Global Debate

USA College Public Forum Nationals 2012

2012-02-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

Resolved: Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts.

For those of you interested in attending the College Public Forum National Tournament at Butler University on February 25th, you can find tournament information as well as register for the tournament at:

http://forensicstournament.net/PublicForumNats/12

This tournament will use the CPF Nationals topic:

Resolved: Congress should extend the Bush tax cuts.

Let me know if you have any questions.

http://forensicstournament.net/tournamentdocs/760-2012%20CPF%20National%20Tournament.pdf

Dan

--
Dan West
The John A. Cassese Director of Forensics
Assistant Professor
School of Communication Studies
Scripps College of Communication
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701

Office: 740-593-9962
Mobile: 740-590-7378 (free texting)

Join WSDC Ltd.

2012-02-14T11:40:00.000-05:00

Dear you all

You are cordially invited (OK, strongly encouraged) to become one of the first members of WSDC Ltd. You can register online at http://wsdc.wildapricot.org – we’re using the WildApricot membership system which is ideal for organisations like ours, and Paypal to handle secure payments online.

As always, this is a new venture and please bear with us while we polish the system. In particular at the moment it seems to require you to have (or create) a Paypal account to make the payment, but that doesn’t take long and we’ll try and remove it as a restriction in the near future to make it easier for new members.

Types of membership

The types of memberships already discussed and ratified by the WSDC community are:
· Individual (under 25): £10 per year
· Individual (over 25): £20 per year
· Organisation: £50 per year

Join online at http://wsdc.wildapricot.org by 18th February if you wish to participate in the 2012 AGM.

Benefits of joining (for you)
· You will need to be a member if you wish to participate in the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM), to be held online from 19th February.
· Only members organisations will be invited to send teams to future World Championships
· Members will receive access to restricted content, mailings and resources developed by the WSDC Board of Directors and Development Committee
· Members will get access to networking facilities and opportunities

Benefits of joining (for WSDC Ltd)
The goals of WSDC Ltd the company (and soon to be charity) are to widen access to the tournaments, by helping new countries to attend, widening the pool of applicants in all participating countries, reducing the financial burden on hosts and competitors, and developing training resources to improve the quality of debate. Your membership fees will enable this work.
As a very immediate and tangible goal, we need to raise £5000 before we can be granted charitable status in the UK. Once a charity, we will be able to apply for certain grants and corporate sponsorship that we can’t access the moment. Membership fees (and donations) are the first steps towards meeting this target.

Donations
If you enjoyed or benefited from your participation in WSDC, please do consider making a one-off (or occasional!) donation to the work of WSDC Ltd. You can do that via http://wsdc.wildapricot.org as well.

I have questions
Please e-mail them to me (Trevor Sather, WSDC Development Committee, trevor@squareeye.com). However I may not respond directly if there’s a flood of similar questions – instead I’ll answer them in an FAQ section on the website so that everyone can access the same information.

I’ve joined. What happens next?
We will be in touch with all registered members about participation in the 2012 AGM.

Thanks and best wishes

Trevor

trevor@SQUAREEYE.COM

Yale, Penn & Rochester Win Big Cornell Tournament

2012-02-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

Cornell Forensics Society Hosts Debate Tournament

RELATED
NEWS: Cornell Forensics Society Speaks Out About Debate
NEWS: Cornell Forensics Society Places Fifth in Nation
TOPICS: cornell forensics society, cornell debate

FEBRUARY 13, 2012
BY SYLVIA RUSNAK

This weekend, the Cornell Forensics Society held its 2012 Cornell Debate Tournament, drawing more than 320 debaters — including students from Texas, California and Vermont — to participate in both Policy Debate and British Parliamentary, or “Worlds” Debate.

Sarah Berger ’15, who beat 87 other debaters to place as best individual debater for the National Novice Championship, said that winning as a freshman “feels great. It’s been really exciting.”

Berger and her partner, Ben Gandesbery ’15, were also semifinalists in the Novice National Championship.

“It’s been great working with my partner Ben this year,” Berger said. “Even though we only went to one tournament first semester, this gave us some confidence to go to more tournaments. While we’re getting acquainted with the activity, we can see ourselves getting better.”

Brian Roxas ‘15, who placed fifth in the Novice National Championship said he hoped to do even better in future competitions, but added that the tournament was a good starting point.

“All of the novices did excellently from Cornell especially. It was a good tournament as a whole.”

Kirat Singh ’14 — who won first place the National Championship at the Novice division last year — judged both Worlds Debate and the Novice National Championship this year.

“Debating to judging is definitely a transition that everyone should make,” Singh said.

She added that her experience as a judge allowed her to refine her debate skills.

“It makes you a much better debater because you see what the judges want,”Singh said.

Prof. Sam Nelson, director of the Cornell Forensics Society, said that he was surprised so many teams participated in the event, adding that it was a “great honor” to have such a wide array of teams on campus.

“With the support of ILR Dean Harry Katz, the CFS was able to host our first Cornell debate tournament [that drew] over 400 people,” Nelson said in an email.

“Hosting this tournament was a real boon for the Cornell Forensics Society — it demonstrates competitor schools’ acknowledgment of our success in the debate community as well as their faith in our ability to manage such a big event,” said Daniel Lee ’14, vice president of external affairs for the society, in an email.

Cornell is ranked fifth out of 500 schools around the world for Worlds Debate, according to the International Debate Education Association’s World University Debate Rankings.

Nelson noted that the Cornell Forensics Society is one of the largest organizations on campus, comprised of 187 debaters with “a really good set of leaders.”

In Policy Debate, two teams with two members each debate topics chosen by the Cross Examination Debate Association — the largest intercollegiate policy debate association in the United States. This year’s Policy Debate topic was about increasing U.S. federal assistance to countries in the Middle East, such as Libya, Bahrain and Syria.

The U.S. Naval Academy won this competition at the novice level and Boston College won at the junior varsity level.

In Worlds Debate, two tournaments were held: the Cornell IV tournament and the first-ever U.S. Novice National Championship, a tournament for novice students in their first year of collegiate debate. The Novice National Champion was the University of Pennsylvania while the IV champion was Yale University.

IPPF Announces "Elite 8" Schools Teams, Winning a Trip to NYC

2012-02-10T18:54:00.001-05:00

The Bickel & Brewer Foundation and New York University are pleased to announce the results of the "Sweet 16" round:

The Home Educator’s Outsourcing Solution (THEO) from Plano, Texas, advances by a vote of 3-0 over Maple Grove Senior High School from Maple Grove, Minnesota.
Notre Dame High School from Sherman Oaks, California, advances by a vote of 2-1 over Cherry Creek High School from Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Team Czech Republic from the Czech Republic advances by a vote of 3-0 over Kaelakehe High School from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Brooklyn Technical High School from Brooklyn, New York, advances by a vote of 2-1 over Bellaire High School from Texas.
Team Singapore from Singapore advances by a vote of 2-1 over Plano Senior High School from Plano, Texas.
Peak to Peak Charter School from Lafayette, Colorado, advances by a vote of 3-0 over Carroll High School from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Lakewood High School from Lakewood, Colorado, advances by a vote of 3-0 over South African College High School from South Africa.
St. Mark’s School of Texas from Dallas, Texas, advances by a vote of 3-0 over the University of Toronto from Canada.

The “Elite 8” represent two foreign countries (Singapore and Czech Republic) and schools from four U.S. states (Colorado, Texas, California and New York). For the first time, the “Elite 8” also includes an urban debate league school – Brooklyn Technical High School from New York. (Attached is an updated competition bracket.)

Our "Elite 8" teams earn all-expense-paid trips to New York City April 13-15, where they will compete in oral debates at The Harold Pratt House.

The IPPF semifinals and final debate will be broadcast live on our website, www.bickelbrewer.com/ippf, beginning at 10:15 a.m. EST on Saturday, April 14.

Thank you again to each of you for your support of the IPPF and our student competitors. This competition would not be possible without the dedication of our volunteers.

Sincerely,
Andrea Burnett
IPPF Program Coordinator
Bickel & Brewer Foundation

Chicago Debate Chronicle February 2012

2012-02-09T18:24:00.001-05:00

From cdc@chicagodebateleague.org

The Chicago Debate Chronicle

From the Chicago Debate Commission | February 2012

"I found the Performance Trust Public Debates to be unique and invaluable. They allowed me to express myself on one of the most profound issues of my time, the U.S. economy."

Hanna Nasser, student

In This Issue

For the affirmative: Civics Class

Public debates on U.S. economy

Season update

Break-out season for debate teams at Austin

College student spotlight

Richardson-Lowry and Perry join Board

Recent CDC staff additions

Alumni speak: Jakita Walter

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY

2/3-4: Tournament Five - RCC

2/11: Coach Training Seminar VII

2/11: Middle School Coach Training Seminar V

2/11: Student Seminar IV

2/15: Judge Training Workshop

2/18: Middle School Tournament Four

2/24-25: High School Tournament Five

MARCH

3/10: The 2012 Chicago Middle School Debate Championship

3/17: The 2012 McDermott Will & Emery JV Invitational

3/23-24: The 15th Annual Allstate CPS Chicago Debate Championship

3/31: The 2012 Mayer Brown Urban Debate Nationals Qualifier

APRIL

4/19-22: NAUDL Urban Debate National Championship in Washington, DC

JUNE

6/2: Coach Training Seminar VIII

Mark your calendar:
Allstate CPS
Chicago Debate Championship on March 23-25

READ ABOUT IT HERE

"The team has a sense of pride that carries over into our school, and to some extent into the Austin Community. I'm most proud of how these students have embraced debate and are tenacious about making themselves better debaters."

Bob Wysocki, Debate Coach, VOISE Academy

Join Our List

DONATE

We rely on private support

to bring the benefits of debate to Chicago students. Invest in our youth with a tax-deductible donation today.

CDC Board and Staff

Governing Board

Judith Brennan

Robert A. Chrismer

Nathan F. Coco

Leonard A. Gail

Patrick D. Hughes

John N. Oest

Savitri P. Pai

April Perry

Mandee R. Polonsky

Mary Richardson-Lowry

Duane Quaini

Richard W. Sullivan

Benjamin A. Tarver

Christopher J. Townsend

Executive Director

Edie Canter

Director of Programming

Les Lynn

Assistant Director of Programming

David Song

Development, Communications and Administrative Manager

Mary Penn

Accounting Associate and Information Manger

Donna Montgomery

Performance Trust Debate
on WGN-9 News

FOR THE AFFIRMATIVE

Civics Class

Remember memorizing the Bill of Rights? The government's taxation authority? The line of succession if a President leaves office? The number of representatives in Congress and how they are chosen? All relevant to civic life - or at least to passing your high school civics test.

But where do we learn how to be effective participants in the civic life of our community?

READ MORE...

PUBLIC DEBATES ON U.S. ECONOMY

From left: Performance Trust CEO Rich Berg, Seniors Marcel Roman and Hanna Nasser (Champions from Whitney Young), and Attucks Asset Management CEO Les Bond Jr.

Top debaters from 12 Chicago high schools competed in the 2011 Performance Trust Public Debates on the U.S. Economy on December 9th and 10th, 2011.

The tournament, co-sponsored by Performance Trust Capital Partners and Attucks Asset Management, received positive attention from the Chicago news media...

READ MORE...

SEASON UPDATE

Varsity Quarter-Finals at the LCC Tournament Four

CDL growth trend continues, while
CDC pilots new assessment process

The CDL's several year growth trend is continuing this school year. High school debate activity is up by nearly 20%, while the middle school league has doubled in size since last season.

READ MORE...

BREAK-OUT SEASON FOR AUSTIN TEAMS

Austin Student Debaters with coaches Daviea Freeman and Aubrey Monks

VOISE Student Debaters with
coach Aly Stout

The number of tournament debaters from Austin and VOISE Academies has exploded. The two debate teams, both on the Austin High School campus, have more than tripled their participation from last year and are now the top two CDL high schools (among 54) in participation growth from 2010-11 to 2011-12.

READ MORE...

COLLEGE STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

We've been checking in on recent CDL alumni to find out how they're doing in college. We hear this month from Luis Hernandez and Pedro Galarza.

Luis Hernandez, Thomas Kelly alum and Grinnell College freshman

"Debate has helped me adapt well to college life...."

READ MORE...

Pedro Galarza, Jones alum and UC Santa Cruz Mathematical

Physics major

"Debate has made me a better reader, speaker,researcher, listener, and (most importantly) thinker...."

READ MORE...

RICHARDSON-LOWRY AND PERRY JOIN BOARD

In January, the Chicago Debate Commission Board welcomed two new members, April Perry and Mary Richardson-Lowry. Each will bring a breadth of knowledge and expertise to the CDC Board, and we are pleased to have them as part of our team.

Mary Richardson-Lowry is a partner at Mayer Brown with a concentration in public law. She is the past president of the Chicago Board of Education....

April Perry, Assistant United States Attorney, Criminal Division, is also Adjunct Professor at John Marshall Law School and Instructor of Trial Advocacy at the National Advocacy Center....

READ MORE...

RECENT CDC STAFF ADDITIONS
The CDC welcomed Donna Montgomery as Accounting Associate and Information Manager and Mary Penn as Development, Communications and Administrative Manager. READ MORE...

ALUMNI SPEAK

Jakita L. Walter, City Year Chicago

Debate has been a part of my life since elementary school even though I did not begin to formally debate until my senior year of high school. My year of high school debate at Lake View High School definitely impacted my academic success. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. I also developed excellent research skills that helped me not only in high school but in college as well.

READ MORE...

Malaysian Royal Debates Features Malay, English & Arabic

2012-02-09T07:14:00.002-05:00

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsgeneral.php?id=644556

Future of Oregon Forests Debated on Television

2012-02-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

Televised Debate On Oregon Forest Plan Produces Sparks

MEDFORD – The imminent loss of federal support to Oregon’s forested counties to replace timber receipts of the past is fueling a spirited debate about increasing logging in those counties.

Sparks from that debate were on display Tuesday night during a forum hosted by Southern Oregon Public Television andEarthFix, a regional collaboration of public media in the Northwest.

“Local Focus: Dollars and Trees” brought together a diverse panel, including Steve Swanson, president of the Swanson Group, which mills lumber and plywood in Oregon, and Eugene-based environmentalist Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild.

Some of the forum’s sharpest exchanges came as panelists debated legislation being drawn up by a bipartisan trio in Oregon’s congressional delegation proposing allow more logging on a portion of western Oregon forests now controlled by the Bureau of Land Management. Receipts from those timber harvests eventually help replace revenues that are being cut off this year as the Secure Rural Schools Act support is expiring this year. Last month, the Bureau of Land Management issued the final payments, totaling more than $40 million, to 18 western Oregon counties.

Oregon counties are losing $230 million because of the end of payments under the program.

Heiken, Oregon Wild’s conservation and restoration coordinator, said such an approach would mark a return to what he called the failed practice of “using forests as a piggy bank.”

“We polluted our streams. We drove species to the brink of extinction,” he said. “That’s just not going to work.

Swanson countered that the proposal advocated by DeFazio and his congressional colleagues should make conservation advocates like Heiken happy. He pointed to one provision of the not-yet-introduced legislation, which identify portions of the BLM for designation and protection as old-growth forest.

“Doug’s group should love the fact that we’re going to add a million acres to a de facto wilderness,” Swanson said.

Of the remaining forestland, some would be transferred to the U.S. Forest Service and the rest would be placed under control of a trust, which would make tracts available for logging.

Swanson acknowledged that presently, demand for lumber is low, given the still-moribund housing sector is suppressing the market for building materials. But he said new housing starts are bound to climb as the economic recovery takes hold.

Oregon Wild/Erik Fernandez

And when that happens, he said, “there will be a huge demand for lumber in this country and that’s going to be made somewhere.”

Heiken that while there are some components of DeFazio’s legislation his group likes, it’s simply premature to return to the practice of heavily logging over forests that are just starting to mature so they can protect clean water and provide habitat for wildlife.

“We think some of those young forests still need to be restored,” he said. “You’re talking about increasing clearcutting on a million acres of public land. That’s a big deal.”

Swanson disputed the idea that DeFazio and his congressional colleagues are pushing for the liquidation of BLM forestland, saying the plan wouldn’t supply enough timber to his company’s five mills one year.

“Well,” Heiken shot back, “maybe your mills are too big.”

The program’s two other panelists, Richard Whitman, who advises Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber on natural resources policy, and Jackson County Commissioner Dennis C.W. Smith, focused attention on the fiscal straits counties are finding themselves in as federal assistance vanishes.

Smith said counties that have grown dependent on that money to replace lost timber revenues are “up against a brick wall,” and that options such as raising local property taxes are limited in part because of the state’s constitutional cap on tax rates.

Whitman said that while the replacement of lost federal support to Oregon’s forest counties is a top priority for his boss and the Legislature, the state’s ability to assist them is limited by its own budgetary woes.

http://news.opb.org/article/televised_debate_on_oregon_forest_plan_produces_sparks/

Is This the World's Best Debate Timer?

2012-02-08T11:46:00.001-05:00

Brian Rubaie:

The world's best debate timer is on Amazon for about $12 + shipping. It tilts up towards the speaker so it's easy to set down (instead of fiddling while you speak) and the whole timer lights up green when there's 1:00 left, yellow when there's 0:30 and red when there's 0:10.

http://www.amazon.com/Polder-Traffic-Light-Kitchen-Timer/dp/B000KA4UYC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_6

Taken from

http://www.cedadebate.org/forum/index.php?topic=3249.msg6698#msg6698

London School of Economics Wins Inner Temple IV 2012

2012-02-08T07:41:00.002-05:00

Debate Society triumph in Inner Temple IV
by Bethany Clarke ON 7 FEB 2012 IN NEWS

LSE students David Berman and Carlo Cabrera participated in eight rounds of debating to win first place in the Inner Temple IV debate competition last weekend. LSE teams took three of eight places in the semi-finalroundof debating. Berman was the highest scoring speaker at the event.Samuel Joynson, a second year BSc International Relations with History student and member of the Debate Society, said: “The Inner Temple IV 2012 was a great success for the London School of Economics. Debating in the famous halls of the ancient Inn of Court, the LSESU Debate Society enjoyed their greatest success of the 2011–2012 academic calendar so far, by winning the Inner Temple IV.”“Personally, I particularly enjoyed the fact that I qualified for the semi-finalswithSaraEssa, as neither of us had previously qualified for the final rounds of a highly competitive debating tournament. As 2nd year undergrad history students, we enjoyed debating Scottish independence, and found LSE BC’s speeches in the grand final regarding NATO intervention in Syria very interesting.”

Joynson added: “The debating motions were tough, but their general focus on current affairs made them interesting and relevant. The fantastic weekend was compounded by a sumptuous banquet on Saturday night in the Inner Temple’s Great Hall, whilst snow was falling outside. A superb experience!”

The Inner Temple IV debating competition, hosted by the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, is one of the the mostsought-afterIVwins.

The Debate Society prepares for tournaments at bi-weeklytrainingsessions, where novice members are taught debating strategy and experienced debaters are lectured on specific issues. The society attends various debate tournaments throughout the year.

The Life of a USA Policy Debater Profiled

2012-02-08T07:34:00.001-05:00

The life of a debater

By Kelsey Cipolla
Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Gasping breaths are the only punctuation in the rapid-fire stream of Mark Wilkins’ carefully researched words.

Wilkins, a senior from Topeka, is currently part of the 15th-best debate duo in the nation, a ranking that comes with prestige — and pressure. Only the top 16 teams are automatically invited to the National Debate Tournament, so he needs to hold on to his position.

Last week, the KU debate team moved up in the national rankings, becoming the second-best team in the nation and continuing an impressive tradition. Over the years, the University has produced five national championship teams, multiple Final Four teams and has consistently been ranked in the top 10.

Topeka senior Mark Wilkins, who is currently ranked 15th in the nation in the duo category, practices his technique in Bailey Hall. Students on the University's debate team spend 30 to 40 hours per week doing research.

Melanie Campbell, a junior from Lenexa, began her debate career as a sophomore at Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park. After attending a debate camp at the University, she decided to continue debating by participating at the collegiate level.

“I suck at sports really bad, so the alternative was band or debate,” Campbell said.

Competitive collegiate debaters put in 30 to 40 hours of research each week, Campbell said.

“There’s some weeks where that’s obviously less, and I have four tests and I’m like ‘I should probably not fail out of school,’” Campbell said.

Each year, the college debate community settles on a single topic. This year’s topic is whether or not the United States government should provide democracy assistance to Middle Eastern countries. Because the topic is so timely, students always have something new to research, which plays a huge role in debate.

Technically, the debate season lasts from September to March, but debaters don’t get a true break: A new topic is announced in May, requiring them to begin the cycle of research again.

The constant research is paired with weekend tournaments where debaters argue for two hours at a time in at least 10 debates, assuming that they advance beyond the preliminaries. Debaters don’t even get a break from researching during tournaments, because they have to rework their arguments based on their upcoming competition’s strategy. The final debate in a tournament often doesn’t begin until after midnight on the final day, said Scott Harris, the team’s coach for the past 21 years.

“It’s a lot of hard work from a lot of students over a lot of years,” Harris said. “We have smart students who work very hard, which is the key to success.”

Strong high school debate programs throughout the state also help by giving the University a big base of talent, Harris said.

Wilkins credits Harris with the team’s success.

“Harris is 53 years old, but he has the passion of someone who is just figuring out how to debate,” Wilkins said. “He’ll stay up until 4 a.m. some nights just thinking of some random argument.”

The National Debate Tournament takes place next month, and Wilkins acknowledges he is starting to feel the effects of the season.

“There’s certainly a love-hate relationship that happens this time of year,” Wilkins said. “I have the passion for learning more about the topic, but also I hate losing a lot, and I hate seeing the other team be successful at my expense. I think that’s a lot of my motivation to do well.”

Harris agrees that debaters have to be very self-motivated and truly love debate to get the most out of the experience.

“It’s not something that comes with a lot of external reward,” he said. “There’s no crowd that greets you when your plane lands at the airport. You have to enjoy what you’re doing.”

Harris said his team has the talent to beat any other squad in the nation, but luck plays a certain role in victories just as it would in any sport.

“When you’re debating against the best teams in the country, anybody can win any given debate,” Harris said. “It’s just a matter of being prepared, executing your preparation and being lucky when things come down.”

— Edited by Taylor Lewis

Minnesota Urban Debate League Gets Summer Funding

2012-02-07T14:55:00.003-05:00

Some exciting news for MDAW - we have just been approved by Minnesota Office of Higher Education as a summer enrichment program. All students who qualify for free/reduced lunch can receive up to $1,000 to cover camp costs. Two important things to know: 1) If all students who qualify for free/reduced lunch apply for these funds then 2) We will be able to free up our private scholarship dollars for those with moderate incomes who don't qualify for free/reduced lunch. We will have the link to apply soon! Our mission: to get every student to camp who wants to be there. Spread the word - Let's do this!

https://www.facebook.com/MNUDL?sk=wall&filter=2

Pan American Debate Championship in Spanish 2012

2012-02-07T10:27:00.003-05:00

Pan American Universities Debate Championship 2012
March 24-25 2012, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA

English:
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/PanAmerican/Welcome.html
Spanish:
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/PanAmericano/

Universities or colleges may enter teams of two persons to compete. They must attend the same university and be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program. As a team they will represent their university or college.

All debates will be in Spanish. All debates will be in the WUDC format.

The winner of the finals will be named the PAN AMERICAN DEBATING CHAMPION.

Each team shall be charged an entry fee of $50. Fees can be waived if there is financial need and a compelling request is made. This will cover tournament costs, awards and a lunch.

Entrants should also bring judges who are fluent in Spanish.
1 team = no judges
2 teams = 1 judge
3 teams = 2 judges
4 teams = 3 judges
5 teams = 4 judges

Send questions as well as names of teams and judges to John Sadek: john.sadek@uvm.edu

Entries should be sent in as soon as possible. There is an entry limit for this tournament, and priority will be given to teams that enter early.

Hong Kong Schools Debating Championships Results

2012-02-07T10:04:00.002-05:00

Results for the 4th Senior Hong Kong Schools Debating Championships held at Chinese International School on the 4th, February 2012.

Team Tab

1. La Salle
2. St. Paul's Co-educational
3. CIS
3. SIS
4. Shatin
5. Renaissance
6. IS 2
7. Queen's
8. St. Joseph's
9. Island School 1
10. DGS Independent
11. Maryknoll Convent
12. St. Stephen's Girls
13. Island School 2
14. Heep Yunn
15. LPCUWC 2
16. American Intl
17. LPCUWC
18. WIS
19. GSIS 1
20. DBS
21. Wah Yan
22. GSIS 2
23. Ying Wa

Speaker Tab

1. Ben Allen (La Salle College) 73.33333333
2. Janelle Chang (Maryknoll College) 72.66666667
2. Jack Lau (Renaissance College) 72.66666667
4. Austin Lee (Shatin College) 72.25
5. Resa Ng (Chinese International School 1) 72
5. Pavan Hegde (South Island School) 72
5. Michelle Lam (German Swiss International School) 72
5. Tina Wong (Renaissance College) 72
9. Justin Lee (Shatin College) 71.75
10. Janice Leung (Chinese International School 1) 71.66666667
10. Aspen Wang (Chinese International School 2) 71.66666667
10. Albert Lam (Queen's College) 71.66666667
10. Ryan Tang (St. Paul's Co-educational College) 71.66666667
14. Sundeep Kaushal (American International School) 71.5
14. Anson Cheung (Diocesan's Girls' School Independent) 71.5
14. Amanda Sin (German Swiss International School) 71.5
14. Michelle Sum (Heep Yunn College) 71.5
14. Madhav Menon (South Island School) 71.5
14. Saharsha Karki (South Island School) 71.5
14. Claudio Ip (Wah Yan College) 71.5
21. Vivienne Gao (Chinese International School 1) 71.33333333
21. Allegra Bersani (Chinese International School 2) 71.33333333
21. Brian Wong (Island School 1) 71.33333333
21. Benson Lam (La Salle College) 71.33333333
21. Eunice Leung (Maryknoll College) 71.33333333
21. Charlotte Lam (St. Stephen's Girls' School) 71.33333333
21. Jonathan Chu (Ying Wa College) 71.33333333

Paul Lau | February 7, 2012 at 10:50 pm | Tags: 2012, CIS, Results, Sr HKSDC | Categories: HKSDC, Results, Sr HKSDC | URL: http://wp.me/pTmLZ-2iI

USU Announces 2012 Motions Committee & Process

2012-02-06T11:56:00.001-05:00

Instead of having a CA Team we will have a separate motions committee to come up with all motions for the US Universities Debating Championship to take place at WIllamette University April 13-15 2012.

http://willamette.edu/cla/debate/events/2011_2012/USU2012.html

USU 2012 MOTIONS COMMITTEE

Jan Hovden, Bates College
Shengwu Li, Stanford University
Jackson Miller, Linfield College
Sharmila Parmanand, University of Melbourne
Alfred Snider, University of Vermont, chair

PHASE ONE: Orientation, consider schedule, review previous motions, stat evidence from last USU. Feb 6-12

PHASE TWO: Sharing motions and thinking about what others suggest. Sharing wording changes and new motions sparked by this list. Feb 13-19

PHASE THREE: Create a fairly large group for consideration. Feb 20-26

PHASE FOUR: Testing for the motions on criteria we suggest. Feb 27-Mar 18

PHASE FIVE: Select a final pool. Mar 19-Apr 1

PHASE SIX: Final list (12) Apr 2-8

PHASE SEVEN: Catch up if needed Apr 9-12

IDEA Asia Youth Forum Call for Trainers

2012-02-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

IDEA is proud to announce the first ever Asia Youth Forum. Modeled after the IDEA Youth Forum (now in its 18th year) the Asia Youth Forum aims to bring together the most enthusiastic students and teachers, to learn debate skills and content around a specific theme. We are looking to build a team of regional trainers for this event, and if you are interested, please apply! The format used will be Karl Popper but capable trainers from other formats are encouraged to apply.

The details of the forum

Theme : Crossing Borders : Migration in Asia
Dates : 11th to 27th of May 2012
Location : Bangkok, Thailand
Trainer Application Deadline : 21st February 2012
Target audience : High school students from all over Asia
Trainer application process, criteria, expectations and benefits are detailed in the Call for Trainers and Application form (attached with this email and available on http://www.idebate.org/asiayouthforum)

We realize that the dates do clash with the UADC tournament. Unfortunately these dates were the most optimum for the high school debaters and educators that form the core of the Asia Youth Forum. We realize that some people who may be interested in training at the Youth Forum may wish to also attend the UADC and for this reason we are doing our best to accommodate those schedules by making necessary allowances. If you need to leave earlier to attend the UADC, indicate so on the Trainer Application form.

For questions or comments, email cnasuwan@idebate.org or loganimal@gmail.com. More details are also available on our website at http://www.idebate.org/asiayouthforum

The registration process for teams will open soon and you'll be getting another message when that happens =]

Cheers
Logan
Curriculum Director
IDEA Asia Youth Forum

World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship 2012

2012-02-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome

...to the official WIDPSC website.Please have a look around and enjoy as we count down to the next Worlds Championship to be held at Moreton Bay Boys' College March 29 - April 4 2012.

What is WIDPSC?

The World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship is an annual international English language debating and public speaking tournament for individual high school-level students representing different countries.

The Championship is represented by a diverse mix of high schools from countries as far reaching as the Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, England, South Africa, Lithuania, Pakistan, Cyprus, Argentina, Botswana, Israel, India, South Korea, Zimbabwe and Germany.

The Championship is an innovative five day event which requires students to interact and collaborate with like minded peers from diverse and different schools, cultural backgrounds and countries. Each participant must compete in four different events: Debate, Impromptu Speaking, Persuasive or After Dinner Speaking and Interpretive Reading.

The challenging environment provides an avenue for individual students not only to practise and test their oratorical skills but to value the importance of the art of expression; the ability to communicate and gain recognition and respect for our ideas and opinions is vitally important.

The Championship is aligned with the ideals of excellence, identity, and the art of expression, ie the ability to communicate and gain recognition and respect for ones ideas and opinions. It targets tomorrow's leaders - students in a global market who must learn to interact and collaborate with peers from diverse schools, cultural backgrounds and countries.

http://www.widpsc.com/

Global Debate Times 4 February 2012

2012-02-05T07:59:00.001-05:00

http://paper.li/asnider/1314018022

GLOBAL DEBATE TIMES

Follow the world of international debating in one convenient space. Stories are gathered from Global Debate Blog as well as Debate Video Blog for your enjoyment. This format may be easier for you to deal with than those blogspot blogs, and it happens here automatically.

http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com
http://debatevideoblog/blogspot.com

Also thanks to Colm Flynn, Paul Lau and other debate information champions we link to.
http://worlddebating.blogspot.com

alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Kansas court reverses high school debate coach's sexual molestation conviction

2012-02-05T07:25:00.002-05:00

Kansas court reverses high school debate coach's sexual molestation conviction

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: February 03, 2012 - 7:39 pm
Last Updated: February 03, 2012 - 7:39 pm

BUHLER, Kan. — The Kansas Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for a former high school debate coach convicted of sexually molesting a South Korean exchange student who was living in the man's home.

Seventy-year-old Richard Young, of Buhler, was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after being convicted in 2008 in Reno County District Court. Prosecutors said he fondled the 15-year-old student within days of the boy's arrival to attend Buhler High School.

District Attorney Keith Schroeder told KWCH he'll appeal Friday's ruling to the Kansas Supreme Court.

KWCH-TV reports (http://bit.ly/xKHY4A ) the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the conviction Friday, saying the trial judge improperly allowed evidence that Young had sexually abused his stepsons more than 30 years earlier.

District Attorney Keith Schroeder told KWCH he'll appeal Friday's ruling to the Kansas Supreme Court.
___

Information from: KWCH-TV, http://www.kwch.com

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/57e40f3d71b847d5a2156867d757d551/KS--Exchange-Student-Sex/

Madison Cup Offers Big Money Prizes, Unique Format

2012-02-04T16:58:00.001-05:00

January 15, 2012

On behalf of the James Madison Center, and JMU Debate we are pleased
and excited to invite you to compete for the Madison Cup at the 12th
annual “James Madison Commemorative Debate and Citizens Forum” on
Thursday, April 12th, 2012.

The James Madison Commemorative Debate and Citizens Forum is a unique
inter-collegiate debate competition, which combines the excitement and
challenge of tournament competition with the relevance and empowerment
of a public audience and audience participation.

We are pleased to continue our partnership with The Arthur N. Rupe
Foundation. The funding provided by the Rupe Foundation allows us to
provide prize money to the top ten teams, the top twelve debaters and
three teams qualifying for travel stipends.

2012 Topic: This House stands resolved that: The United States has an
obligation to support emerging democracies in the Middle East and
Northern Africa

Other cool and unique features:

 *$30,000.00 in prize money
 *Debating and competing in front of public audiences
 *No entry fees
 *Continental breakfast, snacks and lunch provided
 *Video web-cast of the final round
 *Great PR for your debate program

The tournament details are enclosed with this letter.  If you should
have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to hosting you in April!

Mike Davis, Ph. D.     Pete Bsumek, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Madison Cup Debates   Co-Director, Madison Cup Debates
School of Comm. Studies    School of Comm. Studies
James Madison University    James Madison University
(O) 540-568-7308     (O) 540-568-3386
(E-mail) davismk@jmu.edu    (E-mail) bsumekpk@jmu.edu



Background: The James Madison Center at James Madison University
sponsors the event in the spirit of James Madison's ideal that a
republican democracy is healthy only when informed and civil debate
thrives. The final round will be broadcast on the World Wide Web.
Last year’s debate featured teams from American University, City
University of New York, Claremont Colleges, Cornell University, George
Mason University, James Madison University, Liberty University,
Piedmont College, Southeastern College, Towson University, University
of Alaska, University of Mary Washington, University of Richmond,
University of Vermont, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wake Forest
University, and Yale University.

The Arthur N. Rupe Foundation has agreed to serve as the sponsor for
the 2012 Madison Cup and we are humbled by their continued commitment
to furthering public debate. They have agreed to maintain team and
student awards from last year, as well increasing travel stipends to a
total of $10,000 for teams that qualify through the application
process outlined below.

We are hopeful that this will be the strongest field that we have had
so please enter early.

Eligible Participants:  Each school may enter one two-person team.
The debate is open to undergraduate students who are in good standing
at their respective institutions.  Second teams will be considered on
a case-by-case basis, if space permits.

Competition Format:  The debate uses a “long table” format.  This is a
public debate.   Last year there was an audience of around 500 people
for the final round, preliminary rounds were smaller (audiences of
20-30 people).   The “long table” format features three (two person)
teams on each side of the question.  Speeches start with the
affirmative and alternate between the affirmative and negative
throughout the debate.  Teams are randomly assigned to sides and
speaker positions.  In other words, if a team is selected to be the
first affirmative, they will give the first two affirmative speeches
in the debate.  The first and last speeches on each side of the
question are uninterruptible.  Any member of the opposing team may
interrupt the speeches in the middle of the debate in order to ask the
speaker to yield to a question.  Speakers are not required to answer
these questions (although not answering questions may cause the
audience to think that the speaker is “dodgy”).  Please see the
example format below for more information.  You can view the 2010
final round at: http://www.jmu.edu/debate/madisoncup/2010.shtml

Jury Adjudication Procedure:  A three to seven member panel, or jury,
will adjudicate the debate.  Juries will be comprised of local
residents, students, professors, distinguished JMU alumni, and special
invited guests.  At the completion of the debate, the panel will
adjourn to discuss, deliberate and decide upon the winners as a group.
 The jury votes for (2-person) teams, not sides of the question.  In
other words, first place could go to an affirmative team, while second
place could be awarded to a negative team.

Tournament Procedures:

*Number of rounds: This year we will offer three preliminary rounds of
debate and one final round.

*Switch side debate: Each team will debate at least once on the
affirmative and once on the negative.

*Side & position:  Sides (affirmative or negative), and positions
(first affirmative team, first negative team, second affirmative team,
etc) for the preliminary debates will be determined by random drawing.

*Judging: Judges will rank teams 1-6 in each preliminary debate, and
assign each team quality points based on a one hundred point scale
(1-100).

*Advancing to the final round: The six teams with the lowest total
ranks will advance to the final round.  Quality points will be used to
break ties.

*Sides and Speaking Positions in the final round:  Sides and speaking
positions in the final round will be based on seeding after the
preliminary rounds.  For example, the first seeded team will choose
their “side and position,” then the second seed will choose “side and
position,” and so on.

Public Participation:  While the jury deliberates, the floor will be
opened for audience comments and speeches.  An award for the best
floor speech will be presented.  Local newspapers, politicians, and
the general public are invited.

Awards:  The first place team will leave with the Madison Cup—a very
nice traveling trophy. Once again this year there is a $15,000.00
purse of prize money.  All participants in the final round will be
recognized with awards.

  Prize money will be awarded as follows:
  1st place: $5000.00 donation to your debate program
  2nd place: $3000.00 donation to your debate program
  3rd place: $2000.00 donation to your debate program
  4th—6th place: $1000.00 donation to your debate program
7th-10th place: $500.00 donation to your debate program

Any student who participates in the final round will receive a prize
to be distributed in the form of a scholarship. The top team will
receive $2,000 per student and the remaining students in the final
round will receive $1,000. This is a doubling of student prize money
from last year.


Entry:  There are no entry fees. We can accommodate a field of 36
teams.  Entry is on a first come, first serve basis.  The first 18
teams to enter are guaranteed a spot in the field, after that we will
accept teams, if we can generate a field divisible by 4 or 6.
Deadline for entry is March 15th.  This is necessary so we can
determine how many debates there will be in each round.  Send school
info, team info (first and last names of debaters) and requests for
additional teams to:  Dr. Mike Davis, davismk@jmu.edu

Travel Stipend: This year we are pleased to offer a travel stipend of
$2,000 to three teams that are able to demonstrate that they would add
significantly to the quality and diversity of teams participating in
this year’s competition. In addition to these stipends we are also
able to offer and additional $4,000 in smaller stipends to schools
that are on the East Coast or would only require partial assistance.
To complete your application for travel stipends please visit:
http://jmu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3ZUZCKc3WFPUype

Your application should be submitted by March 1st. We will use the
following criteria when deciding which teams are awarded the stipend:
• Quality of Team- What is the team’s competitive success? Do they
have prior public debate experience?
• Diversity- How does the team add to the diversity of the event?
Things such as regional, institution, debate format will all be
considered.
• Budget – What level of funding does your administration provide? How
many students does that budget currently serve? Would the team be able
to attend the competition otherwise?
• Previous Competitor – Is your school new to the competition? Will
participation in this event/receiving the stipend assist in future
development of your debate program?

Lodging: We have reserved a block of hotel rooms at two area hotels.
Both rates will be available until March 18th.

The Best Western Inn.  The phone number for the Best Western is
540-433-6089.  The rate for 1-4 people per room is $56.00 + tax.  When
calling the Best Western Inn please mention that you are attending the
Madison Cup debates at JMU.

The Comfort Inn. The phone number for The Comfort Inn is (540)
433-6066. The rate is 1-4 people per room is $79 + tax. When calling
please mention that you are attending the Madison Cup debates at JMU.

Travel:  James Madison University is located in Harrisonburg, VA,
which is two hours southwest of Washington, D.C. on I-81.  If you plan
to fly consider Dullas and Washington National/Reagan Airports in
Washington DC (2 hours away), Richmond airport (2 hours away),
Charlottesville airport (one hour away) and the Shenandoah Regional
Airport (15 minutes away).  We will arrange transport from Shenandoah
and Charlottesville, we’ll do our best to work with you from the
others.


Schedule:

Thursday, April 12th, 2012:  James Madison Commemorative Debate and
Citizens Forum

8:00 AM: Pick up at the Best Western or Warsaw Street Parking Deck
8:00AM-9:00AM  registration and Announcements
9:30 AM: Preliminary debate round 1
11:00 AM Preliminary debate round 2
1:00 PM Lunch
2:00PM: Preliminary debate round 3 (announcement of the final round
participants)
5:00 PM: Final round (followed by the presentation of the Madison Cup)









Example Debate Format: The 2004 final round proceeded as follows.

1st Affirmative Speech (Wake Forest #1): (4 minutes) uninterrupted

1st Negative Speech (George Mason #1): (4 minutes) uninterrupted

2nd Affirmative Speech (Wake Forest  #2): (5 minutes):  The first and
last minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes
of the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

2nd Negative Speech (George Mason #2): (5 minutes): The first and last
minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes of
the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

3rd Affirmative Speech (Georgetown # 1): (5 minutes): The first and
last minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes
of the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

3rd Negative Speech (James Madison #1): (5 minutes): The first and
last minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes
of the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

4th Affirmative Speech (Georgetown #2): (5 minutes) The first and last
minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes of
the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

4th Negative Speech (James Madison #2): (5 minutes) The first and last
minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes of
the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a
question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

5th Affirmative Speech (Mary Washington #1):  (5 minutes) The first
and last minute of the speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th
minutes of the speech any opposition debater may ask the speaker to
yield to a question.  The speaker may accept, or decline the question.

5th Negative Speech (Towson #1): The first and last minute of the
speech are uninterruptible.  In the 2nd-4th minutes of the speech any
opposition debater may ask the speaker to yield to a question.  The
speaker may accept, or decline the question.

6th Affirmative Speech (Mary Washington #2):  (4 minutes) Uninterrupted

6th Negative Speech (Towson University #2):  (4 minutes) Uninterrupted

Romney's New Debate Coach Gets Cut - Too Much Publicity

2012-02-04T07:43:00.002-05:00

Mitt Romney Dumps His Acclaimed New Debate Coach

POSTED BY JOE GANDELMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF IN POLITICS.
FEB 4TH, 2012

Political talking heads on cable such as MBNBC’s Joe Scarborough expressed shocked at thisNew York Times piece that ran January 28 which basically had a bunch of unnamed sources trumpeting how former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s advisors were so smart and shrewd in turning Romney’s seemingly bumbling campaign around, starting at the last Florida debate. Scarborough and others argued that the aides involved in the piece should be fired for going public to take credit for a candidate’s improved performance.

Now it seems as if the Romney campaign has indeed parted company with someone — but it truly does sound as if this person is a “fall guy.” And it’s the key person that analysts of both parties felt helped Romney sharpen up his debate game: his new debate coach. The Politico:

A GOP operative who won plaudits for bolstering Mitt Romney’s recent debate performances is not being retained by the front-runner’s campaign, an apparent victim of internal tensions over staff receiving too much credit for the candidate’s comeback, POLITICO has learned.

Brett O’Donnell, a former top aide to Michele Bachmann, has been paid for his work assisting Romney in the crucial Florida debates but was not offered a formal role with the campaign as he expected, according to Republican sources familiar with the situation.

O’Donnell received phone calls late last week from two Romney advisers — campaign manager Matt Rhoades and informal adviser Charlie Black — where it was made clear that there was severe discomfort about how his role was being portrayed in the media and that he ought to tread lightly.

This most likely refers to the fact that immediately after the debate talking heads on all of the cable networks noted that Romney had a new debate coach. And that was a political fact. The ones I heard did not diss Romney, but rather, suggested his new coach helped him better organize his ideas and responses to some lingering questions.

Then on Saturday, when The New York Times posted a Sunday story online detailing how Romney’s campaign targeted Newt Gingrich in Florida that again mentioned O’Donnell’s role with the debates, chief Romney strategist Stuart Stevens called O’Donnell. Stevens asked the adviser to contact Jim Rutenberg, one of the Times reporters who wrote the piece, and request that the reporter change the depiction of O’Donnell’s role in what would become a front-page article, according to Republican sources.
The Times altered some of the language relating to O’Donnell in the final story — he was mentioned briefly as only a “debate adviser” — but O’Donnell’s name was not removed. O’Donnell was not quoted in the story.

The campaign was correctly concerned that the impression in the story was that Romney was a kind of pliable political commodity who could only be saved by a smart advisor. Fair enough. But the campaign showed a bit of a lack of media smarts in thinking requesting all references to a name if that name was also mentioned by OTHER sources for the article.

You have to wonder: when did they fall off the turnip truck?

FYI a reporter might repeat might agree to remove a quote if the person quoted asks; but if on cable immediately after the debate the coach’s name was mentioned (IT WAS) and if other sources had mentioned him (they most likely did) they would not remove the reference. Reporters and editors don’t operate like Sean Hannity, whether the news subject is a D or R: they report information, they don’t do reports to explicitly help or hurt a candidate. Their goal isn’t to paper over or to destroy — but to report.

Reached on the phone by POLITICO Friday, O’Donnell declined to comment.

In other words, he wants a future in Republican politics.

Stevens would only say: “I have a great deal of respect for Brett and would welcome the opportunity to work together again down on the road.”

A head of cabbage at Vons grocery store on Adams Avenue will read that quote and say to the tomato beside him: “Hey, this is spin!” And the carrots would agree.

But, according to the Romney campaign last week, O’Donnell was already part of the team.

A former Liberty University debate coach, O’Donnell worked for John McCain’s 2008 campaign and was a senior aide to Bachmann up until her withdrawal from the campaign last month. He’s well-regarded in the Republican operative world and is not generally known as a self-promoter.

As someone who was glued to the cable networks, analysts mentioned his name. Not to sing his praises over and over but AS A FACT: that

Mitt Romney had a new debate coach who was highly regarded who had helped Romney organize his thoughts and reponses for the debates. The difference between Romney with O’Donnell’s help and without was evident for all to see.
Now, though, sources familiar with his thinking say he feels like he has become the fall guy after both senior aides and Romney himself expressed ire about the grab for credit generally and the much-buzzed-about Sunday Times story specifically.

O’Donnell’s understanding was that, following the Florida primary this past Tuesday, he would be tendered a formal offer to advise Romney on debates going forward.

But GOP sources say he was abruptly informed on Wednesday that he would be paid for his work to date but would not retained in any formal capacity.

If you add the CNN report on this it would appear that O’Donnell is indeed being made a fall guy: the Romney campaign is not going after the sources for the Times story, but removing O’Donnell from the campaign since he has gotten too much credit:

But a source inside the campaign told CNN Friday that O’Donnell’s role “was vastly overblown.”

O’Donnell was present in the spin room after the CNN debate in Jacksonville giving credit to Romney for his preparation and work habits.

That night, O’Donnell told CNN that Romney realized after his South Carolina primary loss that he needed to “make some changes strategically” in his onstage message.

“He knew he had to engage Newt more and be better on a couple of answers,” O’Donnell explained. “He worked really hard to get them right, and tonight I saw a vast improvement.”

But in the days after the Florida debates, some Romney advisers groused privately that O’Donnell was being given too much credit for Romney’s performances, and proactively emailed reporters to downplay his role in the campaign.

O’Donnell did not respond to an email seeking comment.

So what do we have here?

The Romney campaign has sent a message to other on board. Keep your mouths shut when it comes to what goes into the campaign if the candidate is improving. That is the message Scarborough and others have suggested (Scarborough said on the air that he’d tell those advisors to use the clip for their next job and that they were fired.)
The news sources for the Times piece are likely still on the Romney campaign, so Scarborough’s desire to see heads roll of those who were touting how they turned it around are still there and they got off scott free.
O’Donnell it would appear has indeed been made a scapegoat. But this is done in a way that is unlikely to help Romney. Taken together, these two stories don’t suggest a campaign where the candidate has been denigrated by advisors and moved swiftly to clean house but campaign that wanted to get rid of the person getting credit for the candidate’s improvement in debates.
The debates are almost over but not totally. Hopefully Romney has learned all he needs to now, or if he has one coming up he can find another debate prep pro because O’Donnell did make a difference.
It’s yet one more story that really doesn’t give you the impression that this campaign run by smooth pros. Yes, to be sure, it is a campaign with tons of money — enough to obliterate its opponents, and in November by the time the Kock Brothers throw in a big batch of millions enough to pose a serious challenge to President Barack Obama, no matter how much the economy has improved. But they are rough around the edges and have now lost someone who helped the candidate smooth out some of his debate roughness.

http://themoderatevoice.com/137412/mitt-romney-dumps-his-acclaimed-new-debate-coach/

United Asian Debating Championship 2012 Website Launched

2012-02-04T07:15:00.000-05:00

Dear Asian Debate Community,

We are pleased to announce the launch of the MMU UADC 2012 website.
Please refer to the registration page on the website for very
important details on the registration process.

Account registration starts: February 8
Slots request opens: February 14 (Valentine's Day)

Here is the link to the website: http://mmuuadc2012.org/

See you all at MMU UADC 2012!

Arisha "Alexx" Arifin
Convener
MMU UADC 2012
convener@mmuuadc2012.org

Issues Spill Out in Bosnia Political Debate on "Genocide" Claim

2012-02-03T19:15:00.003-05:00

RS president, LDP leader spar in TV debate

SOURCE: B92, TANJUG

BELGRADE -- Republic of Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik and LDP party leader Čedomir Jovanović took part in a televised debate in Belgrade on Wednesday.

Their debate came after a controversy caused last week by Jovanović, when he addressed a party gathering to assert that the Serb entity in Bosnia was "created on genocide".

”The RS was created in 1992, three years before Srebrenica,” Dodik pointed out today, dismissing the accusation.

Dodik added that he "did not come to fight with the LDP leader but to explain it to him that his claims that the RS was created on genocide had insulted the people in the RS".

Jovanović remarked that Tanjug news agency headquarters in downtown Belgrade, from which the program was broadcast, was "secured by police as if the national handball team was playing”.

“Who are the police protecting us from,” he asked Dodik.

Dodik once again said that the RS was created in 1992 and that Muslim units commanded by Naser Orić committed horrific crimes against Serbs in the area, before the events in Srebrenica in 1995.

“I never admitted that genocide was committed in Srebrenica and I never will. I only noted that the Hague Tribunal reached a verdict in the case of General (Radoslav) Krstić, convicting him of genocide in Srebrenica in 1995, therefore I only noted what was written in the court ruling,” he stressed.

The RS president also said that he never denied that a crime had been committed in Srebrenica but that he would always deny allegations that the RS was a genocidal creation.

Jovanović responded that his statement that the RS had been created on genocide was a part of his "concern for his own country".

“I am taking care of my country that is three months away from the elections. We have the right to formulate and open disputable issues in the campaign so Serbia could finally stop being the source of all problems in the region,” he stressed.

The LDP leader recalled the case of Serb Srđan Aleksić who was killed while trying to save his Bosniak friend during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He pointed out that Aleksić was a Serb that all Serbs and Bosniaks admired, unlike "various Karadžićs and Mladićs".

“I wonder whether Serbia is dealing with the Republic of Srpska only in order to compensate for its failures in Kosovo,” said.

He and Dodik then continued to discuss the beginning of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the first war crime was committed and the way the RS was formed based on the Dayton Accords.

Dodik also pointed out that he loved Serbia.

“I love Serbia, I love it better than Sarajevo, which maybe isn’t the case with you, Mr. Jovanović,” he stated.

The RS president called on the LDP leader to remember his roots, alluding to the fact that Jovanović’s mother was from Bosnia.

“Please do not remind me where my mother is from,” the LDP leader replied.

“There is no mentioning of genocide in the relevant documents. The Dayton Accords qualified the war as an unfortunate conflict. The RS was formed in 1992 when Bosnia-Herzegovina was not internationally recognized. Propaganda during the war said that Serbs were the aggressors and it continues now. The RS cannot be reduced to a single event. 3,500 Serbs were murdered there when Naser Orić entered the UN safe zones. If we say it that way, we need to take all conflicts into account,“ Dodik explained.
No recognition

Milorad Dodik also addressed the issue of Kosovo's status, to say that Bosnia-Herzegovina will never recognize the unilateral declaration of independence made four years ago by ethnic Albanians.

He also announced he would northern, Serb parts of Kosovo in his capacity as RS president - "in case he receives an invitation to do s".

Dodik also said that he supported Serbian government bodies and that Serbia cannot be expected to renounce a part of its territory.

When asked whether he would visit northern Kosovo, Dodik said that he would do so as RS president in case he receives such an invitation.

Dodik said that if this should occur, he would like to confer "with certain political structures".

"Of course I will go to northern Kosovo," Dodik said.
"Bosnia will break up"

Milorad Dodik also commented on the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina to say that this country - made up of two entities - would break up into its constituent parts "some day, in the same way as Czechoslovakia"

The the RS president added the Serbian government was not sufficiently engaged in implementing the Dayton Agreement, of which it is a signatory.

Dodik said Belgrade has good relations with the the RS, but also has a responsibility because it signed the Dayton Agreement.

"I think it is not involved enough in implementing the Dayton Agreement. As long as the agreement exists, Serbia has an obligation to defend it," Dodik said, pointing out he considethe RS Belgrade's efforts to date minimal and insufficient.

The the RS president told Jovanovic that not even former member of the Bosnia Presidency Haris Silajdžić, who was in favor of abolishing the RS, called it a genocidal formation, as some in Belgrade are doing.

"Haris Silajdžić, who called for the abolishment of the RS, was not brave enough to call it a genocidal formation, rather he spoke of crime, and you speak of genocide here in Belgrade," Dodik said.

The the RS president also said Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia are very influential in Bosnia and their goal is to make a unified Bosnia.

"The influence of these countries is divided in Bosnia and it is aimed at making a unified Bosnia, with one president and government," Dodik said.

He said this scenario is impossible and that the current state of affairs the RS could be maintained until Bosnia is dissolved.

Asked if Bosnia could break up into two countries, Dodik said it is possible and that looking at where things are headed today "it will dissolve one day."

"Bosnia has never lived as a state - if it ever was one, that was before the Ottoman Empire, and later it survived within Austria-Hungary, two Yugoslavias...," Dodik said.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=02&dd=01&nav_id=78573

Sciences Po IV 2012: 13-14 April

2012-02-02T08:18:00.000-05:00

Sciences Po IV 2012: 13-14 April!

Sciences Po IV is back and MUCH BIGGER and BETTER!

Sciences Po Paris (Le Havre Campus) presents the Fourth Sciences Po IV, promising you two days of great debates and great fun AND a BRILLIANT CA team!

CA Team:
Jack Watson
Isabelle Fischer
Niall Sherry
Anne Valkering

About the IV:
• 7 minute speeches
• 5 preliminary rounds
• Separate ESL breaks to semis
• Open breaks to semis
• All meals provided
• Wine and Cheese!
• Two socials
• Yakka!

Registration:
The registration fee is 25 euros/person (two teams per university ONLY)
Cap - 48 teams, so secure your spot NOW before they are filled!
Adjudicator: n-1 rule applies. Fees does not apply.
Crash is guaranteed for both, Debaters and Adjudicators.
*Please Register at the following link:
Registration will be open till 15th March.
*Pre-payment is required to guarantee a spot. Please send your receipt after the bank transfer to scpoiv@gmail.com.
Refer to our website for more details.

Schedule:

Friday 13th April 2012

12:00 – 14:00 Registration and briefing
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:15 – 16:15 Debate: Round 1
16:15 – 16:30 Break
16:30 – 18:30 Round 2
18:30 – 18:45 Break
18:45 – 20:45 Round 3
21:00 – 22:00 Dinner
23:00: Social

Saturday 14th April 2012

10:00 – 12:00 Round 4
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 15:00 Round 5
15:00 – 15:15 Break
15:30 – 17:30 Semi-Finals
17:30 – 18:00 Snacks
18:00 – 20:00 Final
22:30 – 23:00 Awards, dinner and closing ceremony
23:30: Social

How to get to Le Havre:

Train:
When you reach Paris, travel to Gare St. Lazare and take the train to Le Havre (a 2-hours ride).

Ferry:
Take a ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre (8 hours)

Please let us know when you arrive at the station or the port, so we can pick you up!

Contact Numbers:
+33646887658 - Kunal
+33762459188 - Mane
+33659493928 - Victor
+33603511335 - Zhen Jie

For more information, please refer to:
Website: www.sciencespoiv2012.webs.com
Email: scpoiv@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/326177244059058/
_________

Thanks,
Kunal Sehgal

Belgrade Euros 2012 Registration Details

2012-02-02T08:06:00.002-05:00

Dear debaters of Europe,

The moment that you've been waiting for is almost here. Registration for all institutions that wish to participate in Belgrade EUDC 2012 will open on Wednesday, February 29, at 12:00 CET (Central European time). That is 11:00 London/Dublin/Lisbon, 12:00 Belgrade/Paris/Amsterdam/Berlin, 13:00 Athens/Ankara/Tallinn and 14:00 Moscow/Doha time.

Every institution will be able to register a maximum of 3 teams and, as with previous Championships, this phase operates on a first come first serve basis with one team slot reserved per country. We will maintain our team cap of 220, as announced in the bidding process. Registration will be done on an n-1 basis (so institutions will be able to register 1 team and 0 judges, 2 teams and 1 judge or 3 teams and 2 judges).

During the first phase of registration we will be asking you for your institution name, country, delegate representative name, contact e-mail and number of teams and judges that you are registering.

The registration process for independent adjudicators will open on Wednesday, March 7. Further details about this process, including information on how to apply for adjudicator subsidies, will be released on March 1.

As for the rest of the registration process, all successfully registered institutions will have to pay a non-refundable deposit of €65 per participant by March 23. Full payment of the resulting balance is due by April 23. We will be asking all successfully registered institutions to provide us with their final delegate details by May 15.

Watch our website at www.eudc2012.org for a full registration guide, including screenshots of the registration forms, to be released February 23. You can contact registration@eudc2012.org if you have any questions regarding the process.

In the meantime - keep your fingers in shape ;)

On behalf of the Belgrade EUDC 2012 Organizing Committee,

Selena Torlakovic and Marija Simic
Registration Officers

Bratislava Schools Debating Competition 2012

2012-02-01T13:51:00.003-05:00

Dear debating community,

Slovak Debate Association is glad to officially invite you to second edition of Bratislava Schools Debating Competition 2012 which will be held in April in Slovakia's capital city Bratislava. Since the invitation was published just before WSDC South Africa, we have decided to postpone deadline for registration to 29th February 2012. Although we would like to kindly ask you to register as soon as possible. You can find more information at bsdc.sda.sk .

If you have any questions, contact us at bsdc@sda.sk

Hope to see you in April!

Zuzana Vargová

Chief Organizer

Slovak Debate Association

tel SK: +421 907 471 738

tel CZ: +420 608 632 047

vargova@sda.sk

Urban Debate News Winter 2012

2012-02-01T13:45:00.001-05:00

National Association for Urban Debate Leagues

Urban Debate News

Winter 2012

Urban debate is growing! This year our urban debate leagues are reporting record-breaking participation at their tournaments. Congratulations to the leagues in Boston, Dallas, and Nashville. In the last few months, these leagues have added more than 250 high school students to the urban debate network. Today, 3,000 high school students compete in urban debate leagues in nineteen cities. Our leagues are also teaching debate to more than 900 middle school students. You can read more about our leagues and their work in "Around the Leagues."

Here at the NAUDL we believe that urban debate must continue to grow. Under our new strategic plan, our goal is, in the next five years, to triple the number of urban debaters. See the summary and link to Preparing Urban Youth to Lead in the 21st Century. We were reminded why urban debate is so important a few months ago when Dr. Briana Mezuk published her newest study. In her first study, published several years ago, Dr. Mezuk found that urban debate leads to higher grades and test scores and better graduation rates. In her second study, published in October, she found that urban debaters outperformed non-debaters, even after controlling for the self-selection bias. See the article "Urban Debaters Better Prepared for College" for a link to the complete study.

Every year we celebrate urban debate in April at our Annual Dinner and National Championship Tournament. The NAUDL staff is busy preparing for the 2012 Urban Debate National Championship weekend in Washington, D.C. April 12-15th. We look forward to hosting urban debate's top debaters and their coaches. We hope you will join us in April in Washington D.C.

In this Issue

2012 Urban Debate National Championship

Preparing Urban Youth to Lead in the 21st Century

Urban Debaters Better Prepared for College than Their Peers

Around the Leagues

Urban Debate in the News

Special Thanks

2012 Urban Debate National Championship

Urban debate champions and coaches, mark your calendars for the 2012 Urban Debate National Championship tournament weekend. This year's tournament will take place April 14-15^th at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The tournament kicks off Thursday, April 12^th, with the NAUDL Annual Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel with keynote speaker Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education and NAUDL award recipient Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (Major General, USMC Ret.) and NASA Administrator. Friday morning we present The Great Space Debate at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, a public urban debate featuring two of the nation's top urban debate teams, who will debate the 2012 resolution in front of a distinguished panel of judges. Georgetown University hosts the National Championship tournament which begins at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning, with the final round scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Watch the NAUDL home page for all the latest information for debaters, coaches, league directors, sponsors and guests.

Preparing Urban Youth to Lead in the 21st Century - The NAUDL Strategic Plan

At its fall board meeting, the NAUDL Governing Board approved the 2012-2016 strategic plan. The plan lays out organizational strategies and tactics in support of the NAUDL's single primary goal: to triple the number of students participating in competitive policy debate in urban debate leagues. NAUDL Executive Director Linda Listrom shared details of the plan to a national audience via a webinar on December 1^st. Links to the webinar and supporting materials are available on the NAUDL home page at www. urbandebate.org.

Urban Debaters Better Prepared for College than Their Peers

Urban students who participate in a competitive policy debate program are more likely to graduate from high school and achieve college-readiness benchmarks than their non-debating peers. The findings are featured in the report "Impact of participating in a policy debate program on academic achievement: Evidence from the Chicago Urban Debate League" published in Education Research and Reviews (September 2011).

The study tracked, over a ten-year period, the academic performance of debaters in the Chicago Debate League. Two key findings from the new report show that 90% of the students who debated graduated, as compared to 75% of comparable students and also that participation in debate is associated with an increased likelihood of meeting college-readiness indicators by two metrics: ACT scores and cumulative GPA. Earlier analysis of the study results showed ACT scores were notably higher in English and reading. In this new report, Dr. Mezuk and team show that debaters were more likely to achieve college-readiness benchmarks in all four ACT subject areas: reading, English, math and science - evidence that debate, and the skills it hones, helps students achieve better overall learning outcomes in all subject areas than their non-debating peers.

Around the Leagues

Bay Area

The Bay Area Urban Debate League has launched a public debate program, the Leading with Debate Fellowship (LDF). Every week, LDF members meet and work with BAUDL staff and volunteers on skill-building and deepening knowledge about the political systems around them. By demonstrating their skills in public debates, the LDF hopes to build participation and recruit support for urban debate through increased exposure to local communities and through the media.

Boston

The Boston Debate League continues its strong growth with more than 500 students having debated in at least one tournament in the first half of the 2011-2012 schol year, up from 279 at the same time last year. In its first year, the middle school league averages 22 students per team and has added a JV division. The BDL's Evidence Based Argumentation (EBA) initiative continues to grow and teachers and administrators report that EBA improves academic culture in the school and creates more student-centered classrooms.

Chicago

Top debaters from 12 Chicago high schools competed in the 2011 Performance Trust Public Debates on the U.S. Economy on December 9th and 10th, 2011. The tournament, co-sponsored by Performance Trust Capital Partners and Attucks Asset Management, featured round-robin debates on two resolutions: (1) the United States is now on an irreversible course of long-term economic decline; and (2) the United States federal government should invest substantial spending in a new stimulus program. The top two teams squared off in the Championship Debate, while third and fourth place were determined through the Runner-up Debate.

Dallas

With 100% of Dallas Urban Debate Alliance (UDA) seniors graduating and going to college last school year, the Dallas Independent School District asked the Dallas UDA to expand their program to reach more students. With its high school expansion and new robust middle school league, the Dallas UDA has nearly tripled the number of schools with active debate teams. Only half way through the season, there are already nearly triple the number of students participating in urban debate in Dallas.

Dean Catherine E. Smith talks with Denver Urban Debaters at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2011

Denver

Fifty Denver Urban Debate League juniors and seniors participated in the second annual Upperclassman Reception at DU Sturm College of Law on January 17, 2012. The capstone event was a lecture with famed civil rights attorney Morris Dees. The students met with college debate coaches and undergraduate admissions representatives and were able to participate in law classes alongside first year law students.

Manual High School senior and urban debater Teague Harrison was awarded a $10,000 Student of Integrity scholarship from the Denver Better Business Bureau.

Houston

A report published by the Houston Independent School District's Department of Research and Accountability shows that Houston Urban Debate League programming increases students' grades in core courses and improves attendance rates while decreasing incidents of discipline problems. This report demonstrates that at-risk students, those served by HUDL, gain significant academic and socio-emotional benefits from participating in debate. This report confirms what debate supporters have known all along: debate changes students' lives. The Houston League also has a 99.6% graduation rate, demonstrating the important value that debate brings to students.

Nashville

In its second year of programming, Nashville Debate has hosted four tournaments during the Fall semester, including a season-opener in August that had as many participants as competed during the entire 2010-2011 school year! Nashville Debate also has an active group of volunteers who work with the program. Participating students are coached and judged by top attorneys, business people and educators in Nashville. Debaters and coaches benefit from the expertise provided by former debaters. These individuals serve as mentors to the growing ranks of new judges, supporting them as they navigate the world of policy debate.

New York

Metropolitan Corporate Academy seniors Stephon Adams & Devonte Escoffery qualified for the 2011 Tournament of Champions. Seniors Damiyr Davis and Miguel Feliciano (Beacon School) also qualified for the Tournament and were the top seed after preliminary rounds (undefeated at 7-0). Davis also became the first African American to win the Top Speaker at the Tournament. Two NYCUDL middle school teams also made history by breaking into quarterfinals at the 2011 National Junior Forensic League Championship and Petergaye Laine of the Bronx School for Law took Third Place Best Speaker in the nation.

Urban Debate in the News

BAUDL 2010 Alum Rashid Campbell

Bay Area Urban Debate League - The Norman Transcript, Urban Experiences Give Debaters Unique Insight - BAUDL alum Rashid Campbell and his Oklahoma University debate partner Dominique Baker discuss their debate experiences and styles and their goal to be the first black team to win the NDT title. Campbell speaks proudly of his time in the BAUDL.

Boston Debate League - Jamaica Plain Patch, You Learn How to Fight with Your Words - Coverage of a Boston Debate League middle school tournament that includes quotes from students as well as volunteer judges, this article shows how urban debate positively impacts the local community in Jamaica Plain.

Detroit Urban Debate League - WXYZ ABC Channel 7, Program Director's Only Birthday Wish is to Help Student Debaters - DUDL Executive Director Holly Reiss spread the news of her birthday wish fundraising campaign with help from the Detroit Channel 7 evening news! The story profiles debaters from the Detroit League and the benefits of debate.

Minnesota Urban Debate League - KARE11, Fast Talkers Rule in High School Debate - Fast talk and the academic benefits of urban debate were highlighted in a recent television news story on the Minnesota Urban Debate League. Exec Director Amy Cram Helwich proudly notes that for the last three years, MUDL debaters achieved a 100% high school graduation rate, and 100% acceptance to college.

Special Thanks to Our Supporters

Jennifer Wade for hosting a reception in her home for NAUDL Executive Director Linda Listrom providing an opportunity to introduce the NAUDL's work.

Jeff Pash for hosting a breakfast in New York for NAUDL Executive Director Linda Listrom to share information about the NAUDL Strategic Plan with supporters and friends.

Matt Nichols and the New York members of the NAUDL's Young Professionals Leadership Board for soliciting support for the New York City Urban Debate League.

We owe our success and achievements to all the generous supporters of urban debate across the country! Thank you!

Debatijada Open 2012 in Mostar in April

2012-02-01T06:53:00.002-05:00

April 26 at 12:00pm until April 28 at 12:00pm

Description

Mostar University Debate Club is proudly inviting you to join "Debatijada Open 2012" and experience unique beauty and soul of Mostar.
7th edition of traditional BP format tournament Debatijada in Mostar will be this year for the first time held in English and open for debaters across the Europe. It is also a great opportunity to prepare and improve your debating skills for upcoming EUDC Belgade 2012!

We proudly announce our adjudicators team:
-Laura Horvat ( WUDC ESL finalist, Belgrade open & Athena finalist)
-Filip Dobranić (WUDC ESL best speaker, WUDC EFL best speaker, EUDC champion)
-Maja Nenadovic (Founder of several debating societies across Europe)
-Crt Podlogar ( Belgrade open 2011 champion, Athens open 2011 & IDAS 2010 finalist. Zagreb Open best speaker)
-Milan Krstanovic (WUDC EFL finalist, Athens 2011 best speaker)
-Nebojsa Kolundzic (WUDC EFL finalist, Split 2009 champion)
-Predrag Petricevic (WUDC EFL finalist, Athens 2009 finalist)
-Giorgi Veselin,
-Damir Barbir

Registration fee is 25 € per person and includes:
- Accommodation with breakfast/two nights - Hotel "Kriva Ćuprija",
- Lunches and dinners,
- Materials and evening events
The tournament will consist out of 4 preliminary rounds, semi-finals and finals which we plan to organize on secret location!

Registration will start on 10th of February and closed on 1st of April. You will be required to fulfill registration form and send it on debatijadaopen@gmail.com. Team cap - 32 teams.

Further detailed information will be announced soon! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us here on FB, or at our e-mail address.
Hope to see you all in our beautiful city of Mostar! We will make sure it will be one of your best experiences ever!

organization team:
-Martina Raguz
-Sanja Zadro
-Marin Vican
-Marko Pandza
-Daniela Maric
-Anita Primorac
-Marko Kovacevic

https://www.facebook.com/events/308300162550864/

Northwestern Tops USA Policy Poll for January

2012-01-31T19:37:00.000-05:00

USA Policy Debate National Top 25 -- as of 1/29

Team (First Place Votes) – Points Per Eligible Ballot (Previous Position)

1. Northwestern BK (19) - 25.00 (1)
2. Loyola EM - 23.44, H/L 23.50 (5)
3. Georgetown AM - 23.44, H/L 23.44 (2)
4. Gonzaga KM - 21.83 (4)
5. Northwestern LV - 20.65 (6)
6. Kansas KK - 19.42 (10)
7. Northwestern BM - 18.28 (8)
8. Oklahoma GL - 17.16 (7)
9. Michigan AL - 16.39 (9)
10. Cal GW - 16.28 (15)
11. Baylor CM - 14.89 (12)
12. Harvard KT - 12.63 (11)
13. Emporia St WW - 12.16 (13)
14. Georgia LL - 11.94 (17)
15. Kansas PW - 8.95 (NR)
16. Samford BL - 8.89 (23)
17. Harvard DT - 7.16 (NR)
18. Wake Forest BC - 6.50 (14)
19. Wake Forest MM - 6.00 (NR)
20. Michigan St HR - 5.67 (NR*)
21. Towson EM - 5.33 (20)
22. Texas Dallas DR - 3.89, H/L 3.64 (19)
23. Georgetown DE - 3.89, H/L 3.52 (NR)
24. Liberty GW - 3.79 (16)
25. Emory CP - 3.37 (NR)

Dropping out: No. 18 Missouri St FR, No. 21 Wake Forest LQ, No. 22 Wichita St BM, No. 24 Dartmouth ER, No. 25 Texas GM.

Also receiving votes: Dartmouth ER, Harvard BS, Mary Washington MM, Missouri St FR, Texas GM, Wake Forest BM, Wake Forest LQ, West Georgia DF, Wichita St BM.

Top Schools (by total points to that school per eligible ballot):

1. Northwestern - 63.93
2. Kansas - 28.37
3. Georgetown - 27.33
4. Loyola - 23.44
5. Gonzaga - 21.83
6. Harvard - 19.95
7. Oklahoma - 17.16
8. Michigan - 16.39
9. Cal - 16.28
10. Baylor - 14.89
11. Wake Forest - 13.35
12. Emporia St - 12.16
13. Georgia - 11.94
14. Samford - 8.89
15. Michigan St - 5.67
16. Towson - 5.33
17. Texas Dallas - 3.89
18. Liberty - 3.79
19. Emory - 3.37
20. Missouri St - 2.68
21. Wichita State - 1.63
22. Texas - 1.05
23. Dartmouth - 0.53
24. West Georgia - 0.17
25. Mary Washington - 0.11

WUDC Berlin Registration Details

2012-01-31T10:34:00.001-05:00

Dear debaters and adjudicators of the world,

The Berlin Debating Union cordially invites you to be part of the
33rd World Universities Debating Championship, held from
December 27th 2012 to January 4th 2013 in Berlin, Germany.

The registration process opens on March 31st 2012; 400 teams á
two speakers as well as 300 adjudicators will be admitted.

Each speaker and adjudicator will be requested to pay a registration
fee of 400.00 EUR and to cover their costs of travel.

To find out more about locations, schedule, registration, payment
etc., visit www.wudcberlin.com.

We are looking forward to welcome you in Berlin.

Registration

Cap: 400 teams and 300 adjudicators; 3 teams per institution; n-1 applies
Registration fees: 400 EUR per participant, 800 EUR per Observer
(Depending on the level of funding it is very likely that the registration fee will be reduced)

It is the policy of the WUDC Berlin 2013 to provide a balance between inclusiveness and competitiveness. The registration process has therefore been slightly modified compared to previous years. It will consist of four phases.

Phase 1: General Registration
Every institution eligible to participate in the WUDC Berlin 2013 will be able to register up to three teams. Registration will open on March 31st 2012 at 3 p.m.Berlin time (GMT+2). Registration closes, exactly one week later, on April 7th. Updates on the registration results will be posted continuously; the institutions that have successfully been allocated slots will be informed of this. Independent judges may register during phase one as well. They will be notified of the success of their applications by April 30th. The further registration phases also apply to independent judges.

The following concrete mode of team slot allocation has been approved by Council.

1) All institutions registering within the first three days will be allocated a first team on a first come, first served basis.

2) Second and third teams will be allocated together, again on a first come, first served basis to the institutions that registered in the first three days.

3) The remaining slots will be allocated in three-slot packages on a first come, first served basis to those institutions that registered after the first three days.

Phase 2: Down Payment
A down payment of 50% will need to be provided by May 22nd 2012. Failure to provide this down payment will result in teams and/or institutions and/or judges losing their slots. Institutions on the waiting list will be notified by May 24th as to whether they have been allocated slots. These institutions will have till May 31st to provide their down payment. Any fees paid during this period will not be refunded.

Phase 3: Full Payment
Institutions will have until September 4th 2012 to pay the remaining balance. Failure to settle the full payment will result in teams, institutions and/or judges losing their slots. Institutions on the waiting list will be notified by September 6th as to whether they have been allocated slots. These institutions will have until September 13th to provide their full payment. Any fees paid during this period will not be refunded.

Phase 4: Provision of Participants’ Details
Institutions, teams and judges will have until October 21st 2012 to provide participants’ details.

© Manuel Adams

Tournament Schedule
Dec 27th Arrivals and Registration Hotel Berlin, Berlin
Dec 28th Briefings; Pre-Council; Masters’ Rounds; Opening Ceremony Technische Universtität (TU)
Dec 29th Preliminary Rounds 1–3; Women’s Forum; Public Speaking TU
WUDC 2014 Night
Dec 30th Preliminary Rounds 4–6; Developing Nations/Equity Forum; Masters’ Rounds TU
Women’s/Diversity Night
Dec 31st Preliminary Rounds 7–9; Public Speaking TU
New Year’s Eve Party/Break Night Hotel
Jan 1st Council and Outings
Jan 2nd
Open Break Octo- and Quarter-Finals;
ESL Quarter- and Semi-Finals;
EFL Semi-Finals;
Public Speaking and Masters’ Final; Comedy Night
Jan 3rd
Open Break Semi-Finals; all Finals
Championship Dinner
Jan 4th Departures

Migrant Students in USA Learn Through Speech & Debate

2012-01-31T06:16:00.000-05:00

The winning middle school debate team from Holtville Unified School District will move on to the state competition. (Courtesy of Sandra Kofford)

Students learn, debate, speak in IVROP Migrant Program tournament

By ELIZABETH VARIN

Imperial Valley Press Staff Writer

12:26 a.m. PST, January 31, 2012

While Kassandra Castro, Eric Romero and Lilian Arellano of Calexico weren’t eager to start research during their Christmas break, the more they learned, the more they got excited to compete against other schools in the Imperial Valley.

They spent weeks prepping their speeches and arguing the point with whomever they could, trying to nail down all components of the arguments. When it came down to the final moments — after arguments were made and speeches given — the group was tense waiting to see if they would be the first place winners.

“They worked hard, and they went out to prove themselves,” said Ashly Reitsma, migrant program debate instructor at Calexico High School. “And now they will at state.”

The group from Calexico will be among the more than a dozen of students from the county who will travel to Sacramento for the state competition after winning Saturday’s Migrant Education Program speech and debate tournament.

The local migrant education program held its third speech and debate tournament, and it’s grown every year since it started, said Sandra Kofford, Migrant Education Program Region 6 director. First place winners from Imperial County will head to the state competition May 4 through 6 in Sacramento.

The tournament is a way to teach the basics of speech and communication to the students, many of whom were taught English as a second language, she said.

“We are teaching them English in a fun way,” she said.

The students aren’t the only ones who dedicated their time to the competition, she said. It’s inspiring to see so many community members coming out to support the students.

In total this year, there were 54 community members that served as judges from 7:30 a.m. to about 1 p.m., she said.

“It’s really amazing to see these people supporting our neediest kids,” she said.

The community leaders weren’t the only ones supporting the students, as coaches and teachers worked for weeks and months to prepare their students.

It’s been a rewarding experience, said Rene Agundez, English teacher at Central Union High School and migrant speech coach. The students are “hungry for improvement,” he said.

“I think it offers them a sense of how the written word and the spoken word can really take them places,” he said. “It gives them self-confidence. It’s not easy to get up and speak.”

Gissel Aguirre was nervous the first time she gave her speech. However, the 17-year-old Central Union High School senior soon got over that for the next two speeches.

She was a little disappointed she didn’t win first. Gissel said she did pretty well, taking second place in both extemporaneous and prepared speech. And it was a good experience.

“It’s really cool,” she said. “I had a lot of fun, and I like competing.”

While Gissel is happy with the experience she got, others are preparing for another competition in a few months.

The Calexico High School debate team is planning on continuing the work they’ve already done, memorizing their opening and closing arguments and continuing to study their points.

One thing the group definitely has down is teamwork, as they talked Monday afternoon, joking around about prom and future debates. The team is all about supporting each other now.

“What we learned the most is to work together,” Eric said. “We were complete strangers before this.”

The debates are good life lessons for the three for different reasons. Kassandra wants to be a lawyer, so arguing what she thinks is right helps with that. Eric sees the public speaking as an opportunity to practice talking in front of a crowd, as he wants to be a film director and teach.

For Lilian, who wants to be a dentist, there won’t be a direct benefit from debating. However, the others joked with her that she can always argue that point now with the training she’s getting.

Staff Writer Elizabeth Varin can be reached at evarin@ivpressonline.com or 760-337-3441.

By the numbers
90 students competed in 2010
120 students competed in 2011
164 students competed in 2012

Breakout
Winners at the Imperial County Office of Education-Migrant Education Program regional speech and debate tournament

Fourth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Erica Soberanes, Meadows Union Elementary School District
Second place Ricardo Mendes, Holtville Unified School District
Third place Abril Padilla, Holtville Unified School District

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Erica Soberanes, Meadows Union Elementary School District
Second place Ricardo Mendes, Holtville Unified School District
Third place Abril Padilla, Holtville Unified School District

Fifth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Montserrat Gonzales, Holtville Unified School District
Second place Rosalva Cano, Meadows Union Elementary School District
Third place Isabel Cuevas, Meadows Union Elementary School District

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Kendra Barrera, Imperial Unified School District
Second place Montserrat Gonzales, Holtville Unified School District
Third place Julian Puentes, Calipatria Unified School District

Sixth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Sujey Ocegueda, Meadows Union Elementary School District
Second place Marisol Chaing, Heber Elementary School District
Third place Eric Becerra, Meadows Union Elementary School District

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Cecilia Aguilera, Brawley Elementary School District
Second place Montserrat Gonzales, Meadows Union Elementary School District
Third place Stephanie Valencia, Calipatria Unified School District

Seventh-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Priscilla Leyva, Heber Elementary School District
Second place Anthony Brambila, Westmorland Union Elementary School District
Third place Yulissa Ochoa, El Centro Elementary School District

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Priscilla Leyva, Heber Elementary School District
Second place Anthony Brambila, Westmorland Union Elementary School District
Third place Yulissa Ochoa, El Centro Elementary School District

Eighth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Sydney Savannah Anguiano, Heber Elementary School District
Second place Selene Almaguer-Morales, San Pasqual Valley Unified School District
Third place Delia Raygoza, Heber Elementary School District

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Delia Raygoza, Heber Elementary School District
Second place Savannah Anguiano, Heber Elementary School District
Third place Ricardo Leal, El Centro Elementary School District

Ninth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Claudia Joselyn Rodriguez, Southwest High School

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Claudia Joselyn Rodriguez, Southwest High School

Tenth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Rubi Ledezma, Imperial High School
Second place Hector Mendoza, Calipatria High School

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Hector Mendoza, Calipatria High School
Second place Rubi Ledezma, Imperial High School

Eleventh-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Dharla Torres, Central Union High School
Second place Cesar Barreras, Imperial High School
Third place Reynalda Quintero, Calipatria High School

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Dharla Torres, Central Union High School
Second place Cesar Barreras, Imperial High School
Third place Jane Silva, Calipatria High School

Twelfth-grade students

Prepared speech winners
First place Victor Peralta, Holtville High School
Second place Gissel Aguirre, Central Union High School
Third place Leslie Fonseca, Southwest High School

Extemporaneous speech winners
First place Victor Peralta, Holtville High School
Second place Gissel Aguirre, Central Union High School
Third place Adrian Acosta, Southwest High School

Debate

Middle School
First place Holtville Unified School District
Second place Heber Elementary School District
Third place Calexico Unified School District

High school
First place Calexico High School Team A
Second place Holtville High School Team B
Third place Central Union High School Team B

http://www.ivpressonline.com/news/ivp-news-students-learn-debate-speak-in-ivrop-migrant-program-tournament-20120131,0,5004669,full.story

Loyola Marymount is Tops in USA Parliamentary & Policy Debate

2012-01-30T07:30:00.003-05:00

University’s debate team continues success

Posted: Monday, January 30, 2012 1:00 am | Updated: 11:25 pm, Sun Jan 29, 2012.
Posted on January 30, 2012
by Zaneta Pereira

Over 3,000 miles separated them, but on the weekend of Jan. 20 to 23, two of LMU's debate teams competed simultaneously in tournaments at Dartmouth College and Stanford University, achieving what LMU debater, philosophy graduate student and part-time faculty member James Kilcup describes as "eerily similar results."

Along with his partner, LMU alumnus Bobby Cashen, Kilcup competed in the American Parliamentary Debate Association (A.P.D.A.) format at the Stanford tournament. Out of the 100 plus speakers present at the tournament, Kilcup was ranked third and Cashen fourth. Overall, Kilcup and Cashen placed second, losing in the final round on a 6-3 decision to a team from Yale University.

Meanwhile, the LMU team of senior philosophy major James Mollison and senior communication studies major Jack Ewing competed at the Dartmouth Round Robin which featured the top six National Debate Tournament (N.D.T.) teams in the nation as well as a top 25 team from host Dartmouth. Mollison and Ewing finished in second place behind a team from Northwestern University, the top-ranked team in the nation going into the tournament. Mollison was ranked third and Ewing finished as the fourth speaker in the tournament making LMU the only school with two of the top four speakers at the tournament.

When questioned on the coincidental results, Ewing demurred, stating, "I don't assume to be able to speak about cosmic connections between debate teams."

Coincidences aside, it is undeniable that the LMU Debate Team has gone from strength to strength. With 31 wins out of 35 rounds, Ewing and Mollison have the best record in the nation for the N.D.T. format, according to Debateresults.com. Additionally, according to Dr. Jay Busse, LMU director of debate and associate professor of communication studies, Mollison and Ewing are ranked as the number two or three team in the N.D.T. format in the country.

Busse was also keen to highlight some "very creative things" the debate team is doing, pointing to an incident at a major national invitational N.D.T. competition at CSU Fullerton where Mollison and Ewing debated the number one team in the country - the Northwestern University team they lost to at Dartmouth. In fact, of Mollison and Ewing's four losses, two of them have been to this team, although they have defeated them twice as well. The Fullerton competition was one of those victories, with Mollison and Ewing choosing to allow their opponents to pick the side they debated on in return for proceeding at a "conversational pace," according to Busse. The gamble paid off, and they won the debate 3-0.

Similarly, Kilcup detailed one of the A.P.D.A. format debates he and Cashen had against a team from Yale University where the Yale team, debating as the government, choose to debate on the subject of debt breaks. According to Kilcup, the Yale team's argument, "was basically an obvious thing that anyone would do - when you have lots of money you should put some away and save it so that when you don't have money you can spend it. So we called it out ... and we told the judges that they should just vote against them [Yale] to punish this kind of behavior [because] if you reward them then you're going to get more and more cases like this that nobody wants to listen to, that are chosen strategically." Noting that Cashen and he had competed in only two or three A.P.D.A. tournaments in their careers, compared to the 20 or so the Yale team had attended this year alone, Kilcup acknowledged that it was, "kind of a David and Goliath situation. ... My expectation was that ... [we'll have] a good time, we're going to lose, but the judges voted 5-0 for us."

For Busse, the LMU Debate Team's successes have come a long way to raising the profile of LMU as an academically rigorous institution, stating that, "I would often like to be a fly on the wall when the coach from Harvard or Yale has to go back and say, ‘We lost to LMU.' Whereas for us, we can say that we defeated Harvard or Dartmouth."

Kilcup concurs, noting the "well-rounded" nature of Jesuit education as a key contributor to the debaters' successes and adding that,"[Debate] is one good reason that students should be excited to ask more of themselves, faculty should be excited to ask more of them, because there's a lot of untapped potential, and it's cool that debate can be a kind of signal, or symbol of that fact."

http://www.laloyolan.com/news/campus_news/university-s-debate-team-continues-success/article_3de8cede-4b03-11e1-8735-0019bb30f31a.html

Real Debaters Would Trounce Politicians - North Americans Tournament

2012-01-30T07:07:00.001-05:00

Carleton University's Simon Cameron, left, and Romeo Maione celebrate winning the championship at the North American Debating Championships, held at Hart House at the University of Toronto. STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Debate teams trounce the politicians
Published On Sun Jan 29 2012

Memo to Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney: These are debates you really don’t want to enter.

You’d get crushed.

“A lot of us would kill Newt,” said Romeo Maione, a fourth-year political science student at Carleton University.

Nor would the subject up for debate make any difference in the outcome. “With great ease would I argue for a moon base,” he added.

• PHOTOS: North American Debate Championships

Maione has reason to boast. He and Carleton University teammate Simon Cameron came out on top Sunday at the North American Debating Championship held at Hart House, University of Toronto.

The competition, which started Friday, began with 64 teams from universities across Canada and the United States.

And the reason most politicians would fare poorly is that both their style of argument and their aims are so different from what was on display among the students over the weekend.

“They’re not interested in winning the argument,” said Sam Greene, a U of T student and one of the organizers. “They’re interested in sound bites that will be talking points.”

Gingrich, for instance, recently avoided queries about the serial nature of his marital infidelities by simply expressing outrage that the question would even be posed. He wouldn’t get away with that during a university debate.

“You can’t not answer the question,” said Richard Lizius, a debate judge and U of T law student. “Nobody can lie or manipulate facts.”

The rules of debate are strict in other ways, as well.

At this competition, the contestants were slowly whittled down through a long series of debates, culminating in Sunday’s final pitting Carleton (which had vanquished Yale University in the semi-finals) against McGill University (winners against Princeton University).

In each debate, there is only one resolution at play, and the weekend’s topics ranged from the abolition of the euro to immortality.

But competitors learn what the topic will be only 15 minutes before the debate begins. Each team then starts with a six-minute overview of their argument for or against a certain proposition.

The winning team from Carleton, for instance, successfully argued in favour of a mock resolution that fathers be given preference in child-custody cases.

“The debates don’t rely on specialized knowledge,” said Steven Penner, a judge and former champion debater. “It’s an exercise in logical thinking and persuasive speaking.”

But not all arguments are alike.

Among judges and veteran debaters, there’s a general consensus that different countries favour different styles of debate in such competitions. American teams tend to be very content-driven, while British and Irish squads rely more heavily on rhetoric and humour.

Canadians, by contrast, seem to come down the middle of that divide, offering a little something for everyone. This may help explain why Canadian teams have historically done so well in debating tournaments.

Since the current rendition of the North American championship was inaugurated in 1992, Canadian teams have come out on top 12 times, versus nine for the Americans.

The University of Toronto has the most titles, with five, but as hosts didn’t field any teams this year. Yale University sits in second with four wins, followed by McGill University with two.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1123349--debate-teams-trounce-the-politicians

Kansas City Remembers Slain Debater Déja Davis

2012-01-29T05:55:00.002-05:00

In the hospitality room at a debate tournament at Ruskin High School on Saturday, Jayson Manuel of Kansas City gave Stephanie Davis, mother of murdered Ruskin debater Déja Davis, a hug.

Ruskin debaters pay tribute to slain teammate
Posted on Sat, Jan. 28, 2012 10:22 PM

BY MIKE HENDRICKS
The Kansas City Star

Deja's Donations for slain debate student Deja Davis

Ruskin debaters pay tribute to slain teammate
Ruskin’s debate team remembers Deja Davis’ ‘open and giving heart’

Déja Davis loved to talk. Oh, my, how she would talk and talk and ...

“She could talk a lot — she was very talkative,” her friend Nichelle Jones said with one of those big smiles and shake of the head that said she was in no way exaggerating.

And argue?

That was one of Déja’s fortés, as well, and not just in competition as a member of the Ruskin High School debate team.

“She loved to argue, period!” teammate Jasmine Bolton said.

Though a novice on the Golden Eagle squad in this, her junior year, 16-year-old Déja was on her way to becoming a fine debater, Bolton said, until that argumentative voice of hers was silenced by a bullet on Thanksgiving.

Déja and her godmother, 53-year-old Loretta Petty, were shot to death at Petty’s home in the 6600 block of Bellefontaine Avenue that night. The shooter, the older woman’s husband, Jerry Petty, was later shot and killed after turning his gun on police.

Déja’s death saddened the entire Ruskin community, but it was especially hard on the debate team. Debaters spend so many hours together, including nights and weekend, that teammates become like family, Ruskin debate coach Paul Hackenberger said.

On Saturday that family came together to honor the memory of their sister, the feisty and funny young woman whose mom always called her Dé-Dé (pronounced day-day).

“It’s been a little over 60 days, so it’s still hard,” Déja’s mother, Stephanie Davis, said as she waited for that night’s award ceremony.

The second annual Golden Eagle Speech and Debate Tournament was this weekend at Ruskin. The competition drew 14 metro-area high schools and 400 debaters.

As host, Ruskin sat out. Blue Springs South scored the most points, followed by Blue Springs High and Liberty High School.

It was raucous at times as trophies were handed out. But the loudest applause was when Déja’s mother climbed the stage.

Participants in the competition had been asked to donate coats, warm clothing and cash to benefit the Community Assistance Council and Wayside Waifs.

Déja’s Donations, the charity drive was called, and Ruskin debaters plan on doing it again next year.

“She was a bright, intelligent young lady,” Hackenberger said and, turning to a sobbing Stephanie Davis, he said: “You will always be a part of our family.”

And Ruskin debaters will always be part of hers, she told Nichelle and D’Auna Edwards, who fussed over her all night.

“I’ll be back for graduation,” she told them.

The Class of 2013 has one fewer member, but Stephanie Davis promises that her daughter will be there in spirit all the same.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/28/3397477/ruskin-debaters-pay-tribute-to.html#storylink=cpy

Romney Resurgence Credited to New Debate Coach, Ex-Liberty University Mentor

2012-01-29T05:47:00.002-05:00

See video at http://www.wset.com/story/16619489/romneys-new-debate-coach?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6682905

Romney's New Debate Coach Worked at Liberty University
Posted: Jan 27, 2012 5:14 PM EST

Newt Gingrich's momentum has been fading in Florida, and Mitt Romney is pulling out all the stops to make sure it Armed with sharper words and helped by a new debate coach, Romney was able to blunt Gingrich's attacks in the last debate before Tuesday's Florida primary.

Romney is also getting help from the most recent Republican presidential nominee. Sen. John McCain blasted Gingrich's proposal to put an American base on the moon.

"I think we ought to send Newt Gingrich to the moon and Mitt Romney to the White House . What do you think about that," said McCain.

The efforts of Romney and his surrogates appear to be working because earlier this week, Gingrich and Romney were in a dead heat. But some polls now have Romney opening up a lead, and many say the reason for that lead is Romney's new debate coach.

Brett O'Donnell is a former Liberty University debate coach and joined Romney's campaign less than a week ago. Now he's in Jacksonville, Florida working closely with the campaign.

Romney's newest addition to his team is no stranger to politics. O'Donnell has coached four presidential candidates, including Romney.

"Governor Romney's a very good candidate so it was just a matter of talking through strategy," said O'Donnell.

Romney's campaign team called O'Donnell last Saturday night.

"Hopped on a plane on Sunday down to Tampa and got to work Monday morning," said O'Donnell.

And after Thursday night's debate, the pundits have been talking about the big change they saw in Romney's performance.

"Candidates tend to underestimate the amount of preparation necessary to actually execute a debate," said O'Donnell.

Liberty University won its first national championship under O'Donnell's leadership. In his 18 years at LU, O'Donnell's teams won 18 national titles, and the debate center was named in his honor in 2008.

"The reason for that is because of the impact he had in making debate available," said Michael Hall , director of LU debate.

"My work at Liberty absolutely prepared me for what I'm doing right now," said O'Donnell. "Even though the debating styles are different, the methods of preparation are very, very similar."

Romney made a strong turn this week to go after Gingrich and point out the difference between their records.

O'Donnell says he believes Romney is the only candidate who can beat President Obama. He also says Virginia is going to be a key state for Romney in the general election.

Global Debate Times January 28, 2012

2012-01-29T05:18:00.002-05:00

http://paper.li/asnider/1314018022

GLOBAL DEBATE TIMES
Follow the world of international debating in one convenient space. Stories are gathered from Global Debate Blog as well as Debate Video Blog for your enjoyment. This format may be easier for you to deal with than those blogspot blogs, and it happens here automatically.
http://globaldebateblog.blogspot.com
http://debatevideoblog/blogspot.com

Also thanks to Colm Flynn, Paul Lau and other debate information champions we link to.
http://worlddebating.blogspot.com

alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Chester Gibson: Debate Coach for Young Gingrich

2012-01-28T08:03:00.002-05:00

( David Goldman / Associated Press ) - In this photo taken, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, Chester Gibson, a former professor who ran one of the nation’s top-ranked competitive debating programs from the middle of rural Georgia, is photographed in Horton’s Bookstore in Carrollton, Ga. As a young college professor running for Congress, Newt Gingrich wanted to sharpen his debating skills. Admirers say the Republican was always a dynamic speaker, but he had flaws. He frowned. He titled his head oddly and fell back repeatedly on the same words. He went for the rhetorical jugular. His supporters worried that TV cameras magnified those delivery problems. Gingrich didn’t need to look far to find help. In the building next to the one where Gingrich taught history at West Georgia College, professor Chester Gibson coached students whose ranks now include a former Georgia governor, high-powered Atlanta attorneys, judges and preachers. He gave Gingrich free help as a new candidate.

Debate coach honed Gingrich’s public speaking skills when he was a young prof seeking office

By Associated Press, Published: January 27

ATLANTA — As a young college professor running for Congress, Newt Gingrich wanted to sharpen his debating skills.

Admirers say the Republican was always a dynamic speaker, but with flaws. He frowned. He tilted his head oddly and fell back repeatedly on the same words. He went for the rhetorical jugular. Supporters worried that TV cameras magnified those delivery problems.

Gingrich didn’t need to look far for help. In the building next to the one where Gingrich taught history at West Georgia College, professor Chester Gibson coached students whose ranks now include a former Georgia governor, high-powered Atlanta attorneys, judges and preachers. He gave Gingrich free help as a new candidate.

Strong debate performances have kept alive Gingrich’s candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination after a bleak period last summer when his staff quit and his campaign fell into debt. After a commanding performance in a pair of South Carolina debates, Gingrich has not performed as strong lately. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was considerably more aggressive in a Florida debate on Thursday, repeatedly putting Gingrich on the defensive.

Now retired, Gibson said he still sees Gingrich’s old habits — good and bad — in the presidential debates.

“Gingrich is clearly the best debater in the final four,” said Gibson, who communicates by email because doctors removed his voice box in 2010 during cancer treatment. “No contest. A Gingrich-Obama debate would be one of the great moments in American political history.”

The pair met in 1970 when they started teaching at West Georgia College, now called the University of West Georgia. Gibson coached Gingrich before his first unsuccessful run for the House in 1974 and kept working with him until Gingrich won four years later. Gibson said the coaching continued into Gingrich’s early years in office. A Gingrich spokesman did not respond to requests for information for this report.

Gibson, 70, said Gingrich’s problem was delivery, not substance.

“He was poised, confident, quick on his feet and well versed in both U.S. and world history,” Gibson said. “He read everything that he could get his hands on. His greatest asset was his incredible memory.”

In their coaching sessions, Gibson said he filmed Gingrich speaking so he could see his mistakes. The students on Gibson’s debate team — one was Randy Evans, now Gingrich’s longtime attorney — listened and critiqued Gingrich’s speeches. They researched the positions of his political opponents and constructed arguments. Gibson traveled with Gingrich to debates so they could practice in the car.

Gibson pushed his students to win.

“He just worked endlessly and worked us very hard because he was as competitive as all get-out,” said trial lawyer Paul Weathington, one of Gibson’s debaters and a nationally ranked debater in college.

Gibson told Gingrich to work on his body language. When listening intently to another speaker, he tended to frown — a bad habit that Gibson said the Republican candidate has not fully stopped. In fact, Gingrich recently told reporters that his granddaughter told him to smile more and that she counts his grins during debates.

“I am always pleased when I see a grin because I know that he is ready to launch into a great answer to the question,” Gibson said.

Years ago, Gibson encouraged Gingrich to tone down grandiose statements, saying they distract the audience from the message.

Then, as now, Gingrich would occasionally cock his head oddly to the right, Gibson said. When he latched onto a word, he’d use it repeatedly.

“Listen to the number of times that he uses the word ‘frankly,’” Gibson said. “You will lose count.”

Gingrich understands how to exploit TV debates and has avoided any major gaffes, said Mitchell McKinney, a communications professor at the University of Missouri who studies presidential debates. When his campaign was lagging, Gingrich baited the front-runners to engage him during debates, which helped him get airtime. He also picks messages that are sure to be replayed on TV. It adds up to free publicity.

“These moments get captured and played over and over,” McKinney said.

One such moment came last week in the South Carolina. CNN debate moderator John King started the broadcast by asking Gingrich to respond to his second ex-wife’s accusation that he asked her for an open marriage.

“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office,” said Gingrich, on his way to gaining a standing ovation from the audience. “And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.”

He won the primary two days later.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/debate-coach-honed-gingrichs-public-speaking-skills-when-he-was-a-young-prof-seeking-office/2012/01/27/gIQANFQTVQ_story.html

USA National Debate Tournament 2012 Invitation

2012-01-27T19:46:00.001-05:00

66th NATIONAL DEBATE TOURNAMENT, 2012

January, 2012

Dear Colleague:

Plans are nearing completion for the 66th National Debate Tournament to be hosted by Emory University and the Barkley Forum. Registration for the tournament will take place on THURSDAY, March 29. Competition will take place on Friday, March 30, through Monday, April 2. All competition will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place, the tournament hotel.

This brief letter will provide information on the tournament location, qualifying processes, eligibility certification, and entry for the tournament

TOURNAMENT HOTEL. The tournament hotel is:

Atlanta Marriott Gwinnett Place, 1775 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth GA 30096

Registration, banquets, preliminary debates, and elimination rounds will be held at the tournament hotel. We would recommend that you reserve rooms as soon as your teams have qualified. We have secured a tournament rate of $99 per night for up to 4 people per room, which includes Internet access and self-parking. Reservations must be made before March 15, 2012 to obtain the rate. You can make your reservations now by clicking onhttp://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/atlgp?groupCode=debdeba&app=resvlink&fromDate=3/27/12&toDate=4/4/12 or copying and pasting this link into your browser. If you prefer making reservations by phone call: 1-866-339-3132. Make sure to identify yourself as attending the National Debate Tournament.

IMPORTANT CHANGES FOR THE 2012 NDT

1. Please examine the dates for first and second round applications. The dates in relation to the NDT have been changed relative to last year.

2. The 2012 NDT is the second year hybrid teams may qualify for the tournament. In order to be eligible, hybrid teams must comply with all appropriate rules. Please see the NDT Standing Rules. In addition, notification must be provided to Tim O’Donnell, chair of the NDT Committee, no later than February 1.

3. The following rule change is effective for the 2012 NDT. The NDT Committee passed the following amendment to the qualifying procedures. “Districts choosing to select representatives for the NDT in a manner other than a qualifying debate tournament will be allowed to submit only those teams over a 40% win-loss record for the purposes of bid allocation. If a district makes a good faith attempt (evidence of planning or economic commitments) to host a tournament, but cancels the tournament because weather would make travel unsafe, that district shall not lose allocated bids due to this rule. In this event, the District Chair must notify the Bid Allocation Committee, who will confirm that the situation appears to be a good faith cancellation. The decision of the Bid Allocation committee is final, but must be publicized to the broader community. If a member of the Bid Allocation committee is from the district, the NDT chair will appoint a replacement member for any deliberations.”

RULE REMINDERS.

1. All debates are governed by the rules of the National Debate Tournament and the American Forensics Association. The documents governing the administration of the National Debate Tournament may be found athttp://groups.wfu.edu/NDT/Documents/goveringdocs.html.

2. Effective with the 2007 NDT, teams qualifying for the tournament must provide 13 rounds of judging.

3. Individuals in attendance at the National Debate Tournament who provide significant coaching to, or argument production for, any team participating in the NDT should be required to enter the judging pool on a supplemental strike sheet for at least four debates or, if it is more appropriate, provide a significant equivalent contribution to the tournament as defined by the tournament host or director.

QUALIFICATION PROCESS. The selection process, altered before the 1994 NDT and 1999 NDT remains in place for the 2012 NDT. A complete set of the NDT rules and procedures may be found at www.wfu.edu/organizations/NDT/.

AT LARGE APPLICATION PROCESS. The process for first and second round at large bids will be the same as that established in 2004. The number of preliminary rounds required for a team to count toward bid allocations is 18. All teams selected through the Second Round At-Large process must have a 50% or greater preliminary round win-loss record in rounds on the fall CEDA topic or its NDT topic parallel immediately prior to the District tournament or at the time of submission for second round bids. Those subscribing schools wishing to nominate their teams for At-Large consideration must submit copies of their completed electronic Official NDT At-Large Application (without covering letters or other supplementary materials). Applications must be received by the dates listed below. Schools submitting at-large applications must have paid their NDT subscription fee prior to submitting their application for the bid to be considered. In addition, all teams wishing to be considered for an at-large bid must pay $50.00 to the treasurer of the NDT Board of Trustees. A system has been set up to pay using Paypal at www.americanforensics.org, or the treasurer also will accept a check or money order made out to the NDT, RECEIVED BY THE APPLICATION DEADLINE, sent to the following address:

Sherry Hall
324 Franklin Street
Cambridge, MA 02139

The electronic at-large bid form may be found at: www.debateresults.com. The bid forms may be found under the Account Management link.

ENTERING THE TOURNAMENT. ENTRIES ARE DUE MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2012. Online entries will be accepted using the web site and methods used for many invitational tournaments during the year. The web site may be found atwww.debateresults.com
.
JUDGING PHILOSOPHIES. Judging philosophies should be posted to www.debateresults.com no later than MARCH 19, 2012. Judging philosophies may be edited at the same site by clicking on the "Enter, edit, and remove the names of judges and competitors (and enter or edit judge philosophies)" link in the account management box in the top-left.

The NDT may impose a $50 fine on institutions which have not supplied judging philosophies by MARCH 19. The NDT may impose an additional $50 fine if judging philosophies are not available at the time of registration.

FEES. The Board of Trustees has set the fees for the 2012 NDT. The fees are $100.00 per team. Participant fees for debaters and judges—four people for each team in the tournament will be no more than $50. The fees for observers (all other persons with your group over the four per team that count as participants) will be $135.00. Persons traveling with the team will be charged for the banquets and other meal functions.

Attached you will find a tentative tournament schedule, contact information for the Chair of the NDT Tournament Committee, and a copy of the NDT judge philosophy form.

Please join us in Atlanta for the 66th National Debate Tournament.

Sincerely,

John Fritch
Director, National Debate Tournament

TENTATIVE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 29
9:00-11:00 Registration
11:00 - 2:00 NDT Board of Trustees Meeting
1:00-4:00 NDT Committee Meeting
4:00-5:00 Late Registration
6:30 Reception and Pre-Tournament Awards

Friday, March 30
7:45 AM Continental Breakfast
8:00 Announcement of Round I
11:45 Announcement of Round II
2:00 PM Lunch
4:15 Announcement of Round III

Saturday, March 31

7:45 AM Continental Breakfast
8:00 Announcement of Round IV
11:15 Lunch
12:30 PM Announcement of Round V
5:00 Announcement of Round VI

Sunday, April 1

7:45 AM Continental Breakfast
8:00 Announcement of Round VII
11:15 Lunch
12:30 PM Announcement of Round VIII
4:45 Announcement of First Elimination Round
9:30 Awards Banquet

Monday, April 2

7:15 AM Drawing of Octofinal judges
7:30 Announcement of Octofinals
8:00 Octofinal round begins
(Rounds continue throughout the day)

FIRST ROUND AT LARGE BIDS

Must be received by
Committee Members February 16 (5PM CST)
Committee calls or e-mail to Director February 17-19
Director Announces February 20

DISTRICT PROCEDURES

Declaration of intent to attend District February 21
Announcement of preliminary district bids February 22

SECOND ROUND AT LARGE BIDS

Must be received by
Committee Members March 8 (5 PM CST)
Committee calls or e-mail to Director March 9-11
Director announces March 12

CHAIR OF THE NDT COMMITTEE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Dr. Timothy O’Donnell, NDT Chair
University of Mary Washington
Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

Office Phone: 540-654-1252
2012 JUDGE PHILOSPHY FORM
Revised 2-16-94

NAME _______________________ INSTITUTION _____________________________

POSITION _______________________ YEARS OF COACHING _______________

NUMBER OF TOURNAMENTS THIS YEAR _______________________

The following questions represent some of the issues you may want to discuss in your judge philosophy. They serve as a guideline. Please try to make the philosophy relevant AS APPLICABLE to the current topic. It is understood that many of your positions may be altered by specific situations. Please limit yourself to ONE photocopy ready page. The left hand margin should be one (1) inch.

Theory: 1. What decision making paradigm do you use? 2. What are your standards for the evaluation of T? 3. What are your standards for counterplans (especially topical Cps, conditionally, international fiat, Agent of Action, and permutations)? 4. How do you react to new cases at the NDT?

Topic Specific Arguments: 1. Which T violations do you like/dislike? How is T evaluated? 2. What are your preferences for disads? Counterplans?

Critiques/Deontology: 1. Do you like them? 2. What standards do you use to evaluate them? 3. How do they weigh against other impacts?

Evidence: 1. Do you read evidence after a round? 2. What are your standards of evaluation? 3. Do you require full cites to be read? How does that affect your evaluation of evidence? 4. What are your standards for an evidence challenge?

Style: 1. What, if anything, do you do to encourage comprehensible speaking? 2. What constitutes an argument? 3. Do you find tag-team CX objectionable? 4. What behavior or mannerisms do you find objectionable?

Miscellaneous:

America's Cup Roster Updated - 4 Teams Added

2012-01-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

New teams have been added to the tournament.

Andrew Connery & Max Dovala (Yale University)
Kaleb Brooks & John Denzler (Regis University)
Tejeswara Reddy & Rafael Baptista (Willamette)
Josiah Peterson & Burk Ohbayaski (King’s College)

We have three more slots left and teams who have requested are on the waiting list, but we want to make sure the best teams get in. Send in your application today!

We are also seeking excellent judges. We can promise a lunch and some fabulous debates to judge.

alfred.snider@uvm.edu

Current roster
In no particular order:
Josh Martin & Buzz Klinger (Tennis & HWS)
Paul Gross & Drew Adamczyk (Vermont)
Travis Steele & Austin Thoma (Colgate)
Colin Etnire & Ian Malamud (Bates)
Colin Murphy & Aaron Baker (Cal-Davis & Portland State)
Brian Farnham & Michael Wilson (Michigan)
John Patrick & Ryan Mansell (LaVerne)
Rohan Grey & Agnes Nam (Columbia)
Emily Ravenscroft & Courtney Pickard (Loyola Marymount)
Andrew Connery & Max Dovala (Yale University)
Kaleb Brooks & John Denzler (Regis University)
Tejeswara Reddy & Rafael Baptista (Willamette)
Josiah Peterson & Burk Ohbayaski (King’s College)

Three more needed. Apply soon. Others are on the waiting list but we would prefer to have the best teams possible.

For complete information, go to:
http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/americascup/

NPDA Nationals 2012 Invitation

2012-01-27T15:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.parlidebate.org/pdf/2012invite.pdf

On behalf of President Marty Birkholt, the Executive Council, and the membership of the National Parliamentary Debate Association, I am pleased to invite you to attend the seventeenth annual NPDA National Championship Tournament, Wednesday, March 21st through Saturday, March 24th, 2012 at Western Washington University. We anticipate a fine weekend of education and competition, culminating with the awarding of the 2012 National Championship.

For the NPDA,

Glenn Prince

National Championship Tournament Director

News from IDEA January 27

2012-01-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

Obviously, the date should be 2012. - Global Debate Editor

Complete WSDC 2012 Results

2012-01-27T08:18:00.000-05:00

Champion:
Scotland (Alfie Hinchliffe, Ruth Cameron, Josh Richards, April Shepherd, Charlie Holmes)

Runners-up:
Wales (Amy Jones, David Wigley, Pearce Digby, David Wigley)

Top 10 Speakers:
(Source: Revaldi N. Wirabuana)
1. Teoh Renjie (Singapore)
2. Sam Collier (England)
3. Alfie (Scot)4th Michael Macklin (South Africa)
5. Natasha Rachman (England)
6. Akshay Karia (England)
7. Ned Lis-Clarke (Australia)
8. Ben Goldstein (England)
9. Darion (Singapore)
10. Bo Seo (Australia)

Top ESL Team: Greece

Top EFL Team: Lithuania

Best New Nation: Swaziland.

Breaking Teams and Prelim Results:

Prelims Results: Click here.
Team Bangladesh Results: Click here.

Motions:

Round 1: THW Ban Alcohol.
Round 2: This house believes that newly democratised Arab nations should not allow religious parties to participate in elections. [Prep]
Round 3: THW allow single parents in prison to raise their children behind bars.
Round 4: This house believes that developing nations should place limits on internal rural-urban migration. [Prep]
Round 5: This house believes that the police should use racial profiling to fight crime.
Round 6: This house believes that the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography. [Prep]
Round 8: This house believes that states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights
Octo-Final: THBT governments should create schools which teach in endangered indigenous languages.
Quarters: THBT Gay rights organizations should out gay public figures.
Semi-Finals: THS a 100% tax on inherited wealth.
Grand Final: This house regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
rather than prosecuting perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid.

From Bangladesh Debate http://bddebate.blogspot.com/2012/01/wsdc-2012-results.html

Wiley & Southern California Restage 1935 "Great Debaters" Event

2012-01-27T08:04:00.003-05:00

This photo provided Thursday, Jan. 25, 2012, by Wiley College shows Melvin B. Tolson, center, and members of the 1935 Wiley College debate team that prevailed over the nationally known University of Southern California during a debate in California. A rematch of the memorable debate will be held Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. The accomplishments of Wiley's debate team under the leadership of noted poet Tolson inspired "The Great Debaters," a 2007 movie starring Denzel Washington. (AP Photo/courtesy Wiley College)

Wiley, USC have rematch of memorable 1935 debate

By Jamie Stengle
Associated Press / January 26, 2012

DALLAS—Teams from Wiley College and the University of Southern California will have a rematch Friday of the memorable 1935 debate that saw the small, historically black school prevail over the nationally known, mostly white powerhouse.

The exhibition will be held at Wiley in the small town of Marshall, near Texas' border with Louisiana. The 1935 debate at USC took place when the nation was heavily segregated and helped inspire "The Great Debaters," a 2007 movie starring Denzel Washington. The movie climaxes with a fictional debate against Harvard that was modeled on the real match in California.

"Before the civil rights movement, before Dr. King, Malcolm X, before Rosa Parks, it was Wiley and USC: This little bitty African-American school and this ... predominantly Caucasian school that came together in 1935 when things were still racist in America," said Cary Chavis, Wiley's debate captain, adding that with the event, the two schools "stood firm that racial tension had nothing on the power of speech."

Wiley's teams traveled the nation throughout the 1930s under the leadership of noted poet Melvin B. Tolson, accumulating an impressive string of victories against black and white opponents. Tolson's teams included several students who went on to distinguish themselves, including James Farmer Jr., the civil rights leader who formed the Congress of Racial Equality.

Those participating in Friday's debate say it's a chance to celebrate the connection between the two schools. Two students from each school will face off in a competition that combines features of the two different debate styles practiced by the schools.

"I think it's an incredible opportunity for the two teams to get together once again," said Chris Medina, Wiley's director of forensics. "We owe a debt of gratitude to USC for being ground-breakers in allowing us, an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities), to really, at that point, achieve legitimacy. They were one of the few white colleges that would debate with us."

Though experts say there wasn't a structure for a national debate championship until the late 1940s, USC was known as a nationally competitive debate team, said Gordon Stables, USC's director of debate and forensics. And Wiley debaters referred to USC as national champions.

News coverage of the debate shows it attracted much attention. It's a debate that seems to have also stood out in Tolson's mind. In the journal of the debate society Pi Kappa Delta, he described the excitement surrounding the event, which took place while Wiley was "on an interracial goodwill tour covering 5,000 miles," and noted that 2,000 people attended.

Stables said that although there's no official record, accounts from the time have it as a win for Wiley. The winning team could have been determined by audience applause or judges, he said.

"I've never heard anyone contest that Wiley wasn't the better team in that competition," Stables said.

Wiley had ceased to have a debate team by the time "The Great Debaters" rekindled interest in its legacy. With the help of donations that included $1 million from Washington, the school resurrected its debate team in 2008.

Medina said "The Great Debaters" legacy is very much present in the minds of students on the team.

"They really have a sense of history and carrying on of the history of the school," Medina said. "They take it very personally and they take it to heart and really work hard in order to continue that legacy of excellence."

Wiley, a primarily liberal arts college founded in 1873, has seen its enrollment grow since the release of the movie, from 520 a decade ago to 1,356 this school year, said Joseph Morale, Wiley's vice president for student affairs and enrollment services.

Morale expects about 3,000 people to attend Friday's rematch, filling the site of the debate and a room in an adjacent building where the event will be simulcast.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/01/26/wiley_usc_have_rematch_of_memorable_1935_debate/

WSDC Champion - Scotland Defeats Wales 8-1

2012-01-26T12:09:00.004-05:00

http://paullau.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/results-wsdc-2012-grand-final-results/

Motion: TH regrets South Africa’s decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than prosecuting perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid

Proposition: Team Wales ~ Amy Jones, David Wigley, Pearce Digby, David Wigley
Opposition: Team Scotland ~ Alfie Hinchliffe, Charlie Holmes, Ruth Cameron, Charlie Holmes

This is Scotland’s fourth Championship following 1990, 1999 and 2007. They were previously Runners-up in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2001. Team Scotland included three returning members (Alfie Hinchliffe, Charlie Holmes and Ruth Cameron) from WSDC 2011, who were joined by Josh Richards and April Shepherd. It was the three veterns who represented Scotland in the Grand Finals. Scotland broke 5th, with 7 wins and just one loss against South Korea. They had unanimous wins over Greece and 2010 Champions Australia in the octo and quarter finals. Scotland beat this years surprise package, Philippines, 6-2 to progress to the finals.

Team Wales had just one returning member, David Wigley, although this was his 3 return, after attending WSDC 2009, 2010 and 2011. He was joined this year by Helen Price, Amy Jones and Piers Digby. Together, the team broke 7th, with 6 wins and 2 split losses to New Zealand and South Africa, who both won all 8 preliminary rounds. Wales progressed to the semifinals at the expense of India and Ireland. In a reverse of the semifinals of WSDC 2010, Wales beat England to reach the Grand Finals of WSDC 2012. This is Wales’s first ever Grand Final apperance, WSDC 2010′s semifinal apperance, of which David was a part of, being their previous highest ranking.

The Grand Finals was held in St George’s Cathedral, a stunning location and quite a fitting one given the motion. Here are some of the images of the venue that were tweeted:

Massive thanks to Sayeqa Islam, Paidamwoyo Mangondo and Sydney Atkins for live-tweeting the Grand Finals.

Info about Wales team:
http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/Blog/Grand_Final_260112/Grand_Final_260112.aspx

Wales reach Grand Final at global schools debate

Wales has achieved its best ever result at the World Schools Debating Championships, reaching the Grand Final in a competition between 48 nations taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.

In the final, Wales faced Scotland, debating the motion “This house regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than prosecuting perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid”. The Welsh team comprises Amy Jones, 18, of Y Pant Comprehensive School, Pontyclun; Helen Price, 17, of Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls; David Wigley, 17, of Bishop of Llandaff High School, Cardiff; and Piers Digby, 17, of Monmouth School. The team has been coached by Harry Thomas.

Wales won 6 of its 8 initial debates, achieving a ranking of 7th place after the preliminary rounds. They then defeated India and Ireland in the first two knock-out rounds. Wales then met England in the semi-final, defeating them by 6 judges to 1 on the topic “This House supports a 100% tax on inherited wealth”.

The World Schools Debating Championships is an annual event, first organised in Australia in 1988. Teams debate a mixture of prepared topics (provided several weeks in advance) and impromptu topics with only one hour’s preparation. The Welsh team is selected from outstanding competitors in the Wales Schools Debating Championships, organised by the Welsh Centre for International Affairs with support from the British Council.

Martin Pollard, Chief Executive of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, said: “This is a fantastic achievement by four dedicated young debaters. We’ve been taking part in the World Schools Debating Championships for nearly 20 years and this is the first time we’ve reached the Final, so everyone is very excited. This competition is all about communication and bright ideas, and it’s great that we can show off the skills of young Welsh people to so many other countries.”

Information on the World Schools Debating Championships: www.schoolsdebate.com

Joe McGrade About Winning Public Speaking Title in Manila

2012-01-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2012/01/making-the-mcgrade-in-manila/

Making the McGrade in Manila

Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2012

McGill Debating Union member Joe McGrade continued his hot streak after his return home from the World Championships. He and his partner, CEGEP student Ariel Shapiro, won the McGill-hosted Laurier Cup debating contest (in French) January 13-15. / Photo: Owen Egan

Debating Union member takes Top Speaker award at world championships

By Jim Hynes

Joe McGrade is a man of many words. And his verbosity served him well indeed at the recent World Universities Debating Championship in Manila, Philippines, where the member of the McGill Debating Union (MDU) was crowned Top Public Speaker.

McGill has a long history of strong showings in the “Worlds” public speaking category. MDU member Riva Gold took home first place in 2010, following up on wins by Andrew Zadel in 2001 and Adrianne Thomas in 1994.

That said, calling McGrade a dark horse winner this year would be a major understatement. The 20-year-old Toronto native and third-year Economics major wasn’t initially picked to be part of the eight-person (four teams of two) MDU contingent that participated in the event that brought the world’s finest university debaters to Manila’s De La Salle University Dec. 27 to Jan. 4. McGrade applied to be a participating debater, but didn’t make the cut, even after two more spots opened up when a McGill pair dropped out of the long and expensive trip. He was slated to go to Manila as one of three McGill judges until the MDU was eventually offered a spot for a fourth team.

In Manila, McGrade was one of approximately 70 debaters who signed up for the event’s Public Speaking competition, where the goal, he said “is to be a good speaker, to win hearts and minds.”

In his first speech, about “the difference between First World problems and real problems,” he combined his cutting sense of humour, love of righteous indignation and his experiences and observations of Manila.

“The university we were in was very nice and the hotel was beautiful. And then you’d go around the corner to get a coffee and it was completely different,” says McGrade, who has been a public speaker since his elementary school days and started organized debating in Grade 7. “People were living in abject poverty. And I felt terrible standing there in my dress shoes and shirt with my latté.

“During the tournament, everybody was complaining about the silliest things: the coffee was terrible, the elevators lines were too long, the writing pads that they gave us were too small. And so my first speech was about the main contribution that the debaters were bringing to Manila being a lowering of the bar of what a problem is.”

His speech resonated with the judges, who sent him and nine other finalists along to the next round, this time on a big stage. There, he answered the question “Why do you debate?” with a winning speech about being addicted to it – “Hi, my name is Joe and I have a debating problem.”

Meanwhile, back at the main debating event, McGrade and partner Emma O’Rourke-Friel were creating a pleasant surprise of their own. After nine rounds of debating topics like private health care, the free movement of labour, and defamation laws in academic discourse, they finished in 47th place out of approximately 350 teams, making them they highest placing Canadian team.

“That was surprising. I mean we were ‘McGill D’. They weren’t going to take me!” McGrade laughs. “It felt good. I thought that I was good enough to go. And I’m glad that I showed I was.”

McGrade and his MDU teammates will participate in the North American Debating Championships at the University of Toronto this coming weekend. The Canadian national championships, which McGill captured as recently as 2010, take place at York University, March 16-18.

To learn more about the McGill Debating Union, visit: http://ssmu.mcgill.ca/debate/

North Americans to Webcast Final from Toronto

2012-01-25T20:33:00.003-05:00

NorthAmerican Debating Championships, 2012

HartHouse, University of Toronto

Updateon live webcasting of the finals

The CUSID-APDA North American Championshipsis coming up this weekend, January 27– 29, 2012. We will be livestreaming the final round of the tournament on Sunday, January 29^thstarting at 2:30pm. The link and information are below.

The URL for the webcast is:

http://mediacast.ic.utoronto.ca/20120129-HHDC/index.htm

(The link is dead right now but I will makeit active by the end of the day.)

BASIC VIEWING INSTRUCTIONS

ForWidows Vista and XP users

-Windows Media Player must be installed.

-Internet Explorer is the preferred browserto access the URL. Other browsers may have problems.

-It may help to pre-install Silverlightsoftware from Microsoft to access the Windows Media stream. (http://www.microsft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx)

-Windows 7 has not been tested as yet.

MacOS X users

-Use Safari as the browser to access theURL.

-Select the Real Media link on the browserinterface. Mac users should install Real Player from http://www.real.com.

-Microsoft does not directly support WindowsMedia in OS X. Do not use the Windows Media link unless you have installed thesoftware called Flip4Mac which may work but we cannot guarantee success withit.

-You can also pre-install the Mac OS XSilverlight software from Microsoft to access the Windows Media stream. (http://www.microsft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx)

Registration for US Universities Now Open

2012-01-25T14:21:00.002-05:00

There may be limited space, so I suggest you register soon.

There is a limit of 200 teams, but we had 192 last year, and this format of debate is growing. I also expect a number of (very welcome) NPDA and policy schools to give it a try.

http://www.forensictournament.net/home

Alfred Snider
University of Vermont
Chief Adjudicator

List of Tournaments for World Universities Sweepstakes

2012-01-25T08:35:00.000-05:00

I suspect that all of these tournaments, especially the smaller ones, will benefit substantially from this listing, as teams trying to rise in the sweepstakes will target those tournaments.

I received this list from Colm Flynn, sweepstakes coordinator.

Africa
Pan African PAUDC
South Africa NUDC

Asia
Malaysia Open
Philippine Intercollegiate Debating Championship PIDC
Philippine NDC
SMU Hammers
HK Open
UADC
Bangladesh NDDC
BIND 2011
WUPID
Asians BP
Taiwan NEAO

Oceania
Easters
Sydney Mini
Melbourne Mini
Australian Women's Championships
Victoria Wellington IV

Austral Asians
Austral Asians

Europe
Israel Nats
Koc Istanbul
Berlin
Sciences PO Paris
Athens
Kiev
Belgrade Open
Utrecht
Vienna IV

UK/Ire
English Mace
Cambridge
Oxford
LSE IV
Oxford Womens
Warwick IV
SOAS
Durham IV
Glasgow Ancients
TCD
Cork

Euros
Euros

N Amer
Cusid BP
CUSID Nats
Guindon
Huber Debates, Vermont
Queens Chancellors Cup
North Americans
US Open
US Universities USU
Yale IV
Hart House IV

S Amer
Spanish Worlds CMUDE

Worlds
Worlds

WSDC Capetown Quarters Results, Semis Matches

2012-01-25T07:25:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Paul Lau, on the spot as usual!

http://paullau.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/results-wsdc-2012-qf-results-and-sf-match-up/

Quarterfinal Results
Motion: THBT Gay rights organizations should out gay public figures {Impromptu}
QF1: Singapore (1) vs. Philippines (8) ~~~ 5-0 Philippines (Opposition)
== Judging Panel: Christopher Bishop (C), Taiumur Bandey, Seham Areff, Iqbal Gafiedz, Eirianna Kouri
QF2: Australia (4) vs. Scotland (5) ~~~ 5-0 Scotland (Opposition)
== Judging Panel: Tracey Lee (C), Beth James, TJ Senamngern, Desley Horton, Tom McLennan
== Australia: Emma, Bo, Tyrone, Bo
QF3: England (6) vs. New Zealand (3) ~~~ 3-2 England (Opposition)
== Judging Panel: Daniel de Kadt (C), Stephanie Dick, Chris Sanchez, Chris Hibbard, Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed
== New Zealand: James, Thomas, Nick, Thomas
== England: Akshay, Ben, Sam, Akshay
QF4: Wales (7) vs. Ireland (15) ~~~ 3-2 Wales (Proposition)
== Judging Panel: Joshua Park (C), Kip Oebanda, Irene McGrath, Thng Yi Ren, Kristen Price

3 of the 4 debates were won by the opposition. Not quite an opposition sweep but interesting, especially given that it led to the downfall of a number of traditionally top teams.
3 of the 4 semifinalists are from Great Britain, meaning there is a 50 percent chance the Grand Final will be an all British affair.

Semifinal Match-up
SF1: Philippines (8) vs. Scotland (5)
SF2: England (6) vs. Wales (7)

Semifinal Match-up by Total Speaker Points Ranking
SF1: Philippines (17) vs. Scotland (6)
SF2: England (1) vs. Wales (9)

DEBATE-Kansas City Fights for Survival

2012-01-24T19:35:00.000-05:00

From: http://savedebatekansascity.com/about/

DEBATE-Kansas City is an Urban Debate League that provides middle and high school students debate workshops & tournaments, scholarships, resources, mentoring and general team support. DEBATE-Kansas City participants have achieved academic success and assumed leadership roles in high school, college and beyond. We encourage you to read through these materials to better understand the powerful impact that DEBATE-Kansas City can have on each student.

Open Letter from President of the Board of DEBATE-Kansas City
Success by the Numbers
Testimonials
About DEBATE-Kansas City

Open Letter
Are you are tired of reading headlines about suffering schools and troubled teens in the Kansas City area? Are you concerned by budget cuts “in this economy” that dismantle programs essential to the development of our city’s students? If so, DEBATE-Kansas City (DKC) needs your financial help.

DEBATE-Kansas City is an Urban Debate League that provides middle and high school students debate workshops & tournaments, scholarships, resources, mentoring and general team support. DKC seniors graduate over 95% of the time; the academic studies supporting debate’s ability to improve test scores are almost too countless to name. Debate is good. Ironically there is little debate over this point.

Kansas City has an incredible debate legacy. Melvin B. Tolson, the greatest African American debate coach in our nation’s history, received his early speech training at Lincoln High. His success inspired the film The Great Debaters, where he was played by Denzel Washington. More recently, Joe Miller’s award winning book, Cross-X, detailed the journey and success of the Kansas City Central debate team.

Before the creation of DEBATE-Kansas City in 1998, only two schools in the city had debate teams. At DKC’s peak, 40 middle and high schools had teams. Unfortunately, as The Kansas City Star recently reported, debate programs in Kansas City recently suffered from significant financial cutbacks, ultimately resulting in an 82% decline in students who can participate in KCMO. Nobody knows the exact moment when successful programs like debate die in inner cities; they just slowly fade out of consciousness.

We can avoid this fate, we can keep a legacy alive and empower the next generation of great debaters to write new stories of success. Our goal is raise $50,000 so that we can continue to provide these essential debate opportunities to students in the Kansas City area. With your generous support, we can save DEBATE in Kansas City.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey E. Thomas
President of the DEBATE-Kansas City Board of Directors

Success by the Numbers

Research consistently confirms that debate is an effective pedagogical tool to increase academic achievement, leadership, and self-image. Below are some highlights from our experience and from large research projects designed to measure the effect of debate on a student.

Deja Davis - Enthusiastic Debater Murdered in Kansas City

2012-01-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

Ruskin’s debate team remembers Deja Davis’ ‘open and giving heart’

BY DONALD BRADLEY
The Kansas City Star

Deja Davis started out shy in debate.

But the Ruskin High School student was smart and as her confidence grew so did her love for public speaking.

No doubt she would have been primed for this weekend’s Golden Eagle Speech and Debate Tournament at Ruskin High in south Kansas City.

But Deja will be there only in the thoughts of her teammates and in the warmth of the coats that students from other schools bring.

The 16-year-old student was murdered Thanksgiving night.

“The entire squad took it hard,” said Paul Hackenberger, Ruskin’s debate coach.

Soon after the killing, he assembled the team so they could talk about a way to honor their fallen colleague.

“She was passionate and enthusiastic,” Hackenberger said. “There was not a time she came into class without a question to ask about the topic we were discussing or about how to formulate arguments.

“The students were full of wonderful ideas. Time after time, they recalled she had such an open and giving heart, so we thought it only appropriate to work with a charitable organization in her honor.”

The team collaborated with the Community Assistance Council (CAC), to hold a winter coat drive during this week’s debate tournament. Schools participating are being asked to bring new or gently used winter-weather coats, gloves, hats and other warm clothing. Schools will compete to see who brings in the most.

The team also came up with “Deja’s Donations” to benefit Wayside Waifs.

About 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving, when police arrived on a burglary call to a house in the 6600 block of Bellefontaine Avenue, someone fired at officers. Police shot back, hitting the suspect who died at the scene.

Thinking more people could be involved, police called an Operation 100 and tactical units entered the house. They found two people dead, Deja Davis and her godmother, Loretta Petty, 53.

The dead suspect was identified as the older woman’s husband, Jerry Petty.

Deja’s mother, Stephanie Davis, said she couldn’t find a single photograph of her daughter in which the girl was not smiling. Deja wanted to be a nurse practitioner, she said.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3389060/ruskins-debate-team-remembers.html#storylink=cpy

WSDC Capetown Octafinal Results, Quarterfinal Matches

2012-01-24T17:27:00.001-05:00

From
http://paullau.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/results-wsdc-2012-of-results-and-qf-match-up/

Octofinal Results
Motion: THBT the government should create special schools that teach in endangered indigenous languages
OF1: Singapore (1) vs. South Korea (16) ~~~ 2-1 Singapore (Opposition)
OF2: Philippines (8) vs. Canada (9) ~~~ 2-1 Philippines (Proposition)
OF3: Australia (4) vs. Malaysia (13) ~~~ 3-0 Australia (Proposition)
OF4: Scotland (5) vs. Greece (12) ~~~ 3-0 Scotland (Proposition)
OF5: Lithuania (11) vs. England (6) ~~~ 3-0 England (Opposition)
OF6: Hong Kong (14) vs. New Zealand (3) ~~~ 2-1 New Zealand (Opposition)
OF7: India (10) vs. Wales (7) ~~~ 3-0 Wales (Opposition)
OF8: Ireland (15) vs. South Africa (2) ~~~ 2-1 Ireland (Opposition)

All wins were by the team that broke higher, except for Octofinal 8 where Ireland, who broke 15th, defeated hosts South Africa, who broke 2nd.

Quarterfinal Match-up
QF1: Singapore (1) vs. Philippines (8)
QF2: Australia (4) vs. Scotland (5)
QF3: England (6) vs. New Zealand (3)
QF4: Wales (7) vs. Ireland (15)

Quarterfinal Match-up by Total Speaker Points Ranking
QF1: Singapore (2) vs. Philippines (17)
QF2: Australia (4) vs. Scotland (6)
QF3: England (1) vs. New Zealand (7)
QF4: Wales (9) vs. Ireland (13)

Interesting thought, might this change the perception of how difficult or easy a debate might or might not be?

From https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/WSDC and http://schoolsdebate.com/years/2012/

Shengwu Li on Setting Motions, a Must Read

2012-01-24T17:21:00.000-05:00

There is an excellent piece by Shengwu Li, formerly of Oxford now of Stanford. Everyone who is involved in setting motions can learn something from this.

http://trolleyproblem.blogspot.com/2012/01/advice-for-new-cas-setting-motions.html

I asked him for his judging CV, and he said:

I've been Chief Adjudicator at almost every major British IV. These include the Manchester IV, the Oxford IV, and the Cambridge IV. I was also CA at the Trinity IV, which is Ireland's largest competition. I've judged out-rounds, finals, etc, pretty much to the degree you'd expect. I'm also the CA for this year's LSE Open.
Internationally, I've judged at the European Universities Debating Championships twice, and been on the CA team once (for Galway Euros 2011). I've also judged at Worlds 2012 (Open-break quarterfinal and ESL Final). I've also judged at two World Schools Debating Championships (Cardiff 2006, Dundee 2011).

Former Liberty Debate Coach Joins Romney Campaign

2012-01-23T19:36:00.001-05:00

Brett O'Donnell listens to then-Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), on Sept. 19, 2011, in Sheffield, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall - Associated Press)“Brett’s been working with us for some time, since Michele Bachmann got out of the race,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul. Bachmann ended her presidential bid earlier this month after a disappointing finish in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa.

Mitt Romney taps former Bachmann strategist for debate prep
By Felicia Sonmez and Amy Gardner

(Joe Raedle - Getty Images)Former Massachusetts governorMitt Romney (R) is turning to a former strategist for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) presidential bid to help him with debate prep as the GOP presidential race heads into the key primary state of Florida.

Brett O’Donnell, a former top Bachmann strategist and debate coach, confirmed via e-mail Monday that he is informally assisting Romney’s camp.

“I actually haven’t signed on formally, but I’ve been helping for some time after Michele got out,” O’Donnell wrote. “I am still very focused on helping her move forward as well.”

A Romney spokeswoman also confirmed that O’Donnell is aiding the campaign.

O’Donnell, who was seen talking with several other Romney advisers at campaign events Monday, is well-known in GOP political circles for working with candidates’ natural abilities, as the Post’s Amy Gardner noted in her September profile of the adviser.

Once a legendary debate coach at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, O’Donnell went on to coach George W. Bush in his 2004 re-election bid. In 2008, he played a key role in helping Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) prepare for his debates against then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The O’Donnell news comes as the four remaining GOP contenders — Romney, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and former senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) — prepare to face off at 9 p.m. Monday night for their 17th debate of the primary season.

Staff writer Philip Rucker contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/mitt-romney-taps-former-bachmann-strategist-for-debate-prep/2012/01/23/gIQAzcbkLQ_blog.html

The Break! - WSDC Capetown Octafinal Pairings

2012-01-23T17:00:00.000-05:00

WSDC 2012: THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS

Singapore (1)

Korea (16)

Philippines (8)

Canada (9)

Australia (4)

Malaysia (13)

Scotland (5)

Greece (12)

Lithuania (11)

England (6)

Hong Kong (14)

New Zealand (3)

India (10)

Wales (7)

Ireland (15)

South Africa (2)

World Debate Institute Programs for 2012 Announced

2012-01-23T16:54:00.003-05:00

2012 Events Announced - a Lot of Them!

2012 is shaping up to be a very active year for the World Debate Institute as it promotes debating all around the world, in many formats and in a variety of languages. The World Debate Institute is not a funding agent, we don’t pay for things, but we do supply expertise, personnel, curriculum and planning for events people want to offer, as well as supporting a number of well-established events.

In January we will be announcing the 4th Thinking and Speaking a Better World conference which will take place in Doha, Qatar in January 2013. Lots of details coming after the launch.

WDI will be assisting at a University debate tournament and workshop taking place in Bosnia Hercgovina March 12-18 2012. It will be the first major university debate event in the country and is arranged through cooperation with WDI partner ZIP Slovenia along with local organizers.

Alfred Snider, WDI director, has been named to be the Chief Adjudicator at the US Universities Debating Championship to take place at Willamette University in Oregon 13-15 April, where 200 teams are expected to compete for the USA national title. For more information go tohttp://www.willamette.edu/cla/debate/events/2011_2012/USU2012.html .

The Faculty of Organizaional Sciences at the University of Belgrade is planning a workshop on ecological advocacy to take place in Belgrade, Serbia 18-22 June 2012. The faculty has partnered with WDI previously on several events, including a very successful summer training program in persuasion. More details coming.

WDI will again partner with ZIP Slovenia in sponsoring the World Schools Debate Academy to be held in Slovenia 29 July-7 August 2012. This successful program brings high school students from all over the globe to learn and develop in a week long workshop that concludes with a tournament, For more information, to go tohttp://debateacademy.net/Debate_Academy/WSDA_Slovenia.html . This time we are expecting over 100 students.

WDI will cooperate with the Lawrence Debate Union at the University of Vermont to host a workshop for Vermont school students 25-30 June 2012. The focus will be on at-risk students who do not usually have such beneficial summer programs. A website will go up soon.

Romanian debate organization ARGO is holding an international schools invitational tournament 26-30 July 2012 and WDI director Snider has been invited to be the Chief Adjudicator. Plans are to attend this event, but details are still in the process of becoming. Their website is athttp://www.argodebate.ro/ .

WDI will once again be an important part of sponsoring the 2012 Spanish language university world debate championship, the Campeonato Mundial Universitario de Debate to be held 5-11 August in Santiago Chile at Universidad Andres Bello. Last year’s first ever event was a huge success and this one should be bigger and better than ever.

WDI will be sponsoring the North American Debate Academy (formerly East Debate Institute) 19-24 August 2012. This FREE top quality debate workshop has been growing each year and attracting excellent faculty. See more details athttp://debateacademy.net/Debate_Academy/EDI_Vermont.html .

There are many other plans in the works, so keep checking back for news!

http://debate.uvm.edu/debateblog/wdi/WDI_Blog/Entries/2012/1/23_2012_Events_Announced_-_a_Lot_of_Them!.html

WSDC Capetown Records at the End of Prelims

2012-01-23T10:08:00.001-05:00

PROVISIONAL AGGREGATES AFTER ROUND 8

Note: The Chief Adjudicators do not yet guarantee the accuracy of these results.

The full team tab will follow the announcement of The Break.

TEAM WINS JUDGES

Argentina 4 12

Australia 7 20

Bangladesh 2 12

Bermuda 1 3

Botswana 2 6

Canada 6 17

China 3 10

Czech Republic 3 10

Denmark 1 5

England 6 20

Estonia 5 14

Germany 3 7

Greece 6 16

Hong Kong 5 16

India 6 17

Indonesia 4 13

Ireland 5 16

Israel 5 15

Japan 0 1

Korea 5 15

Kuwait 0 2

Lithuania 6 17

Malaysia 6 15

Mexico 4 12

Moldova 0 2

Mongolia 0 0

Netherlands 4 13

New Zealand 8 21

Nigeria 0 0

Pakistan 5 15

Peru 3 8

Philippines 6 18

Qatar 2 4

Romania 3 10

Scotland 7 19

Singapore 8 23

Slovakia 4 13

Slovenia 4 14

South Africa 8 21

Sri Lanka 5 14

Swaziland 4 12

Sweden 1 5

Thailand 5 14

Turkey 4 11

UAE 5 12

USA 2 8

Wales 6 18

Zimbabwe 3 10

WSDC Capetown Round 8 Results

2012-01-23T10:01:00.003-05:00

PROVISIONAL RESULTS : ROUND 8

Note: Numbers in parentheses refer to the number of judges won.

The Chief Adjudicators do not yet guarantee the accuracy of these results.

Australia Prop (2) defeated England Opp (1)

Bermuda Prop (2) defeated Romania Opp (1)

China Opp (3) defeated Qatar Prop (0)

Denmark Prop (2) defeated Moldova Opp (1)

Estonia Opp (2) defeated Bangladesh Prop (1)

Germany Prop (2) defeated Czech Republic Opp (1)

India Opp (3) defeated UAE Prop (0)

Indonesia Opp (3) defeated Botswana Prop (0)

Ireland Prop (3) defeated Korea Opp (0)

Israel Prop (2) defeated Sri Lanka Opp (1)

Lithuania Prop (3) defeated Mongolia Opp (0)

Malaysia Opp (3) defeated USA Prop (0)

Mexico Opp (3) defeated Peru Prop (0)

New Zealand Opp (3) defeated Greece Prop (0)

Pakistan Opp (2) defeated Netherlands Prop (1)

Philippines Opp (2) defeated Hong Kong Prop (1)

Scotland Prop (2) defeated Slovenia Opp (1)

Singapore Opp (3) defeated Canada Prop (0)

Slovakia Opp (3) defeated Kuwait Prop (0)

South Africa Prop (2) defeated Wales Opp (1)

Swaziland Prop (3) defeated Nigeria Opp (0)

Thailand Opp (3) defeated Argentina Prop (0)

Turkey Prop (2) defeated Sweden Opp (1)

Zimbabwe Opp (3) defeated Japan Prop (0)

Global Debate Times January 21 2012

2012-01-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

http://paper.li/asnider/1314018022

GLOBAL DEBATE TIMES

Verbattle Contest in India Moves Ahead

2012-01-23T07:43:00.001-05:00

HYDERABAD: The battle of the words did finish off with a dramatic end. The final selection round for Verbattle South, an inter-state debate competition, which was held at the Sundarayaa Vignan Bhavan saw a good response from the students.

Six teams which have been zeroed in from Hyderabad for the next round include four teams from Chirec Public School, one team each from Jubilee Hills Public School and P Obul Reddy Public School and the students were from classes 7 to 10 and in the age group of 12 to 16 years.

A few topics on which the teams debated in the selection round were, “There is no culture without civic sense”, “Privatization is the root of all economic problems”, “Tolerance is a weakness” and a topic given by PETA “Animals do not have rights like human beings” among others. Deepak Thimaya, supervised the debates and was also the moderator.

The next round will be held in Bangalore on January 23, where teams from Hyderabad, Karnataka, Chenna i , Kochi and Pondicherry will compete against each other.

The finals of Verbattle South will also be held in Bangalore on January 24.

The final winning team will be awarded a cash prize of `1,00,000, the last two finalist teams will get `20,000 each and the best state team will get `5,000 and there is also a prize of `10,000 for the mentor of the winning team.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/six-teams-in-verbattles-next-round/223395-60-121.html

Global Debate

USA College Public Forum Nationals 2012

Join WSDC Ltd.

Yale, Penn & Rochester Win Big Cornell Tournament

IPPF Announces "Elite 8" Schools Teams, Winning a Trip to NYC

Chicago Debate Chronicle February 2012

Malaysian Royal Debates Features Malay, English & Arabic

Future of Oregon Forests Debated on Television

Is This the World's Best Debate Timer?

Related articles

London School of Economics Wins Inner Temple IV 2012

The Life of a USA Policy Debater Profiled

Minnesota Urban Debate League Gets Summer Funding

Pan American Debate Championship in Spanish 2012

Hong Kong Schools Debating Championships Results

Team Tab

Speaker Tab

USU Announces 2012 Motions Committee & Process

IDEA Asia Youth Forum Call for Trainers

World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship 2012

Global Debate Times 4 February 2012

Kansas court reverses high school debate coach's sexual molestation conviction

Madison Cup Offers Big Money Prizes, Unique Format

Romney's New Debate Coach Gets Cut - Too Much Publicity

Related articles

United Asian Debating Championship 2012 Website Launched

Issues Spill Out in Bosnia Political Debate on "Genocide" Claim

Sciences Po IV 2012: 13-14 April

Belgrade Euros 2012 Registration Details

Bratislava Schools Debating Competition 2012

Urban Debate News Winter 2012

Debatijada Open 2012 in Mostar in April

Northwestern Tops USA Policy Poll for January

WUDC Berlin Registration Details

Migrant Students in USA Learn Through Speech & Debate

Loyola Marymount is Tops in USA Parliamentary & Policy Debate

Real Debaters Would Trounce Politicians - North Americans Tournament

Kansas City Remembers Slain Debater Déja Davis

Romney Resurgence Credited to New Debate Coach, Ex-Liberty University Mentor

Related articles

Global Debate Times January 28, 2012

Chester Gibson: Debate Coach for Young Gingrich

USA National Debate Tournament 2012 Invitation

America's Cup Roster Updated - 4 Teams Added

NPDA Nationals 2012 Invitation

News from IDEA January 27

Complete WSDC 2012 Results

Wiley & Southern California Restage 1935 "Great Debaters" Event

Related articles

WSDC Champion - Scotland Defeats Wales 8-1

Joe McGrade About Winning Public Speaking Title in Manila

North Americans to Webcast Final from Toronto

Registration for US Universities Now Open

List of Tournaments for World Universities Sweepstakes

WSDC Capetown Quarters Results, Semis Matches

DEBATE-Kansas City Fights for Survival

Deja Davis - Enthusiastic Debater Murdered in Kansas City

WSDC Capetown Octafinal Results, Quarterfinal Matches

Shengwu Li on Setting Motions, a Must Read

Former Liberty Debate Coach Joins Romney Campaign

The Break! - WSDC Capetown Octafinal Pairings

World Debate Institute Programs for 2012 Announced

WSDC Capetown Records at the End of Prelims

WSDC Capetown Round 8 Results

Global Debate Times January 21 2012

Verbattle Contest in India Moves Ahead