Selections for the national team begin with the Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship, organised annually by the Moot Court and Debating Society of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. This all-island tournament sees the participation of around 200 of the best debaters from around the country.

The Debaters’ Council creates a shortlist of the top speakers of this tournament who are eligible to participate in WSDC the following year. This is bolstered by the top speakers of subsequent inter-school tournaments who are not reflected in the initial shortlist. Finally, the Council makes a call for CVs of debaters who are interested in joining the national pool. An independent selection panel then reviews the CVs, creates a shortlist of the top candidates, and (where necessary) holds a round of qualification debates to make the final selection to the pool. This process ensures that all debaters who are interested have a shot at selection, while allowing the Council to constitute the national pool with the best talent in the circuit.

The national pool thereafter trains for several weeks under a coaching panel selected by the Debaters’ Council. The debaters work on expanding their knowledge-base, developing debate skills, and deploying those skills in competitive debates. This period is used to evaluate each debater’s commitment to training, their individual progress, as well as their overall strength as debaters. At the end of this process, a selection panel appointed by the Council presides over a series of selection debates. The panel strives to achieve a balance of youth and experience, gender diversity, and a healthy team dynamic, with individual merit as the overall guiding factor.

At the end of this long process, the five debaters (and one alternate) who comprise the team are chosen, and the new Team Sri Lanka is formed!