IAS officer
meet an IPS officer

What are the stages of the event?
The First Stage is the internal selection at the school level, based on the various criteria put forth by Verbattle.
The Second Stage is the Zonal Clamber Selection Round to select the total 81 teams for the state level contest.
The Third Stage is the Skirmish- the State Prelims in Bangalore, the contest between 81 teams.
The Fourth Stage is the Combat -the Quarters, contest between 27 teams.
The Fifth Stage is the Confrontation- the Semis, contest between 9 teams.
The Finals Face off, is three full course debates between the final 3 teams.

Where can one have all the details of Verbattle?
You can have most details by carefully looking at the web portal www.verbattle.com You could also watch relevant videos in www.youtube.com/verbattle

Where should one contact for registration details? 
You may contact the helpline number 988 64 64 64 1, or visit the official website www.verbattle.com, or email to verbattle@gmail.com