IndoDebate's Debater of the Year List as of July 2011

Roderick Sibarani from Universitas Indonesia is still leading the IndoDebate's Debater of the Year list after consistent results in the recent National Universities English Debating Championships and Java Overland Varsities English Debate.

Besides JOVED and NUEDC, the list has incorporated results from the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships' ESL category and Bawor Cup. The two latter tournaments had UI's Dimas Hokka lifting the trophy and those achievements propelled him into the top 5 of the DOTY rankings. Rifan Ibnu Rahman may have not won a tournament yet but his ability to reach 4 different grand finals this year, including at NUEDC and JOVED, made the Institut Teknologi Bandung debater very close to pole position.

Here are the top 5 on the current table:
1. Roderick Sibarani (UI)
2. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (ITB)
3. Satrio Adi Pratama (Undip)
4. Eldhianto Jusuf (UGM)
5. Dimas Hokka (UI)

For the complete list, click on the DOTY button on the main bar.

JOVED 2011: Key Results

Champions: #1 Universitas Diponegoro A (Satrio Adi Pratama, Rizky Akita, Edward Sutanto)
Finalists: #6 Institut Teknologi Bandung C (Dito Krista, Rifan Ibnu Rahman, Safira Lazuardi)
Semifinalists: #5 Universitas Indonesia A (Dennys Kapa, Egalita Irfan, Bramesada Prasastyoga) & #7 Universitas Indonesia B (Aulia Anggita, Fahmi Islami, Roderick Sibarani)

Top 10 Speakers

1. Satrio Adi Pratama (Universitas Diponegoro A)
2. Subarkah Syafruddin (Universitas Indonesia C)
3. Rajkumar Narendra (Binus International C)
4. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia B)
5. Dito Krista (Institut Teknologi Bandung C)
6. Edward Sutanto (Universitas Diponegoro A)
7. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung C)
8. Rizky Akita (Universitas Diponegoro A)
9. Dwita Aryani (Universitas Parahyangan B)
10. Dimas Hokka (Universitas Indonesia C)

JOVED 2011: Undip Wins Trophy, Best Speaker, All Matches

Universitas Diponegoro came to the 15th Java Overland Varsities English Debate without a history of winning this tournament before but left unbeaten with the best team and top speaker trophies.

#1 Undip A (Satrio Adi Pratama, Rizky Akita, Edward Sutanto) defeated #6 Institut Teknologi Bandung C (Dito Krista, Rifan Ibnu Rahman, Safira Lazuardi) in the grand final that ended with a 7-2 split decision. They previously topped the tab as the only team without a loss in the preliminaries.

Satrio took the best speaker award, his third this year. He has never left a 2011 competition without such a prize so far. However, tonight's win was his first championship victory debating for the Semarang-based university in 2011. He won the Indonesian Finance Festival Debates last March with teammates from other schools. Last year, Satrio gave Undip its first major trophy at the 2010 National Universities English Debating Championships.

For ITB's Rifan, it was his fourth loss in a final this year. He has performed superbly since the first month of 2011 when he became top debater in the Indonesian Varsities English Debate but he has not clinched a championship yet. The 2011 JOVED finalists knocked out teams from Universitas Indonesia in the semi-finals, denying an all-UI final, which became a likelihood after 3 squads from this school reached the top 8.

The 15th edition of JOVED, the first tournament in Indonesia using an internationally accepted debating format, was held at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta. Purwokerto will host next year.

JOVED 2011: Three UI Teams Advance to Quarters

All of Universitas Indonesia's 3 teams at the 2011 Java Overland Varsities English Debate marched to the quarterfinals after beating their opponents today. An all-UI final is still a possibility. Binus International could not match that feat as 2 teams fell in the octofinals, leaving only one squad standing. The top 8 teams of the preliminaries are still intact.


All remaining stages will take place tomorrow. The match-up for the quarterfinals looks like this:

#1 Universitas Diponegoro A v #8 Universitas Gadjah Mada A

#2 Binus International C v #7 Universitas Indonesia B

#3 Universitas Indonesia C v #6 Institut Teknologi Bandung C

#4 Universitas Parahyangan B v #5 Universitas Indonesia A

The octofinals used the last batch of prepared motions, ascertaining further rounds will be all impromptu. The topics debated today came from the selection below: 

• THW prefer multilateral party to bilateral for settling the dispute of Preah Vihear Temple hinterland
• THBT the West Bank barrier should not be dismantled in order to attain peace between both conflicting parties
• THBT India should save itself the trouble and let Kashmir 

JOVED 2011: Knockout Bracket

1. UNDIP A
	1. UNDIP A
16. Atma B
8. UGM A		1. UNDIP A
	8. UGM A
9. Binus B
4. UNPAR B			1. UNDIP A
	4. UNPAR B
13. Bakrie
5. UI A		5. UI A
	5. UI A
12. UGM B
2. BIPEDS C
				1. UNDIP A
	2. BIPEDS C
15. ITB A
7. UI B		7. UI B
	7. UI B
10. BIPEDS B
3. UI C			6. ITB C
	3. UI C
14. Brawijaya
6. ITB C		6. ITB C
	6. ITB C
11. BIPEDS A

JOVED 2011: Undefeated Undip Tops Break List

Universitas Diponegoro, a school that has never won the Java Overland Varsities English Debate before, broke first into the elimination round of this year's edition. Undip A (Satrio Adi Pratama, Rizky Akita, Edward Sutanto) won all of their 6 preliminary debates.

The competition in the 15th JOVED has been tight so far with only 5 teams out of 60 with more than 4 wins. The second day of prelims featured motions on economics, environment and law. Motions on international relations, security and current affairs have yet to emerge.

Universitas Indonesia and Binus International Pool of English Debaters saw all of their 3 teams advancing into the knockouts. But UI is the only institution that has a shot, a very tough one, to take all spots in the grandfinal after  BIPEDS A, B, and C found themselves on the same side of the bracket. The 16 teams that broke all come from Java and they are:

1. Universitas Diponegoro A 
2. Binus International C 
3. Universitas Indonesia C 
4. Universitas Parahyangan B 
5. Universitas Indonesia A 
6. Institut Teknologi Bandung C 
7. Universitas Indonesia B 
8. Universitas Gadjah Mada A 
9. Binus University B 
10. Binus International B 
11. Binus International A 
12. Universitas Gadjah Mada B 
13. Universitas Bakrie 
14. Universitas Brawijaya 
15. Institut Teknologi Bandung A 
16. Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta B 

JOVED 2011: Non-Politics Motions Fill First Day of Prelims

The preliminaries of the 15th Java Overland Varsities English Debate in Yogyakarta began today with 3 rounds that did not touch hard politics. Sports theme kicked off the competition, the second round had prepared motions on technology and debates at the end of the day were all about marriage. This signals that economics, politics and international relations will dominate the next rounds. Teams need to go through 3 more preliminary debates tomorrow before the late night break announcement.
The motions that were used on Day 1 of debates are as follows:

R1. Sports

• THW allow the use of performance enhancing drugs in professional sports
• THBT fans should have more than half of the ownership for the team they support
• THW allow people with physical disabilities to enter the Olympics

R2. Science and Technology

• THBT road pricing in cities brings more harm than good
• THW endorse software programs protection with patent instead of copyright
• THBT European Union should allow food products to be irradiated

R3. Marriage

• THBT courts should refuse to recognize pre-nuptial agreement
• THBT states should give married individuals the option to have multiple legal spouses
• THW give payment to housewives or househusbands for their work at home

JOVED 2011: 60 Teams Descend on UGM's Bulaksumur

Universitas Gadjah Mada's Faculty of Agriculture
Venue of JOVED 2011 Accreditations

Competitive English debating in Indonesia jumpstarted its proliferation through the Java Overland Varsities English Debate in 1997 and today 60 teams have arrived at Universitas Gadjah Mada's Bulaksumur campus in Yogyakarta to celebrate the competition's 15th edition.

Before JOVED, there were already a few sporadic English debating contests in Indonesia, including the long-running ALSA UI E-Comp. But they did not follow internationally accepted rules and almost all of them were part of a larger English-themed event.

JOVED 1997 gathered teams from all over the main island of Java for the sole purpose of competitive debating and became the launchpad of an activity that has now spread across the archipelago.  It also introduced a mechanism called the JOVED Council Meeting, which does not only select the host for the next tournament but also provides an official stage for discussions on all matters related to debating in Indonesia. Currently, JOVED is a truly national tournament with participants from outside Java.

JOVED first used the Australasian uninterrupted 3-on-3 format just like the 1997 All-Asians that inspired its conception. When All-Asians modified the model by allowing POIs, JOVED followed suit. While All-Asians have ceased with UADC as its replacement, JOVED is still alive and kicking.

After a series of team pullouts, resignations of 3 DCAs, withdrawals of invited adjudicators and a change to a prepared motion, JOVED will begin today with accreditations. All teams must go through 6 preliminary rounds on Saturday and Sunday. The best 16 will go to the octofinals on July 25 and the grandfinal will take place the next day. Here are the finalized list of the 60 teams that will fight for the classical JOVED title. Team Indonesia for WSDC 2011 will participate in JOVED as a non-breaking team.

1. Akademi Angkatan Udara A
2. Akademi Angkatan Udara B
3. Binus International A
4. Binus International B
5. Binus Internasional C
6. Binus University A
7. Binus University B
8. Institut Manajemen Telkom A
9. Institut Manajemen Telkom B
10. Institut Pertanian Bogor A
11. Institut Teknologi Bandung A
12. Institut Teknologi Bandung B
13. Institut Teknologi Bandung C
14. Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya A
15. Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya B
16. Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya C
17. Politeknik Telkom Bandung A
18. Politeknik Telkom Bandung B
19. Sampoerna School of Education A
20. STBA Teknokrat A
21. STBA Teknokrat B
22. STKIP Banjarmasin A
23. STMIK AMIKOM Yogyakarta A
24. STMIK AMIKOM Yogyakarta B
25. Universitas Ahmad Dahlan A
26. Universitas Ahmad Dahlan B
27. Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta A
28. Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta B
29. Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta C
30. Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta A
31. Universitas Bakrie A
32. Universitas Brawijaya A
33. Universitas Dian Nuswantoro A
34. Universitas Diponegoro A
35. Universitas Diponegoro B
36. Universitas Gadjah Mada A
37. Universitas Gadjah Mada B
38. Universitas Hasanuddin
39. Universitas Indonesia A
40. Universitas Indonesia B
41. Universitas Indonesia C
42. Universitas Islam Negeri Maliki Malang A
43. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman A
44. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman B
45. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana A
46. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana B
47. Universitas Lampung A
48. Universitas Lampung B
49. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang A 
50. Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta A
51. Universitas Negeri Malang A
52. Universitas Negeri Semarang A
53. Universitas Negeri Semarang B
54. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta A
55. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta B
56. Universitas Padjadjaran A
57. Universitas Parahyangan A
58. Universitas Parahyangan B
59. Universitas Sriwijaya A 
60. Universitas Tarumanagara A

DOTY's July List to Come Out After JOVED

IndoDebate's Debater of the Year list for July will go public only after the 15th Java Overland Varsities English Debate that is currently taking place until July 26. Up until now, results from NUEDC, Australs and Bawor Cup, which just ended 2 days ago, have been calculated but the June list will stay up for a few more days.

JOVED results will absolutely bring more changes to the scoreboard, rendering the provisional list a very short life if it goes up now. The absence of tournaments right after JOVED due to Ramadan provides time for the DOTY list to stay current for a long period from the end of July. Moreover, many list leaders will compete in JOVED and an up-to-date release may exacerbate the halo effect that is already building around them.

UI Bags 3 Debating Crowns in Less Than 10 Days

Debaters from Universitas Indonesia grabbed the school's third debating trophy in 9 days after championing the Perbanas Marketing Debating Competition yesterday. While PMDC was a competition using Indonesian and did not use a known format, the participants came from all over the country and the core of the winning team are members of English Debating Society Universitas Indonesia.

Iki Sari Dewi and Agita Nalsalia, along with non-EDS UI member Amadea Novia Ferty, eliminated host Perbanas Institute in the final that was broadcast live on radio. The judges mostly were marketing experts and the motions had an economics theme.

The streak began on July 13 when EDS UI members Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani and Subarkah Syafruddin won the ESL category of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships in Seoul. Eight days later Hokka bagged another trophy with EDS UI President Ahdiat Permana when they defended their title as champions of Bawor Cup. Will the successful run continue at the upcoming 15th Java Overland Varsities English Debate, the country's first debating tournament using an internationally accepted format?

Bawor Cup 2011: Key Results

Champions: Universitas Indonesia A (Ahdiat Permana & Dimas Hokka)
-fully funded to compete in World Universities Peace Invitational Debate-

Finalists: Universitas Indonesia C (Egalita Irfan & Indra Kusuma), Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Ika Septihandayani & Eldhianto Jusuf), Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara A (By Charles Butarbutar & Hendy Prihambudi)

Novice Champions: Universitas Jenderal Soedirman EFEC A (Algi Rahmat Alfianto & Riswanto Yusuf)
-fully funded to compete in Kuala Lumpur Open Challenge-

Top Ten Speakers

1. Ika Septihandayani (Universitas Gadjah Mada A) - funded to debate in KLOC
2. Eldhianto Jusuf (Universitas Gadjah Mada A) - funded to debate in KLOC
3. Dimas Hokka (Universitas Indonesia A)
4. Nurbaniyara Muthmainnah (Universitas Parahyangan A)
5. Ahdiat Permana (Universitas Indonesia A)
6. Josefhine Chitra (Universitas Parahyangan A)
7. Aryo Febrian (Universitas Bakrie A)
8. Indra Kusuma (Universitas Indonesia C)
9. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia C)
10. Sabaruddin Adinugroho (Universitas Bina Nusantara A)

UI Debaters Defend Bawor Cup Title

#1 UI A (Ahdiat Permana & Dimas Hokka) are the masters of Bawor Cup. They defended their title last night in the final of the tournament's second edition against #3 UI C (Egalita Irfan & Indra Kusuma), #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Ika Septihandayani & Eldhianto Jusuf) and #15 Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara A (By Charles Butarbutar & Hendy Prihambudi). Bawor Cup started last year to bring top Indonesian debaters to the Purwokerto region, where debating is under-developed.

For Hokka, the victory was his second trophy in as many weeks after championing the ESL category of the 2011 Australasians Intervarsity Debating Championships last week. He is now bent on scoring a hattrick in the 2011 Java Overland Varsities English Debate that will start tomorrow in Yogyakarta.

The UI team won the prize to compete in the prestigious 2011 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in December fully financed by Bawor Cup sponsors. Organizers also promised to send the top 2 speakers to the Kuala Lumpur Open Challenge in August and that honor went to the UGM pair who came first and second on the tab. A team from Purwokerto's Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, which championed the novice category, will also go to KLOC next month.

UI Teams Crowd Bawor Cup 2011 Grandfinal

Two teams from Universitas Indonesia secured half of the 4 spots in the grand final of the 2nd Bawor Cup debates in Purwokerto that will take place tonight. #1 UI A (Ahdiat Permana & Dimas Hokka), the winners of last year's competition, will fight to retain their title against schoolmates #3 UI C (Egalita Irfan & Indra Kusuma), veteran debaters from #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Eldhianto Jusuf & Ika Septihandayani) and a team from #15 Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara A (By Charles Butarbutar & Hendy Prihambudi).

This year's champions will get full funding to compete in the 2011 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in December. The top 2 best speakers of this British Parliamentary tournament will be able to team up and debate in the upcoming Kuala Lumpur Open Challenge financed by the Bawor Cup sponsors.

Bawor Cup 2011: Main Break List

Universitas Indonesia A (Ahdiat Permana, Dimas Hokka), champions of last year's Bawor Cup, broke first into the quarterfinals of this Purwokerto-based tournament's 2011 edition. All knockouts will take place today. Here are the 16 teams that advanced from the preliminary stage.

1. Universitas Indonesia A
2. Universitas Parahyangan A
3. Universitas Indonesia C
4. Universitas Gadjah Mada A
5. Universitas Bakrie A
6. Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara B
7. Universitas Bakrie B
8. Institut Teknologi Bandung A
9. Universitas Bina Nusantara A
10. STBA Teknokrat A
11. Universitas Indonesia B
12. STBA Teknokrat C
13. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman JEC A
14. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman EDS A
15. Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara A
16. STBA Teknokrat B

Bawor Prelims to End Today, UI Pair Bent on Keeping Title

Universitas Indonesia A (Ahdiat Permana, Dimas Hokka) looked set to retain the Bawor Cup champion title after gathering full points (9VP) from the first 3 preliminary rounds. There are 2 more matches to go later today before the break.

The pair won the inaugural edition of this Purwokerto-based, British Parliamentary tournament last year. Hokka just arrived from Seoul where his team became the ESL champions of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships last week. Bawor Cup organizers promise this year's winner can attend the 2011 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in December without spending a cent on registration, transport and accommodation. They will also finance 2 teams --the best novice team and one made up of the top 2 speakers of the tournament-- to compete in the Kuala Lumpur Open Challenge next August.

Australs 2011: Key Results

CHAMPIONS: #4 Victoria University of Wellington 1 (Seb Templeton, Richard D'Ath, Udayan Mukherjee)
FINALISTS : #6 National University of Singapore 1 (Imran Rahim, Sadhana Rai, Robin Teo)
ESL CHAMPIONS: #7ESL Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin)
ESL FINALISTS: #4ESL University of Hong Kong 1 (Abel Lam, Fiona Chong, Benjamin Yu)
BEST SPEAKER : #1 Eleanor Jones (University of Sydney 1)
BEST REPLY SPEAKER : #1 Eleanor Jones (University of Sydney 1)
BEST SPEAKER IN FINAL : #15 Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria University of Wellington 1)
BEST ESL SPEAKER : #38 Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University 1)

Indonesian Results in Australs 2011

Universitas Indonesia 1 - ESL CHAMPIONS
Prelims : 4-4/#7ESL/#61; Elims : 3 wins
Wins: University of Hong Kong 1 (ESL Final), International Christian University 1 (ESL Semi), Universiti Malaya 1 (ESL Quarters), University of Peking 1 (R8), Chung Ang University 1 (R5), Macquarie University 4 (R4), Underwood International College 1 (R2)
Losses: Monash University 3 (R7), Victoria University of Wellington 3 (R6), University of Auckland 2 (R3), Binus International 1 (R1)
Speaker Ranks: #179 Riza Aryani, #208 M. Subarkah Syafruddin, #209 Dimas Hokka

Binus International 1 - ESL QUARTERFINALIST
Prelims : 4-4/#3ESL/#51; Elims : 1 loss
Wins: Chung Ang University (R7), Nanyang Technological University 1 (R4), University of Technology Sydney 1 (R3), Universitas Indonesia 1 (R1)
Losses: International Christian University 1 (ESL Quarters), International Islamic University 1 (R8), Singapore Management University 1 (R6), University of Sydney 4 (R5), University of Melbourne (R2)
Speaker Ranks: #122 Christian Leonardo, #135 Astrio Feligent, #180 Invi Atmanegara

Institut Teknologi Bandung 1 
Prelims: 2-6/#105
Wins: Thammasat University 1 (R4), Taiwan Wenzao Ursuline College 1 (R6)
Losses: Universiti Putra 1 (R8), University of Macao 1 (R7), Chinese University of Hong Kong 1 (R5), HELP University 1 (R3), University of Sydney 6 (R2), University of Korea 3 (R1)
Speaker Ranks: #274 Aryani Atmosudirjo, #294 Diedra Putri, #295 Gladys Brigita

Indonesian Media Run Stories on UI's Australs Win



UI's Australs 2011 contingent (L to R) : Subarkah Syafruddin, 

Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, and adjudicator Ignes Pricillia

Universitas Indonesia's recent win in the ESL category of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships made headlines. Several Jakarta-based media outlets, including Indonesia's most read news portal detik.com and the country's leading business daily newspaper Bisnis Indonesia, ran the stories, which were heavily commented and tweeted afterwards. 

The victory in Seoul gives UI its second trophy of the year after winning the ALSA E-Comp last May. UI defeated University of Hong Kong earlier this week in a final that debated labour in Southeast Asia. Another UI team won the ESL of Australs in 2009, also beating debaters from Hong Kong over a ASEAN-related motion.  

Victoria 1 Grab Australs 2011, Best Speaker in Final

Venue of the Australs 2011 finals

#4 Victoria University of Wellington (Richard D'Ath, Seb Templeton, Udayan Mukherjee) emerged as the champion of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, keeping the trophy that the New Zealand school won last year. In the grand final, they defeated #6 National University of Singapore (Imran Rahim, Sadhana Rai, Robin Teo).

Udayan Mukherjee, part of last year's winning Victoria team, also was awarded the best speaker in the finals. Elle Jones from University of Sydney grabbed the overall best speaker prize, also known as the Martin Sorensen Trophy. Her team, which broke second from the preliminary rounds, lost to NUS 1 in the semifinals earlier today.


The winning team successfully negated the motion "THBT Nations Should Use Bounty Hunters to Capture or Kill Their Enemies" in the final that took place in Seoul. It was the second non-Australian final in as many years following a long stretch of Australian  dominance in the top tournament in the Asia-Oceania region.


Since 1975, whenever a non-Australian team won the Australs, debaters from the Land Down Under would take the trophy back the next year. In fact, from 1983 to 2010, Victoria was the only non-Australian institution that became champions. And they only could that twice. Besides last year, it also won in 1998.

Australs 2011 was the first time a Korean institution, Chung Ang University, hosted the championships. Victoria will be the host next year.

Australs 2011 ESL Trophy Goes to UI

Universitas Indonesia 1 - ESL Champions (L to R) : Syafruddin Subarkah,
Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani and adjudicator Ignes Pricillia

#7ESL Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) ended their journey in the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships as the champion of the ESL category after a final debate against #4ESL University of Hong Kong. They managed to match the achievement of another UI team two years ago, showing that Indonesian debating is alive and kicking. Seven out of 9 adjudicators in the final gave them the nod.

There were two other Indonesian teams at Australs 2011 in Seoul. #3ESL Binus International 1 (Astrio Feligent, Christian Leonardo, Invi Atmanegara) ranked higher than UI 1 but failed to pass the ESL quarterfinal while Institut Teknologi Bandung 1 (Gladys Brigitta, Diedra Putri, Aryani) did not break. UI's Ignes Pricillia was a breaking adjudicator after chairing 6 out of 8 preliminary rounds. Subsequently, she chaired an ESL quarterfinal. ITB's Dito Krista chaired a preliminary debate but did not make the cut.

No Australians in Australs 2011 Grand Final

There will be no team from Australia in the final debate of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships  -- just like last year. Reigning champion #4 Victoria University of Wellington 1 from New Zealand today will defend their title against #6 National University of Singapore 1, which won the top 3-on-3 Asian debating contest last May.

Since 1975, whenever a non-Australian team won the Australs, debaters from the Land Down Under would take the trophy back the next year. In fact, from 1983 to 2010, Victoria was the only non-Australian institution that became champions of the top debating tournament in the Asia-Oceania region. And they only could that twice. Besides last year, Victoria also won in 1998.

From the beginning, Australians showed they were keen to dominate Australs 2011 as they arrived in Seoul as the biggest contingent -- more than a quarter of the 113 participating squads. University of Sydney sent 7 teams and all of them managed to slip into the top 24 but only 4 could break due to the institutional cap rule. Monash University 1 topped the tab after 8 preliminary rounds and Sydney 1 came second. However, Victoria 1 and NUS 1 ruined the script after they eliminated Monash 1 and Sydney 1, respectively, in the semifinals earlier today.

Victoria 1 is led by Udayan Mukherjee who was on last year's winning team. His two partners are Seb Templeton and Richard D'Ath who reached the semifinals of Australs 2010 as Victoria 2.

NUS 1 (Imran Rahim, Sadhana Rai, Robin Teo) may make another historical milestone if they can take the crown. No team from outside Australia and New Zealand has won the Australs. The final will take place at South Korea's National Assembly, which is also the venue for the debate to grab the ESL title between Universitas Indonesia and University of Hong Kong.    

Australs 2011: NUS Only Asian Team in Final Four

#6 National University of Singapore 1 (Imran Rahim, Sadhana Rai, Robin Teo), the reigning Asian champion for 3-on-3 debating, will be the only team from Asia in the main semifinals of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships. NUS 1 defeated fellow Asians #3 Ateneo de Manila University in the quarterfinal and will face hot favourites #2 University of Sydney 1.

In the other semifinal, Monash University 1 (Madelaine Schultz, Gemma Buckley, Chris Bisset), who topped the tab, will debate a team from last year's Australs champion Victoria University of Wellington. No team from outside Australia and New Zealand has won the Australs, the world's largest debating competition using the uninterrupted 3-on-3 format, since it started in 1975.  

UI Debaters Reach Australs 2011 ESL Final

#7ESL Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) made it into the final ESL debate of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships and will meet #4ESL University of Hong Kong 1 in a fight for the title. In the semifinals, UI eliminated #6ESL International Christian University from Japan while Hong Kong knocked out the last standing team from host South Korea, #8ESL Ewha University's EDiS.

UI's journey in Australs 2011 started with sleeping like hobos at Seoul's airport and losing to fellow countrymen Binus International in the first debate but Hokka, Riza and Sume bounced back and showed their mettle. Their road to the ESL final was as follows:

Preliminaries (4-4, #7ESL/#61)
R1 v. Binus International 1 (L)
R2 v. Underwood International College 1 (W)
R3 v. Auckland University 2 (L) -- opponent reached main octofinals
R4 v. Macquarie University 4 (W)
R5 v. Chung Ang University 1 (W)
R6 v. Victoria University of Wellington 3 (L)
R7 v. Monash University 3 (L) -- opponent reached main pre-octofinals
R8 v. Peking University 1 (W)
QF v. #2ESL Universiti Malaya 1 (W)
SF v. #6ESL International Christian University 1 (W)

In 2009, UI also met a team from Hong Kong --The Chinese University of Hong Kong-- in the ESL final of the Australs. Tirza Reinata, Intan Hadijah and Frieda Siregar outdebated them and brought home the trophy. Indonesia hopes history will repeat itself tomorrow at the Australs 2011 ESL Final.

UI Team Sail into Australs 2011 ESL Semis

#7 Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) today defeated #2 Universiti Malaya 1 from Malaysia, ensuring a place in the ESL semifinals of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships. They will face a team from  Japan's #6 International Christian University that eliminated #3 Binus International, the other Indonesian institution which made it to the ESL quarters. 

The UI debaters had a 4-4 record from the preliminary rounds after beating Macquarie University 4 from Australia, Koreans Underwood College and Chung Ang University, and Peking University from China. They are fighting to repeat the achievement of another UI team (Tirza Reinata, Intan Hadijah, Freida Siregar), which won the Australs ESL crown in 2009. The other ESL semi will be between #4 University of Hong Kong 1 and  Ewha University's #8 EDiS 3, which knocked down #1 Multimedia University of Malaysia in a debate that was chaired by UI's Ignes Pricillia. 

Australs 2011: Main Break List

Here are the teams that can proceed into the main elimination stage of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, following a pullout from Sydney 4 and institutional capping that made Sydney 6 and Sydney 7 ineligible to break. Only 4 teams from the same institution can compete in the knockouts.


1. Monash University 1 (7 wins)
2. University of Sydney 1 (7 wins)
3. Ateneo de Manila University 1 (7 wins)
4. Victoria University of Wellington 1 (6 wins)
5. University of Sydney 2 (6 wins)
6. National University of Singapore 1 (6 wins)
7. University of Auckland 1 (6 wins)
8. University of Sydney 5 (6 wins)
9. University of Sydney 3 (6 wins)
10. Universiti Teknologi Mara 2 (6 wins)
11. Monash University 2 (6 wins)
12. Macquarie University 1 (6 wins)
13. Universiti Teknologi Mara 1 (6 wins)
14. Ateneo de Manila University 2 (6 wins)
15. University of Otago 1 (6 wins)
16. Victoria University of Wellington 2 (5 wins)
17. University of Melbourne 1 (5 wins)
18. University of Western Australia 1 (5 wins)
19. University of Auckland 2 (5 wins)
20. Monash University 4 (5 wins)
21. University of Queensland 1 (5 wins)
22. Monash University 3 (5 wins)
23. University of Melbourne 3 (5 wins)
24. International Islamic University Malaysia 1 (5 wins)


Team 9-24 will go through the double-octofinals while the top 8 will meet the winners of that round in the octofinals. Those debates will take place tomorrow.

Binus International, UI Break into Australs 2011 ESL Quarters

Binus International 1 (Astrio Feligent, Christian Leonardo, Invi Atmanegara) and Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) both collected 4 wins in the preliminary stage of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, enabling them to rank third and seventh, respectively, on the tournament's ESL list and break into that category's quarterfinals.

The top 8 ESL teams in Australs 2011 are eligible to compete for the ESL title. They are:

1. #41 Multimedia University Melaka 1 (5VP - 2097)
2. #44 Universiti Malaya 1 (4VP - 2105.5)
3. #51 Binus International 1 (4VP - 2102)
4. #52 University of Hong Kong 1 (4VP - 2101.3)
5. #59 Kyung Hee University 2 (4VP - 2094.8)
6. #60 International Christian University 1 (4VP - 2094)
7. #61 Universitas Indonesia 1 (4VP -2092.5)
8. #62 Ewha University 3 (4VP - 2091.75)

Another Indonesian team from Institut Teknologi Bandung did not make the ESL cut. No team from Indonesia slipped into the top 24 on the overall team tab that will compete in the main elimination rounds.

The ESL and main knockouts will begin on July 12. The top debating tournament in the Asia-Oceania region, which is taking place in Seoul, attracted 113 teams this year.  No university outside from Australia and New Zealand has won Australs, which is the largest 3-on-3 debating tournament in the world, although Asian teams have reached the grandfinals twice since it began in 1975.

UI student, Ignes Pricilla, etched her own achievement, becoming the only Indonesian among the 36 people selected to judge beyond the preliminaries. Ignes chaired 6 out of 8 preliminary rounds, twice as a single adjudicator. 

Indonesia's Australs Fate Depends on Silent Rounds

Three Indonesian teams need substantial wins in the last 2 rounds of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships to advance into the double-octofinals or the ESL knockouts. However, R7 and R8 are silent rounds, forcing debaters to wait until the break announcement this evening for the results.

After 6 rounds, Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) and Binus International 1 (Astrio Feligent, Christian Leonardo, Invi Atmanegara) both are at 3-3 after competing against the best in the tournament. Only teams with 5VP have clear chances to sail through into the main elimination rounds. The best 8 ESL teams are eligible to compete in a separate contest. A 4-4 record may be enough but the threshold may be higher due to large participation from Northeast Asia this year.

UI and Bipeds teams had colorful runs. They met in R1 with the latter coming out triumphant. In subsequent rounds, Bipeds knocked down Asian giant Nanyang Technological University and University of Technology Sydney but lost to Australian powerhouses Melbourne and Sydney. UI's two other defeats were in the hands of last year's champion Victoria University and runner-up Auckland University, both from New Zealand. UI defeated Australia's Macquarie University and Korean colleges, Underwood and Chung Ang.

Another Indonesian team from Institut Teknologi Bandung (Gladys Brigita, Diedra Putri, Aryani) entered R7 with 2 wins. UI adjudicator Ignes Pricillia has chaired 5 out of 6 rounds while ITB judge Dito Krista was chair in R6.

UI Team Win All Debates on Day 2 of Australs 2011

Universitas Indonesia 1 (Dimas Hokka, Riza Aryani, Subarkah Syafruddin) gained maximum points on the second day of preliminaries of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships today after beating Macquarie University 4 from Australia in R4 and host Chung Ang University in R5. With 3VP after 5 rounds, their chances to break into the double-octofinals or the ESL knockouts are still very much alive.

Two other Indonesian teams are also competing in Australs 2011. A Binus International team are still in contention like UI but the squad from Institut Teknologi Bandung may have dim chances as they have only won once in 5 rounds. Day 2 had motions on international relations and the economy. The preliminary stage will continue tomorrow with a scheduled break announcement at the end of the day.

Binus International Beat UT Sydney in Australs 2011

Chung Ang University Library Venue for Australs 2011 Preliminaries Binus International (Astrio Feligent, Christian Leonardo, Invi Atmanegara) today defeated University of Technology Sydney 1 from Australia in the third preliminary round of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, showing Indonesians can compete at the regional level. The top tournament in the Asia-Oceania region, which is better known as Australs, kicked off its preliminaries today in Seoul with 113 teams. More than a quarter of them from Australia, the top country in 3-on-3 debating.  Two other Indonesian teams from Institut Teknologi Bandung and Universitas Indonesia, are also taking part in this competition. No team outside from Australia and New Zealand have won Australs, which is the largest 3-on-3 debating tournament in the world, although Asian teams have reached the grandfinals twice since it began in 1975. This year, 24 teams will be eligible to break into the double-octofinals, which will take place on July 12, due to the large participation. Unfortunately, the number of qualified adjudicators did not match the enthusiasm to debate. On day 1 of the debates, 46 out of 57 rooms had lone judges. The first 3 rounds had motions on sports, development and arms of government. The preliminaries will go on until July 10. There is a separate ESL break in Australs and UI championed that category in 2009. After 3 rounds, the results of the Indonesian teams are as follows: Binus International 2 VP -- 1. UI (W), 2. Melbourne 5 (L), 3. UT Sydney 1 (W)  Universitas Indonesia 1 VP -- 1. Binus Int'l (L), 2. Underwood 3 (W), 3. Auckland 2 (L) Institut Teknologi Bandung 0 VP -- 1. Korea 2 (L), 2. Sydney 6 (L), 3. HELP 1 (L) However, the best performing Indonesian today was an adjudicator. Ignes Pricillia, an UI sophomore, chaired panels in the first 2 rounds and was trusted to become a single adjudicator in round 3. In round 1, she adjudicated Melbourne 1, one of the tournament's favourites.