What is the structure of Public Forum debate, as used in US debate competitions?


Answer: A public forum debate takes place between two teams of two individuals each. For the assigned topic, one team argues for the affirmative (Pro) side, and the other argues for the negative (Con) side.

The debate is organized in a sequence of speeches according to the following outline:
•	Team 1 Constructive
•	Team 2 Constructive
•	1st Crossfire
•	Team 1 Rebuttal
•	Team 2 Rebuttal
•	2nd Crossfire
•	Team 1 Summary
•	Team 2 Summary
•	Grand Crossfire
•	Team 1 Final Focus
•	Team 2 Final Focus

Additionally, each team is given 3 minutes of preparation time throughout the round, which they can choose to take before any of their speeches. The time duration of each stage may vary across different leagues.