This Blog has now moved to idebate.org/worlddebating - all future posts will be made there!

19 November 2008

QatarDebate: 'An Introduction to Debating' DVD Box Set

QatarDebate, the national debating organization of Qatar, is pleased to announce the release of our first interactive educational tool, 'An Introduction to Debating', an exciting 5-disc DVD training set for students, teachers and parents.

As part of QatarDebate's mission to develop, support and raise the standard of open discussion and debate in Qatar and across the world, we are delighted to offer educational institutions (schools, universities, not-for-profits and national debating federations) anywhere in the world up to 3 copies of the DVD set completely free of charge.


To place your order for QatarDebate's 'Introduction to Debating' DVD set, please visit http://www.qatardebate.org/videos/ and fill out the online order form. Your DVDs should be delivered in 10 - 15 days from the date of your order depending on where you are in the world.

While you're visiting our website, feel free to sign up for the QatarDebate newsletter (using the blue box in the top right hand corner) to receive regular updates about QatarDebate projects and opportunities, and information about the World Schools' Debating Championships which will be held in Qatar in 2010.

Best wishes,


The QatarDebate Team

2009 McGill Winter Carnival

On behalf of the McGill Debating Union, we are pleased to invite you to the 2009 McGill Winter Carnival North American Invitational. Winter Carnival is one of the oldest annual parliamentary debating tournaments in North America, having been held every year since 1950. The tournament is regularly the largest in Canada, historically drawing large numbers of international teams. The 60th Winter Carnival will be hosted at our downtown Montreal campus from January 16th-18th, 2009, with a pre-tournament party on the 15th for those eager to arrive early.

Tournament
WC 2008 will consist of 6 preliminary rounds of modified North American Parliamentary breaking to Quarterfinals. North American Parliamentary, for those unaware, is the style of debate practiced at the CUSID-APDA North American Debating Championships. For further details on the style, please consult the North American Parliamentary style guidelines contained in Schedule A of the North Ams Memorandum of Understanding. (http://www.cusid.ca/documents/official/northamerica/mou.html) We will be departing from the style guide in that we will be using squirrelable resolutions at the tournament and we will have adjudicators timing the rounds. A more detailed style guide will posted in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Our Chief Adjudicator will be Vinay Kumar Mysore, former Worlds octo-finalist, and former Yale IV finalist. The tournament will be open to all competitors.

Tabs
Tabs at Winter carnival are computerized, fast and accurate, as anyone who has attended in past years can attest to. The tournament will be randomly paired in the first round with school protection in force and then power-bracketed through the remaining five rounds. Tabs will be under the supervision of our tabs director J. J. Magnus Stark.

Socials
There will be a pre-tournament party on Thursday night for those who are eager to start their weekend a day early, and we will be heading off to Crobar on Montreal’s renowned Crescent Street following the rounds. Winter Carnival socials are very popular with novices and Americans who will be able to enjoy Quebec’s legal drinking age of 18 (and extremely lax enforcement of even this standard). This year’s Winter Carnival will continue the proud tradition of holding our Saturday night banquet at the Molson Room. Located in the Molson Brewery along the shores of the St. Lawrence, the Molson Room features an open bar, good food and a legendary party. After the Molson Room, we will be progressing to our campus bar to continue the revelry. We hope you all can join us for these events.

Food
We will be providing dinner on Friday night, breakfast, lunch and dinner at the banquet on Saturday, as well as our breakfast of lox and bagels and lunch of famed Montreal smoked meat on Sunday. Every effort will be made to provide for dietary needs. In order to facilitate such accommodation, please e-mail our food director, Sean Hayward, haywardsean@gmail.com by January 1st.

Equity Policy
It is very important to us that anyone who participates in our tournament feels that (s)he can do so in a comfortable atmosphere. Winter Carnival will be fully in line with the requirements set forth in the CUSID Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct can be viewed here: http://www.cusid.ca/documents/official/national/cocbylaw.htm Our tournament Ombudsperson, Alexandra Swann, will be preparing a full equity policy for our tournament and posting it on all the relevant message boards.

Accommodations
We will have details regarding hotel information and deals up within the next week or two. We will endeavour to make billeting available upon request.

Registration Fee and Information
The registration fee for a two person team will be $140 CDN and $75 CDN per adjudicator. For ease of tabbing the tournament will initially be capped at 64 teams and given past experience we have had to turn away teams that have registered late. If demand proves overwhelming we will consider raising the cap. We require a non-refundable deposit of the full registration amount per school by Dec. 14th, 2007 in order to reserve a spot at the tournament. In order to make planning easier for us, we will not consider a team registered until we have received their deposit. This deposit will not be transferable to other teams. Any team registering after the date above will be assessed a $25 CDN late fee. Please contact us in the event of exceptional circumstances and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. It is the case however that we require the full registration fee before a team is allowed to compete. If we cannot fit your teams into the tournament we will send your deposit back in full. There will be an n/2 rounded down judging requirement at this tournament. For every two teams sent by an institution, we will require one adjudicator. We are willing to consider extenuating circumstances should you be unable to meet our judging requirement, and we will do our best to accommodate your needs, but we do reserve the right to break up teams from schools that have not met the judging requirements if the integrity of the judging pool is compromised. We will be instituting a provisional cap of 6 teams per school. Schools will be allowed to place teams on a waiting list if they wish to register more than 6 teams. We do not require an initial deposit for waiting list teams. We will contact schools by December 17th to let them know if we can accommodate their extra teams.

Please send all registration information (including the institution name, contact person information – including phone and e-mail, number of teams and number of adjudicators) and deposits to: Margherita Devine & Steve Aylward c/o McGill Debating Union McGill University Centre 3480 McTavish St. Montreal, Quebec H3A 1X9 Canada Please make all cheques payable to “McGill Debating Union”. We ask that you send an e-mail informing us that your reg info has been sent off and we will in return send an e-mail confirming receipt of your reg.

Please direct all inquiries and correspondence to mcgill.wintercarnival@gmail.com They will be answered promptly. Thank you very much for considering our event and we look forward to seeing you in January.

Margherita Devine and Steve Aylward
Tournament Directors, 2009 McGill Winter Carnival

Invitation to the Singapore Debate Open 2008‏

Hi All!

The Singapore Debate Open is now officially open for registration. Attached is the official invitation letter. We would like to extend our warmest invitation to all to register. The basic details once again are:



Date: 20-21 December, 2008

Venue: NUS Law Campus, Bukit Timah

Debate: BP Style, 4 prelim rounds, Quarters, Semis, Grand Final

Cost: S$50 per team/S$25 per adjudicator/debater



This open invitational tournament promises to be one of the most prestigious and competitive events in the local debate calendar. In its inaugural year,the SDO attracted teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, local debaters based in the Ivy and Oxbridge circuit and many notable illustrious members of the debating alumni. This tournament is perfect for exposure to a high level of debating and for training for the upcoming World Universities Debating Championships and the rest of the debate year ahead!



This year we are proud to have 2 very accomplished gentlemen as our CA and DCA, on top of a very high quality adjudicators' pool.

Mr. Ngoei Wen-Qing was captain of the NUS debate team some years back, best speaker of All-Asians 2000 and champion team member, Sydney Worlds 2000 ESL champions, Australs quarter-finalist, coach of the Singapore national team (semi-finalists in 2006) just to name a few of his many accolades.



Our Deputy Chief Adjudicator is Mr. Vishal Harnal. Vishal was finalist in 2007 AUDCs and second ranked speaker of the tournament, he adjudicated at Assumption Worlds 2007 and debated in the 2006 Vancouver Worlds. Vishal is also an active member of the Singapore Debate Association for many years.



Please do not hesitate to contact us at this email address and we'll be happy to answer your queries/assist you in planning to come for the competition.



Warmest regards,

NUS Debating Society

Trinity IV 2009

The CLAIRE STEWART MEMORIAL TRINITY IV is back!

The Dean Swift IV will take place on Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th of January, and the Kingsmill-Moore Invitational will take place on Thursday the 22nd of January in Trinity College, Dublin. Ireland's two oldest debating societies will continue to offer the highest level of adjudication at any Irish competition, along with the unique oratorical atmosphere and excitement that has made the knockout rounds of the competition, and especially the Grand Final in the Chamber, legendary.

Registration for the Dean Swift IV takes place through our website, www.trinityiv.com. We're extremely pleased this year to say that REGISTRATION WILL BE HALF-PRICE FOR ALL UK TEAMS, AND FREE FOR NON-IONA TEAMS. The standard registration fee will be €70. This year, we're offering:

  • Pizza for dinner on Friday, Full Irish Breakfast on Saturday, lunch on Saturday, and Championship Dinner on Saturday night before the Grand Final.
  • More free booze than has ever been consumed over the course of a weekend.
  • 5 rounds of debating, followed by a break to Quarter-Finals (contingent on sufficient numbers) with 7 minute speeches throughout the competition just like last year.
  • Guaranteed crash for International teams.
  • Prize for the best ESL team on the tab (contingent on at least 4 teams taking part).

The Chief Adjudicators for the Dean Swift IV will be Mr Ross McGuire (Winner of the Irish Mace, Winner of the Trinity Dean Swift IV, Euros Semi-Finalist) and Mr Luke Ryder (twice Runner-up of the Irish Mace, Finalist at the Cork IV, Runner-up of the Irish Times).

If you're interested in taking part in the Kingsmill-Moore Invitational, the most prestigious in the country: please contact our convenors, Jonathan Wyse at dc@tcdphil.com and Niall Sherry at dc@thehist.com.

The Chief Adjudicator for the Kingsmill-Moore Invitational will be Mr Declan Bruton (Runner-Up of the Irish Mace, Finalist of the Irish Times, Chief Adjudicator of the UCD L&H Vice President's Cup). Dinner will be provided for competitors before the Final.

We invite you to experience the most unique and exciting IV in the world, and to enjoy the most free food, the most free drink, the best nights out, and the most fun any IV can offer this January in Trinity College, Dublin.

All the best,

Jonathan Wyse & Niall Sherry

Co-Convenors, Trinity IV 2009

MMU IV 2008

The annual MMU IV will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of November. All debaters who are interested are invited to come. This is a friendly reminder that we only have three more days to go.

The details of the tournament are as follows :
Format : British Parliamentary
CA : Suthen "Tate" Thomas
Date : 22nd and 23rd of November
Venue : Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya.
Time : 9 am (both days)
Rounds : 4 preliminaries + Semi-finals + grand finals
Adj. Rules : N-1
Team Cap : None
Rego fees : RM 30/debater or adjudicator
*Lunch for both days will be provided. MMU IV 2008 will also be offering and certificates for the trophies for the finalist, champions, and also top ten best speakers.

Accommodation, sadly, will not be provided. We will help find accomodation for those who need it, given that we are inform early.

Please register as soon as possible. To Register you can send an email to me Jolie (king_34048@yahoo. com) or Andrew "Ips" (anthrex_13@hotmail. com). If you wish to call us , you may do so at 0176988670 (Mohammed Abdullah a.k.a Jolie) or 0124005260 (Andrew "Ips").

That's all for now, meet you at the tournament.
Mohammed Abdullah a.k.a. Jolie-Vice President Voices MMU.

17 November 2008

Cork Worlds 2009 - Individual Details - Urgent

Dear All,
It is a matter of serious concern to me that some institutions delegates for Cork Worlds 2009 have not submitted some or all of their personal details through our online registration system, given that the deadline for submission of details is now well past.

Failure of your delegates to submit their personal details by the close of business on Monday will mean that we will not be able to able to take your preferences in to account in planning for Cork Worlds 2009. In particular I would like to highlight that this is of particular importance in relation to people's dietary requirements, roommate preferences and if they wish to apply for English as a Foreign Language or English as Second Language status at Cork Worlds 2009. For example if people do not indicate that they require kosher/halal food or that they have allergies before Monday evening we will not be able to provide it for you at Cork Worlds 2009.

If anyone has any questions or queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or on +353-86-3738177, and I will give you every assistance possible.

Best wishes,
Mark Collins
Director of Registration & Communications,
29th World University Debating Championships.
Cork 2009.
T: +353 86 3738177
E: mark.collins@corkworlds2009.com
W: www.corkworlds2009.com

WSDC 2009 website

Hello everyone. Please check out the 2009 website which is now open!

www.schoolsdebate.gr

Have fun browsing.

Kind regards,

Claire Ryan,

Inaugural Pan- African Universities Debating Championship

The African Regional Office and the OSI Youth Initiative in New York is partnering with the Pan African Universities Debating Championship (PAUDC) organizing committee and the University of Botswana to organize the first ever Pan-African Universities Debating Championship in Gaborone, Botswana from the 8th to the 14th December 2008.

The PAUDC will bring together Universities from 10 African Countries in addition to numerous debate trainers from the US, South Korea and South Africa. The 10 participating countries that have confirmed attendance are from West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia, from east Africa Uganda and Kenya and from Southern Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The tournament is expected to have about 25 Universities among them the University of Nairobi in Kenya, UB, the University of Jonnanesburg, Limkokwing University-Botswana, the University of the Free State, Rhodes University, University of Forhare, University of Namibia and the Universities of Lagos and Calabar in Nigeria among many others.

It is expected to have participants totaling 300 debaters, adjudicators and about 12 trainers making it the biggest debating tournament ever in the African continent. Hundreds Botswana high schools students are also expected to benefit from the tournament as volunteers, time keepers and runners. This week long tournament will be hosted at the University of Botswana main campus with the grand opening ceremony at the GICC and Grand Final at Phakalane Golf Estates. This intensive competition requires each university team to take part in eight preliminary debates over six days. The highest-rated teams go forward to knockout rounds, with the champions ultimately named during a Grand Final at the Golf Estates.

In addition to the actual debate tournament, there will be formal training workshops and interactive forums with leaders in business, ministers, civil society and government. The debating championship will provide a forum in which African university students can be exposed to new ideas, discuss a range of topical issues and be challenged to think critically. The PAUDC will also utilize this time to establish an African Universities Debating Board which will facilitate the dissemination of training materials, coordinate Pan-African debating events and organize training sessions, all to ensure the sustainability and spread of debate across the African continent.

Books Botswana, supplier of educational materials in UB, Phakalane Golf Estates, Rotary Club of Gaborone, British Council and the University of Botswana are among the sponsors. The tournament is convened by former reality TV personality Mr Justice Motlhabani with an organizing committee that includes, veteran debater Mr Lesang Magang as the Internal Chief Adjudicator, an exchange student in the Master's of Public Administration Programme at the University of Botswana Graham Sowa as the Deputy Convener and registration Director, Tournament Director is World Championship top speaker Ummar Kitso Segadimo. More details about the organization of the tournament are available at www.botsdebating.com

Botswana bid for Worlds 2011 confirmed

Friends and Debaters everywhere!

I would like to proudly announce that the University of Botswana is bidding for the World Universities Debating Championships 2011. We've been working on hosting worlds for three years now, and we have so much in store for every one of you.

I would like to thank all the people here at home and in distant lands who supported us in the past as they continue to give us guidance. We look forward to your support again this year in Ireland!

Please join our facebook group for details and updates. Email us at debatemasters@yahoo.com for questions or just to show support.

Sincerely,
Justice Motlhabani
+267 72467417
debatemasters@yahoo.com
Convenor
Botswana Worlds 2011

Results of Northeast Asian Open 2008‏

To the international debating community
The organizing committee would like to thank everyone who took part inthe first international tournament in Japan.

We would like to thank all the teams that participated in theelimination rounds. Moreover, we would like to recognize the championsof this year¡Çs NEAO, ICU 3 (Akira Kohbara, Satomi Hemmi, Keigo Okada),and the finalist, EDiS (In Young Park, Doh Hee Roh, Hannah Kim). ICU 3won against EDiS in a unanimous 9-0 decision. What is significantabout this year¡Çs winner is that ICU is the first institution outsideKorea to win this tournament.

The breaking teams for the main bracket are as follows:1. UIC 22. EDiS3. HDS 24. Tsuda5. UIC 16. SKKU7. DAE 18. ICU 3

ICU 1 was supposed to break but was not announced due to a balloterror. The committee deeply apologizes to the members of ICU 1 for this.

In the quarter-finals, ICU 3 defeated UIC2, EDiS defeated DAE 1, SKKUdefeated HDS 2, UIC 1 defeated Tsuda.

In the semi-finals, ICU 3 defeated UIC 1, and EDiS defeated SKKU.

The EFL finalists were Seikei A and Wenzao 1. Wenzao 1 defeated Seikeiwith a 3-0 decision, making them the EFL winners.

Again, congratulations to all teams that broke!

The top ten speakers on the tab were:
1. Shoko Furui (AGU 2)
1. Wonjoon Jang (UIC 1)
1. Tzu-Chien Yen (Wenzao 1)
4. Kotono Maekawa (AGU 2)
4. Kang Min Lee (SKKU)
4. Sumi Park (UIC 2)
7. Satomi Hemmi (ICU 3)
7. Hyewon Hetty Rho (Korea 3)
7. Junghwan Jeon (UIC 1)
10. Miyuki Nozu (ICU 1)
10. Nayoung Song (UIC 2)
10. Yejin Moon (UIC 2)

Breaking Adjudicators:
Chihiro Nakagawa, Logan, Jason Jarvis, Isao Ayabe, Tomohisa Ishikawa,Masako, Peter Kipp, Soo Young Cho, Andrew Nishizaki, Sophie Lee, MinHyuk Kim, Rose Chang, Jonathan Borock, Melorina Kamaruddin, Sae-Seul Park