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

11 December 2010

q.e.d. 2011, A Parliamentary Debate in Asia

Salutations Debater,

On behalf of BITS-Pilani, the BITS Debating Society takes great pleasure and a sizable amount of pain in extending a hopefully formal invitation to your esteemed institute. This invitation is regarding q.e.d, A Parliamentary Debate in Asia, which will be held from the 4th to 8th of February 2011.

During these four days of breathless action, the sharpest minds from the largest continent in the world will harry and hassle, refute and rebut on worldly topics ranging from 'Rocking horses have undertones of bestiality' to 'The striking similarities between brown and maroon are more than just coincidence'. We obviously feel your esteemed institute will find these topics right up their alley. We've also deliberately used words like 'Salutations' to generate a feeling of antagonism towards us in the hope that it may aid in debating. 

In a brief bout of benevolence, we present an FAQ section that will give you any desired information regarding the debate and other things.

Q: Why should I attend q.e.d.?
A: Well, the easy way out would be to say that it is India's biggest and most prestigious parliamentary debating tournament. But in spite of the fact that physics is far from our best friend, we have enough knowledge of the subject to say that it is physically impossible for every parliamentary debate to be the biggest and most prestigious. Yet apparently that is what is proclaimed by every parliamentary debate.

So, striving to be different, we won't say our debate is the best because deciding the best is tough and confusing. But we can surely say that it has a world-class adjudication core, an extremely competent panel of judges and hopes to have widespread participation from across South Asia. If you're up to it, you can decide if it's the best or not after attending.

Plus, we have green pieces of paper with a bespectacled man on it and they are seductively fluttering and wafting their irresistible scent towards you.

Q: How do I register?
A: Wow,that was quick. Log on to www.bits-qed.org

Q: Why do I get the message "Website Not Found" when I click on the link given above?
A: If it's before 12 AM on 16th December 2010, the answer is: The site is not operational yet.
    If it's after 12 AM on 16th December 2010, the answer is: We really do not know. Call or email us and we'll look into it.

Q: Any other rules or specifications I should be aware of?
A: The standard 3 on 3 Asians format
      Team Cap : 2 teams per college (for now)
      Total Team Cap : 80 teams
      The "n" rule, ie a minimum of 1 adjudicator per team

Q: You claimed to have a world-class adjudication core, so who will be the Chief Adjudicator for the tournament?
A: The Chief Adjudicator for the tournament will be Mr. Derek Lande. He was CA WUDC 2009, DCA WUDC 2007 and DCA EUDC 2006. He was also the 3rd Best Speaker WUDC 2006 and Best Speaker EUDC 2005 among a very long list of other impressive things.

Q: I'm sorry but all these questions are perfunctory. Could you tell me a bit more about those nice, green, pieces of paper?

Teams
Winners: INR 69,169 (USD 1533.54)
Runners Up: INR 30,276 (USD 671.25)
Semi Finalists: INR 15,129 (USD 335.42)
Quarter Finalists: INR 6,084 (USD 134.89)
Octo Finalists: INR 3,025 (USD 67.07)

Adjudicators
Rank 1 to 3: INR 12,321 (USD 273.17)
Rank 4 to 6: INR 4,096 (USD 90.81)          
Rank 7 to 10: INR 2,025 (USD 44.90)

Total: INR 2, 35, 565 (USD 5222.69)

The FAQ section is best concluded before the questions get any more colorful. If you have any extraneous queries, feel more than free to contact any of the glitterati mentioned below, email us or log on to  www.bits-qed.org after 12 AM on 16th December, 2010.

Hoping you attend and all that jazz.
    
Regards,
BITS Debating Society,
BITS Pilani

Contacts:
Tournament Director
Rahul Seth
+91-9571552084

10 December 2010

Want to be a DCA at USU 2011?

Hi Everyone,


We are opening up applications for Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs) for the upcoming USU tournament in April. The tounament has a team cap of 200 teams which will make it one of the largest Worlds format tournaments ever held in North America. DCAs will play an important role in the running of the competition, communication with participants and specifically as DCA you will:

· Be present at the tournament and shortly beforehand
· Work with the CA and other DCAs to select motions for the tournament
· Be a public face for the tournament both before and during the competition
· Evaluate and prioritise judge allocation, including an online test for judges prior to the tournament.


When it comes to the selection of DCA’s we will prioritise:
Debating experience (as a debater, coach, judge or a combination of several of these)
Adjudication experience

Dependent on the level of experience of those applying, we will select between two and four DCAs.

We will welcome applications from all suitably qualified applicants. Applicants need not be American, or currently participating on the American circuit, though all things being equal we would give priority to those applicants. Travel subsidies are negotiable, hotel will be provided.

Currently serving coaches of teams that will participate at the tournament are welcome to apply. They would be expected to avoid discussing motions and topic areas with their teams.

We would encourage all interested applicants to apply to me with a debating tailored Resumé/ CV and a cover letter expressing:

Why you are applying for the position
A brief explanation of your most relevant experience
What you feel you would offer the tournament
Three sample motions you feel would be suitable for the competition, with brief explanation of why you would select each motion.
Any other material you wish to offer in support of your candicy

As we anticipate many applications, please keep your cover letter concise,

Please send applications to stephenboyle87@gmail.com by December 21st 2010.

Regards,
Stephen Boyle , CA USU 2011
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/usu2011/Welcome.html

9 December 2010

Vienna IV 2011‏

For the first time ever, you can partake in an Intervarsity tournament in the beautiful city of Vienna. Debattierklub Wien is hosting the first ever IV in Austria, VIENNA IV, from March 4 to 6, 2011. Participants awaits a great weekend of debating and socials!


Chief Adjudicators are:
Isabelle Loewe (ESL Champion, EUDC 2006)
Steven Nolan (DCA, Galway EUDC 2011)
Manos Moschopoulos (ESL runner-up & top ESL speaker, WUDC 2010)

Registration is now open, the team cap is set at 40 - so register soon! The registration fee is EUR 30 and includes accommodation and all meals.

To register, send an email to info[at]debattierklubwien.at with the following information: Institution, number of teams, number of judges, and contact details.

More information on the tournament, travel, etc. is available at the Vienna IV website: http://viv11.debattierklubwien.at/

About Debattierklub Wien: Debattierklub Wien is one of the most dynamic debate clubs in German-speaking countries. It hosted a ZEIT DEBATTE, one of the largest German-language debating tournaments, with great success in March 2010 and has competed in many tournaments, including Worlds, Euros, German championships and various IVs and Opens.

8 December 2010

DLSU Worlds 2012: Deadline Extension for DCA Applications

Dear World Debating Community,

While the initial deadline for the application process for Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs) for DLSU Worlds 2012 has passed, we are keen to ensure that everyone who wants to has the chance to apply, and that we have the widest possible pool of applicants. It has therefore been possible to extend the deadline for applicants until 1200 GMT on Monday, the 13th of December, on which day we will also open the feedback process. Anyone is welcome to apply; we are particularly keen to hear from more applicants from Asia, those from the Middle East & Africa, and those eligible for the ESL/EFL slot.

We recognise that Monday is only a few days away. Because of this, we understand some applicants might not be able to supply all we need (CVs and forms, described below) by that time. This is OK: anyone expressing an intent to apply by Monday the 13th at 1200 GMT will be entered into the feedback process, and will be eligible for selection so long as they supply their documents by the following Monday (the 20th).

Application forms can be found at www.dlsuworlds.com, or can be requested from sam.block@dlsuworlds.com or lucinda.david@dlsuworlds.com, to which addresses forms should also be returned, accompanied by CVs.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss the applications process, please do get in touch.

Many thanks,

Sam Block & Lucinda David
Chief Adjudicators
DLSU Worlds 2012

Moscow Open 2010

7th international debating tournament Moscow Open 2010 took place on 4-5 December 2010 at MGIMO (Moscow Institute of International Relations).


The winners are "Kool-Aid" (Kiev, Ukraine) - Natalya Kulikovskaya and Kateryna Yablochkova

Best speaker was Linas Vastakas.


Moscow Open 2010 motions
R1 - THW make bosses criminally liable for the corruption of their subordinates
R2 - THW introduce quotas limiting migrtion to overpopulated areas
R3 - TH regrets the existence of WikiLeaks
R4 - THW require paid parental leave to be shared equally between both parents
R5 - THW ban the advertising of non-FMCG using human images
Semi - THBT China should bring about regime change in North Korea
Final - THW ban all alcohol without exceptions in Russia

3rd Malaysian Debate Open 2011

Multimedia University Melaka will once again, host one of the largest tournament in the region - the 3rd Malaysia Debate Open 2011. The organizing committee is looking forward to welcome institutions to this tournament again next year. We are in the final stage of confirming all the details (i.e, the schedules, adj core, adj subsidy policy, food selections, etc) but here are the ones that we would like to officially announce for now.

Date of the event : 4th to 8th March 2011
Debate Format : Asian Parliamentary Format
Tournament Cap : 100 teams

Registration fees : RM 370.00/ person for Local universities/organizations : USD 135.00/ person for International universities/organizations.

which is inclusive of:
*Rego
*Accommodation for 5 days / 4 nights in a 3 star hotel,
*Food throughout the tournament (Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Dinner)
*Grand Final Dinner.
*Break Night party
*Transportation between debate and social venues.
* Airport transfer (for international participants, subject to designated arrival and departure dates)
* Local banking charges (for international monetary transfers)

As it is customary of us to host a truly 'open' tournament, we would like to stress again that every team is eligible to break regardless of its composition as long as they remain consistent throughout the rounds. Teams can be form without restriction to institutions/organizations, country/region, age, profession nor relations. In fact, composite teams (particular if there are any more father and son combination or equivalent) are highly encouraged. Lol.

The stages for pre-registration, payment and participant's details are as follows.

Stage 1 : Pre- registration
* 3rd to 25th December 2010

Stage 2 : Payment
* 20th December 2010 to 20th January 2011

Stage 3 :Participants details
* 20th January to 15th February 2011

Our official website is http://www.malaysiadebateopen.com/. Registration can be done at our website. Should that be any queries before that, feel free to contact or email us. Hope to see the old faces again and lots of new ones.

Warm Regards,


Sarah Yap
Convener
3rd Malaysia Debate Open 2011
Multimedia University

contact no: +014-9305957
email: malaysiadebateopen@gmail.com

7 December 2010

Cork IV results.

Leiden have won the 2010 Cork IV.  They defeated Cambridge, UCD and Manchester in the final.

Muireann O’Dwyer and Niall Sherry won the invitational held before the IV.

I'll post more details, names and tab once I get them

6 December 2010

Melbourne Mini 2010 Results

The Melbourne Mini 2010 was run over the weekend.  The Grand final was contested by

OG: #firstworldproblems (Victor Finkel & Fiona Prowse)
OO: whatever Swain said (Elle Jones & Daniel Swain)
CG: Destiny's miscarriage (Paul Karp & Pat Caldwell)
CO: MooCowell (Tim Mooney & Bronwyn Cowell)

The winners were Destiny's miscarriage (Paul Karp & Pat Caldwell)

Best novice speakers were Tyrone Connell and Lloyd Wicks, while the best
speaker was Fiona Prowse.

Full results available here: http://muds.whypsloven.net/mm10/results

Motions:
•Round 1: This House would not provide any government support for non-vocational tertiary education.

•Round 2: This House believes that China should break its ties with North Korea
•Round 3: This House supports the selection of human embryos on the basis of any advantageous genetic characteristic.
•Round 4: This House would create an independent fiscal authority to set binding limits on government spending.
•Round 5: This House would prohibit all political donations.
•Round 6: This House would require users of online social networks to disclose their identity.
•Semi Final: This House would abolish Executive Clemency.
•Grand Final: This House would allow emergency and humanitarian aid to be distributed through groups linked to terrorism.

5 December 2010

Nigerian Bid Proposal for PAUDC 2011‏

Hello Everyone

Please find attached our Bid proposal for 2011 Pan African University Debating Championship.

The motivation behind this bid is coming from the true spirit of our great heroes in Africa and the need to collaborate and network with each other. It is unfortunate that we lack the true spirit of Pan Africanism in todays young people. Today's youth are fighting for self and not for what Pan- Africa represent.

If you really want a fair participation, representation and integration of all Africans in this umbrella called PAUDC. This is a serious and compelling bid you have to support. We are not here for ethnocentric minds. We are saying that we are the best qualified to host Africa PAUDC in 2011.

Nigeria, Ghana, Sierraleoane, Liberia and Cameroun are all behind this bid and we have agreed to unite and work together in one committee to see our people partake in this noble project. If you support us, you are supporting young leaders in West Africa and Africa. You are supporting the liberation of the minds of our youth who have been suffering from long years of militarization. This is a project to help our region create an OPEN society. Our youth needs this and all Africa needs to integrate into each other's culture.

This is the time for all Africa to learn about West African culture. How many of you know about a soup called "Afam soup" . How many know about "Ekpe"masquerade dance, How many of you know about peculiarities of these cities like Lagos, Accra, Monrovia, Freetown, Younde, Banjul, Dakar e.t.c This is the time to learn about other cultures and you have to stand for what is right and support this bid.

Our team was not able to travel to Namibia to present this bid because they couldn't access South African transit visa. They were stopped at the airport en-route Windhoek. We have to work together to improve PAUDC and we have all the needed organizational ability and personnels needed to organize the best event in the history of the championship. We have assembled the best professionals and people equal to this task.

One of our aim is to use this event to develop the organizational skills of most students in Africa by providing some tips on event and project management. Don't be surprise to receive some training on project management and fundraising on any of the event days.

This bid is not all about regional rivalry, but all about one continent, one people and one- Africa!

We hope that in true spirit of Pan- Africanism, our brothers from Zimbabwe would reason with us and support this bid. The History between South African countries especially Zimbabwe and Nigeria is very strong. Check your liberation struggles and the first country who spent millions of Dollars to support your course is Nigeria. We used that same spirit to allow Namibia to host 2010 event and we expect the same this time around.

Support us today and guarantee a strong future for the continent.

Sincerely,

Jerry C. Nwigwe
National Coordinator
Nigeria Debate Movement
Convener- PAUDC 2011 Bid
debatenigeria@gmail.com

World Cup Debates - this time and next time‏

The global debating competition that is the World Cup Debates 2010-11 has begun with four debates between eight teams. They represented Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The contest is sponsored by the World Debate Institute at the University of Vermont and the EDEBATING website that will be launched in 2011. The contest allows teams from all over the world to engage in demanding competitive debates without spending any money.

See all the information and debates at http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/worldcup/

A topic is assigned, teams are paired randomly into a double elimination bracket, sides are assigned and the debate begins. Affirmative teams videotape a first speech and upload it to the Vimeo website. Then, that speech is pasted into the World Cub Debates website http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/worldcup/ and then the other team has 72 hours (although there is some flexibility) to upload the next speech. After all the speeches are done, three assigned judges watch the debate, come to a decision and vote. Judges may or may not wish to publish text or video reasons for decision. One interesting thing about these debates is that they can take place in any language that the two teams determine. For example, in the first round the debate betweenUniversidad Central de Venezuela and Universidad Andres Bello of Chile was held in Spanish and judged by Spanish-speaking adjudicators. Three students are in each debate, although the teams can switch debaters from debate to debate.

The first round has now completed. The topic was, “Now is the time for a Palestinian state.” The debates were between:

Assumption University of Thailand vs. Peking University of China
University of Belgrade from Serbia vs. University of Vermont of the USA
Comunidad de Debate Venezuela vs. Cornell University of the USA
Universidad Central de Venezuela vs. Universidad Andres Bello of Chile

The winners were Assumption University of Thailand, the University of Vermont of the USA, Cornell University of the USA and Universidad Andres Bello of Chile. In round two these winners now go on to meet each other. The losers of round one now go on to debate each other with the loser of that debate being eliminated. The full schedule is now available at the website. The second round topic comes from the WUDC finals in Turkey, “The press should show the full horrors of war.” Speeches will begin appearing on the website this week.

Alfred Snider, convener of the event, noted several advantages of this debating format. “It is really an idea whose time has come,” he said, “and teams from all over the world can debate each other and travel, costs, distance and time are no longer barriers. If two teams share the same language, they can debate in that language, but English remains the default language. Those who are not native speakers have the opportunity to practice their speech many times and tape it until they get it right, as can any participant. This makes for excellent quality and argumentation. I look forward to expanding this contest in the future.”

Future plans involve having a much larger field in 2011-12 and copying some of the structure from the world cup of football, with teams coming from all parts of the world. “We might have groups as the football contest does, or we might just stick to a much larger double elimination format,” said Snider. “Those who participate will have input and a committee formed by the World Debate Institute will decide. That committee is now being formed. ”

University and college teams who wish to participate in the 2011-12 contest should send notes of interest to the convener at alfred.snider@uvm.edu.