DOTY 2012: Points from Breaking in International Debate Added

From July, the 2012 IndoDebate Debater of the Year list recognises the achievements of varsity debaters who can break into the main elimination stage of an international competition which has more non-Indonesian teams than the number that can progress into the knockouts. This includes all top-level international championships (WUDC, Australs, UADC, Asian BP) regardless of where they take place and almost all intervarsities held outside Indonesia.

The new feature will not take into account results from Indonesia-based tournaments branding themselves as international but without a number of overseas teams that exceeds the elimination threshold, for example, IPSDC (1 overseas participating team, 8 breaking spots). Such events are considered equal to national debates. ESL/EFL categories of international championships will continue to be valued like national tournaments because the general quality level of these handicapped divisions is not superior to IVED, JOVED or FT.

Debaters who qualify for the new "international break" feature will get 3 points for each time they advance. This is equal to points received for a national championship victory (1 Win, 1 Final, 1 SF). These achievers will continue to collect points if their teams reach the semifinal, final and top honor of the international tournament.



UI team in the 2012 OIC Intervarsity Debating Championship in Malaysia
(l to r) Hana Hanifah, Egalita Irfan with her speaker award and Aulia Anggita

No Indonesian debater had achieved this feat in 2012 until a team from Universitas Indonesia  (Aulia Anggita. Egalita Irfan, Hana Hanifah) broke into the elimination stage of the 2nd Organization for Islamic Cooperation Intervarsity Debate that took place in the first week of July in Malaysia. Several teams had participated in overseas tournaments this year (Canton IV, IHL, UADC, SIDEO, Australs) but none entered the main out rounds other than UI's OIC team. The UI trio fell in the quarterfinals, giving them 3 points for breaking but no more extra team-based credits. Egalita Irfan slipped into the top 10 speakers of the tournament, enabling her to get another point for individual accomplishment. This addition on top of Egalita and Aulia's success in the recent Bawor Cup changed the make up of the leading debaters of the DOTY list.

Top 10 as of July 2012

1. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)

2. Aryo Febrian (Universitas Bakrie)    

3. Aulia Anggita (Universitas Indonesia)

4. Invi Atmanegara (Binus International)

5. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya)

6. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia)

7. Jane Revevalin (Institut Teknologi Bandung)

8. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)

9. Elghafiky Bimardhika (Universitas Indonesia)

10. Fauzan Reza Maulana (Institut Teknologi Bandung)

Bawor Cup 2012: Key Results & Motions

Champions: #2 Universitas Indonesia B (Aulia Anggita & Egalita Irfan)
Finalists: #4 Universitas Atma Jaya A (Cindy Fransisca & Davin Susanto), #5 Universitas Indonesia A (Elghafiky Bimardhika & Dennys Kapa), #7 Universitas Parahyangan A (Dwita Aryani & Josefhine Chitra)

Top 10 Speakers:
1. Dwita Aryani (Universitas Parahyangan A)
2. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya A)
3. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia B)
4. Aulia Anggita (Universitas Indonesia B)
5. Elghafiky Bimardhika (Universitas Indonesia A)
6. Jaran Walia (Binus International A)
7. Davin Susanto (Universitas Atma Jaya A)
8. Invi Atmanegara (Binus International A)
9. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia A)
9. Josefhine Chitra (Universitas Parahyangan A)

Motions
1. THW shut down all web-based free sharing portals
2. THW exempt the right of a nation to participate in international sporting events as a form of punishment for racism
3. THW sell cannabis as cigarette
4. THW use gambling to rejuvenate the Euro zone
5. THBT classic children fairy tale should be rewritten with the aim of correcting gender stereotypes
6. THW introduce mandatory trips to Nazi concentration camps for Austrian elementary school students 
QF. THBT Saudi Arabia should ban Afghans, Pakistanis and anyone else who have Al-Qaeda bases in their home country to attend hajj
SF. THW block the Security Council as long as veto power remains available
GF. Given technology for full term pregnancy in incubators is possible, THBT humanity should seek to abolish natural pregnancy

Australs 2012: Monash Bags Top 2 Team and Speaker Awards

#1 Monash University (Chris Bisset, Kiran Iyer, Madeline Schultz) won the 2012 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships after beating #7 Monash 2 (Gemma Buckley, James Beavis, Collette Mintz) in the first final ever in the history of the tournament that had teams from the same institution. Bisset and Iyer also concluded the competition with the 1st and 2nd best speaker awards. Iyer achieved the rare feat of combining the title from Australs, the second most prestigious debating event in the world, with the very top one, champion of the World Universities Debating Championship, which he grabbed in Manila at the start of this year.

Japan's International Christian University took home this year's best ESL team title, which belonged to Universitas Indonesia in 2009 and 2011. UI sent a freshmen team to Australs 2012 but they did not progress to any out rounds.

Bawor Cup 2012: 3 Years Running, 3 Times Title Goes to UI

For the third time in as many years as the Bawor Cup has existed, the trophy went to debaters from Universitas Indonesia who had the position of Opening Opposition in the final. From that charmed role, #2 UI B (Aulia Anggita & Egalita Irfan) last night defeated #4 Universitas Atma Jaya (Cindy Fransisca & Davin Susanto), #7 Universitas Parahyangan (Dwita Aryani & Josefhine Chitra) and schoolmates #5 UI A (Dennys Kapa & Elghafiky Bimardhika) to ensure no other institution can claim to be champions of this Purwokerto-based tournament.

The victory in the 3rd Bawor gave the UI sophomore pair a free ticket to compete in the 2012 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in Malaysia at the end of the year. This is the second triumph in less than a week for UI after its debaters won the 2012 Java Overland English Debate that also took place in Purwokerto. UI students have won almost all nationwide debating tournaments held in this quaint Central Java town for more than a decade. UI has championed 4 nationwide debates in 2012, besting other Indonesian colleges so far. All victories came in the last 2 months.

Aulia Anggita, who is also the president of UI's English Debating Society, topped the night with the best speaker in the final title. However, the overall top individual award went to Unpar's Dwita Aryani. The BP-style tournament also had a novice category, which was won by Universitas Brawijaya B. The Malang-based team received the right to compete in the Seri Iskandar Debate Open in Malaysia later this month.

Bawor Cup 2012: Two UI Teams in the Final

Reigning champions Universitas Indonesia took half of the 4 spots in the grand final of the 3rd Bawor Cup after winning their semifinal matches today. No other university has won this Purwokerto-based tournament before. #2 UI B (Aulia Anggita & Egalita Irfan) and #5 UI A (Elghafiky Bimardhika & Dennys Kapa) will face two pairs who all reached the grand final of the recent 2012 National Universities English Debating Championship - #4 Universitas Atma Jaya (Cindy Fransisca & Davin Susanto) and #7 Universitas Parahyangan (Dwita Aryani & Josefhine Chitra). The winner of the debate, which is slated for tonight, will receive a free ticket to compete in the World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in Malaysia next December.  

Australs 2012: Monash Gets Trophy, Final to Go Live

Current world champion Monash University will add the 2012 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship trophy into its cabinet after 2 of its teams reached the final. Since its conception in 1975, the grand finals of Australs had different universities fighting for the crown. Monash has shattered that record. Unbeaten #1 Monash 1 (Chris Bisset, Madeline Schultz, Kiran Iyer) will face #7 Monash 2 (Colette Mintz, Gemma Buckley, James Beavis) later in Wellington, New Zealand and the match will be aired live on their association's website and streaming channel. In the semifinal, they eliminated host Victoria University and archrival University of Sydney respectively.    

Two Asian teams, International Islamic University and Ateneo de Manila University, broke into the knockouts but fell in the octofinals. Last year, National University of Singapore went all the way to the grand final. In that same occassion, Universitas Indonesia won the ESL category. UI sent the only Indonesian team to the 2012 edition but they failed to make the cut. Japan's International Christian University and University of Macao are the finalists this year. The Indonesian twist this year is that former UI debater Melanie Tedja once partnered with one of the finalists, Monash 2's Gemma Buckley, in the 2009 Australs.

Bawor Cup 2012: Binus International Teams Break First, Third

Binus International teams broke first and third into the knockouts of the 2012 Bawor Cup in Purwokerto, riding on their good form that led them to win the EFL category in this year's United Asian Debating Championship. The other promising schools are Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Bakrie. Both schools took 3 spots each in the Bawor quarterfinals. Bawor Cup is an annual BP tournament held by the same organizers behind the recent JOVED. This is the 3rd edition with UI championing the last two. The top team of this event will get a free ticket to debate in the 2012 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in Malaysia. The main break list looks like this.


1. Binus International B
2. Universitas Indonesia B
3. Binus International A
4. Universitas Atma Jaya A
5. Universitas Indonesia A
6. Universitas Bakrie A
7. Universitas Parahyangan A
8. Universitas Bakrie C
9. Institut Teknologi Bandung A
10. Universitas Indonesia C
11. Universitas Bakrie B
12. Universitas Hasanuddin A
13. Universitas Brawijaya A
14. Universitas Padjadjaran A
15. STBA Teknokrat A
16. EDC Universitas Jenderal Soedirman A

Bawor Cup also has a novice break from which a winning team will get a chance to debate in the 2012 Seri Iskandar Debate Open, also in Malaysia. The novice semifinalists are:

1. Universitas Brawijaya B
2. Universitas Paramadina C
3. SEF Universitas Jenderal Soedirman A
4. EDC Universitas Jenderal Soedirman B
5. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana A
6. Universitas Negeri Medan A
7. Universitas Paramadina A
8. EFEC Universitas Jenderal Soedirman B

PimNas 2012: UGM Beats UN Malang in Final

The experienced #1 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Eldhianto Jusuf, Gentur Adiutama, Urfi Syifa) beat  #3 Universitas Negeri Malang (Nadiyah, Prima Wikaningtyas, Ziadatul Hikmiah) in the grand final of the 2012 National English Education Debate, which is part of this year's annual National Science Week or popularly known as Pimnas. This victory adds to the list of  achievements by the partnership of Eldhianto Jusuf-Urfi Syifa that have won several major tournaments, including IVED 2011 and JOVED 2010. UGM chose to send stronger teams to Pimnas, which took place in their hometown of Yogyakarta, and field juniors in JOVED 2012, which occurred at the same time. Some universities had an opposite strategy, including Universitas Indonesia that won the latter tournament.

JOVED 2012: UI Collects Sixth Java Title

#1 Universitas Indonesia A (Adlini Ilma Ghaisany, Elghafiky Bimardhika, Roderick Sibarani) defeated #2 Institut Teknologi Bandung A (Rifan Ibnu Rahman, Vicario Reinaldo, Yustina Octifanny) in the grand final of the 2012 Java Overland Varsities English Debate, giving their school its sixth victory in the country's first tournament using an internationally accepted format. No other university has won JOVED more than twice since its conception in 1997. On top of their victory, Adlini Ilma Ghaisany took the best speaker award while Roderick Sibarani and Elghafiky Bimardhika came 3rd and 4th on the individual tab.

Purwokerto is a lucky town for UI. When the city hosted JOVED last time in 2000, UI won its first title. However, luck only played a small part of the achievement this year. UI A entered the competition as hot favourites with more than 5 championship trophies between the 3 speakers, a testament to their skill level. They were unbeaten throughout the tournament. The victory means UI this year has taken 2 of Indonesia's 3 classics -- JOVED, ALSA UI and IVED. The debating powerhouse retained the ALSA UI title last May. UI almost won all of them. In February, an UI team had a clean sheet in IVED until the grand final from where dark horse Universitas Bakrie pulled off an upset and emerged as the winner.

JOVED 2012: UI vs ITB in the Final for the First Time

The two top-ranked teams in the 2012 Java Overland Varsities English Debate, #1 Universitas Indonesia A (Adlini Ilma Ghaisany, Elghafiky Bimardhika, Roderick Sibarani)  and #2 Institut Teknologi Bandung A (Rifan Ibnu Rahman, Vicario Reinaldo, Yustina Octifanny), will meet in the grand final tomorrow at Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. The two schools have participated in every JOVED since the first one in 1997 with UI winning it 5 times and ITB once but they have never faced off in the grand final of this competition before. JOVED is the first tournament in Indonesia using an internationally accepted format. The event in Purwokerto this year is the 16th edition. It is the second time for the Central Java town to host JOVED. UI won its first JOVED when Purwokerto last hosted it in 2000.

PimNas 2012: UGM Teams Break First and Second

Universitas Gadjah Mada fielded their top debaters in the 2012 National English Education Debate, which is part of the annual National Science Week or popularly known as Pimnas, and took the two top spots on the preliminary tab, opening the chance for an all-UGM final. Other universities chose to send their strong teams to the 2012 Java Overland Varsities English Debate that is going on at the same time. Universitas Indonesia, for instance, sent freshmen debaters in one team (UI A) and English literature students without debating experience in another (UI B) to Pimnas, known more as an event for Indonesian students to showcase their scientific research.

JOVED 2012: Knockout Bracket

1. UI A
	1. UI A
16. Binus Intl B
		1. UI A
8. Brawijaya B
	8. Brawijaya B
9. Unpar A
			1. UI A
4. UGM A
	4. UGM A
13. Malang A
		5. Bakrie A
5. Bakrie A
	5. Bakrie A
12.Teknokrat A
				1. UI A
2. ITB A
	2. ITB A
15. UGM B
		2. ITB A
7. UAJY A
	7. UAJY A
10. Unhas B
			2. ITB A
3. ITB B
	3. ITB B
14.Brawijaya A
		3. ITB B
6. Binus Intl A
	11. Atma A
11. Atma A

Fourth Victory in 2012 Puts DOTY Leader Far From Pack

Rifan Ibnu Rahman from Institut Teknologi Bandung has collected twice more points than his closest rival on the Debater of the Year 2012 table, making it almost impossible for anyone to take over his lead. His fourth and latest victory in 2012 came from the International Public Speaking and Debate Competition at Jakarta-based London School of Public Relations where he defeated a team from Asian powerhouse National University of Singapore.

The 2012 National Universities English Debating Championship was the other contributor to the current table. Their ability to win the country's largest competition has propelled champions Rosmiyana and Sabarudin Adinugroho from Binus University into the table's top ten. For the first time, 4 occupiers of the top ten come from the Binus family of schools. The two others, Invi Atmanegara and Jaran Walia from Binus International, got there after taking the EFL title at the 2012 United Asian Debating Championship in May.

The top 10 on the DOTY 2012 list as of June are:
1. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
2. Aryo Febrian (Universitas Bakrie)
3. Invi Atmanegara (Binus International)
4. Rosmiyana (Binus University)
5. Jane Revevalin (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
6. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya)
7. Jaran Walia (Binus International)
8. Sabarudin Adinugroho (Binus University)
9. Mutiara Hapsari (Universitas Bakrie)
10. Nabila Aghniarizqa (Universitas Gadjah Mada)

Complete list can be accessed here

JOVED 2012: The 16th Edition Kicks Off in Purwokerto

The first debate competition in Indonesia using an internationally accepted format - the Java Overland Varsities English Debate - is back with its 16th edition. Once more, the serene Central Java city of Purwokerto, which hosted the 4th JOVED in 2000, is embracing more than 100 Indonesian debaters who will fight for the title for the next five days. Last year Universitas Diponegoro championed the tournament for the first time without dropping a match. Favourites Universitas Indonesia this year is fielding a team with more than 5 trophies between the members. Purwokerto is where UI  won its first ever JOVED, an event it has not championed since 2009.

The host in 2000, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, is also responsible for the organization this year and they also have assistance from Jakarta-based Binus University, which just won the National Universities English Debating Championship last week. The debater who was part of that triumphant Binus team, Sabarudin Adinugroho, is the chief adjudicator of JOVED 2012. After JOVED 2012 ends on July 11, the same organizing crew will hold the 3rd Bawor Cup that promises a free ticket to the 2012 World Universities Peace Invitational Debate in Malaysia for the champion.

OIC Debate 2012: Main and Indonesian Results

The 2nd Organization for Islamic Cooperation Debating Championship took place in Malaysia earlier this week involving 24 teams from 6 OIC member countries. The host country dominated with teams from Universitas Indonesia and University of Dhaka giving the strongest challenges to the Malaysians. Uniquely, individual awards were given based on gender to the top 3 male and female debaters. UI's Egalita Irfan was the sole debater from outside Malaysia who could break into the top 10 speakers on the tab. She was also the only one leaving Malaysia with an award -- the 2nd best female debater. Key results are as follows:

Champions: International Islamic University Malaysia (Syed Saddiq, Arinah Najwa, Jaber Abedin)
Finalists: Universiti Teknologi Mara (Shafiq Bazari, Mohammed Mifzal, Muayyad bin Khairulmaini)

Top 10 Speakers on tab:
1. Syed Saddiq (International Islamic University Malaysia)
2. Shafiq Bazari (Universiti Teknologi Mara)
3. Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University Malaysia)
3. Mohammed Mifzal (Universiti Teknologi Mara)
5. Don Siron Pereira (KDU Colleges)
6. Jaber Abedin (International Islamic University Malaysia)
7. Adrian Calvin Cheong (KDU Colleges)
8. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia)
8. Muayyad bin Khairulmaini (Universiti Teknologi Mara)
10. Sharanya Visualingam (KDU Colleges)

Top Female Speaker Awards
1. Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University Malaysia)
2. Egalita Irfan (Universitas Indonesia)
3. Sharanya Visualingam (KDU Colleges)

Top Male Speaker Awards
1. Syed Saddiq (International Islamic University Malaysia)
2. Shafiq Bazari (Universiti Teknologi Mara)
3. Mohammed Mifzal (International Islamic University Malaysia)

Performance of  Indonesian teams:
#6 Universitas Indonesia (#8 Egalita Irfan, #11 Aulia Anggita, #33 Hana Hanifah) -- 3-2 (Quarterfinalist)
#14 Universitas Gadjah Mada (#20 Wida Wahyuni, #28 Dianty Widyowati, #46 Ali Bachtiar) -- 2-3
#20 Universitas Sriwijaya (#46 Joko Dwi Santoso, #46 M. Akbar Rafsanzani, #55 Ferdy Hirawan) -- 1-4
#23 Universitas Parahyangan (#46 Brinanda Lidwina, #59 Noah Paat, #65 Jessica Bellamy) -- 1-4

NSDC 2012: Motions

R1. THBT English should be the language of education in developing countries
R2. THW criminalize littering
R3. TH supports the commercialization of local culture
R4. THBT essential state services should not be privatised
R5. THBT physical education should not be a compulsory subject in schools
OF. THBT medical students in developing nations should be required to undertake 5 years in remote areas
QF. THW no longer require victim consent to prosecute husbands committing domestic violence
SF. THBT indigenous people should be allowed to exclusively apply their tribal law for crimes taking place on their land
GF.THBT developed nations should automatically accept climate change refugees

Antalya Rounds (WSDC Trials)
R1. THBT professional sporting events should no longer consider gender categories
R2. THBT developing nations have the right to prioritize their economic development over the environment
R3. THW ban corporations to financially support political candidates running for election

NSDC 2012: Key Results and WSDC Candidates

Champion: #1 Bali (Carrisa Tehputri, Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita, Mulyawati Moeliono)
Finalist: #2 South Sulawesi (Andriano, Khumairah, Aaron Nathanael)

Bali debater Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita
taking a point from South Sulawesi's
Khumairah in the NSDC 2012 final

Best Speaker: Carrisa Tehputri (Bali)

Top 10 Speakers
1. Carrisa Tehputri (Bali)
2. Aryanda Putra Tony (East Kalimantan)
3. Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita (Bali)
4. Nazhifah Junia (Maluku)
5. Andriano PS (South Sulawesi)
6. Jeanne Sanjaya (West Java)
7. Sayyid Habibullah (West Kalimantan)
8. Mulyawati Moeliono (Bali)
9. Chaira Alkanzi (Aceh)
10. Khumaira (South Sulawesi)

8 WSDC Candidates
(Best 24 from nationals randomly put into 8 teams, then debated 3 rounds of trials)
1. Carrisa Tehputri (Bali)
2. Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita (Bali)
3. Kristi Ardiana (Central Java)
4. Mulyawati Moeliono (Bali)
5. Adeline Tiffanie (Jakarta)
6. Aaron Nathanael (South Sulawesi)
7. Sayyid Habibullah (West Kalimantan)
8. Jeanne Sanjaya (West Java)

The 8 candidates still need to go through the final stage of the selection before they become members of Team Indonesia for the 2013 WSDC in Antalya, Turkey. A WSDC team can consist of 3 to 5 debaters.

NSDC 2012: Bali Debaters Bring Home Bonanza

NSDC 2012 Champions Bali (l to r)
Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita, Mulyawati
Moeliono, Carrisa Tehputri with
ministry official Bambang Indriyanto

#1 Bali (Carrisa Tehputri, Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita and Mulyawati Moeliono) did not only win the grandfinal of the 2012 National Schools Debating Championship last night. They also took home the 1st, 2nd and 4th best speaker awards and rights to be among the 8 candidates for Team Indonesia in the 2013 World Schools Debating Championship. It is very rare for a province to have 3 candidates in the final stage of the WSDC trials. The all-girls team got that bonanza by winning all debates without dropping a single judge. Last year, Bali also won all of their matches until the final where they fell to eventual champions Aceh.

In the final yesterday, Bali knocked down the proposition from #2 South Sulawesi (Andriano, Khumairah, Aaron Nathanael), which reached a NSDC final for the first time. It was only the second time the final had two teams from outside the main island of Java, showing better distribution of talent than the varsity scene that is dominated by Java universities. The first was last year.

All Bali debaters came from the award-winning SMA 4 Denpasar just like last year. The same exact team championed this year's ALSA UI E-Comp, the most prestigious school-based competition, and have no match in the province. NSDC is province based. The meritocratic approach is also one reason why Sulsel could excel this time as this year's selection was not burdened by geographical quotas like recent years. All speakers this year hailed from schools in provincial capital Makassar, where the debating scene is far more developed than the rest of South Sulawesi. In many provinces, political considerations sometimes cloud the selection process, preventing the very best in the region to get spots.

24 Students Go Through First Trials for WSDC 2013

The best 24 debaters on the tab of the 2012 National Schools Debating Championship went straight into the first Team Indonesia selection stage. The Antalya rounds will find the top 8 candidates who can represent the country in the 2013 World Schools Debating Championship, which will be held in the Turkish resort area. They must go through 3 rounds of debates today, teaming up with candidates who do not come from their own province. Results will be announced tonight after the NSDC grand final. The list of the 24 speakers is as follows in geographical order from west to east:

Chaira Al Kanzi(Aceh)
Salsabila Ahmadi (Aceh)
Adeline Tiffanie (Jakarta)
Monica Dwiyanti (Jakarta)
Jeanne Sanjaya (West Java)
Thahira Hanum (West Java)
Kristi Ardiana (Central Java)
Aldila Irsyad (East Java)
Ismurroozi Arianto (East Java)
Amalia Kartikasari (West Kalimantan)
Sayyid Habibullah (West Kalimantan)
Amalia Nindya (Central Kalimantan)
Aryanda Putra (East Kalimantan)
Carrisa Tehputri (Bali)
Mulyawati Moeliono (Bali)
Pradnya Paramita (Bali)
Malikah Ambarani (West Nusatenggara)
Qurrat Abu Ayub (West Nusatenggara)
Aaron Nathaniel (South Sulawesi)
Andriano PS (South Sulawesi)
Khumairah (South Sulawesi)
Nazhifah Junia (Maluku)
Barnev Soukotta (Maluku)
Ruth Waterpau (Papua)

(based on Boby Andika's tweets)

NSDC 2012: Bali, Sulsel Create Consecutive Non-Java Final

Last year's first non-Java final in the National School Debating Championship was not a fluke. Unbeaten #1 Bali (Carrisa Tehputri, Mulyawati Moeliono, Pradnya Paramita) will face #2 South Sulawesi (Khumairah, Adriano, Aaron Nathaniel) in the grandfinal tonight after eliminating their Java challengers in semi-finals. The Bali debaters all come from SMA 4 Depensar and part of the team that won the 2012 ALSA UI E-Comp, the most prominent school-based tournament in Indonesia. NSDC is province-based.

Bali were also unbeaten and came with the ALSA title last year but fell in the final to eventual champions Aceh. The current team hope to avoid the same fate but the South Sulawesi squad are a product of a new method of selection. In the past, teams from that province had to consider sub-regional representation. This year the selection was purely merit-based and  all debaters come from the capital city of Makassar where schools have been engaged in tight competitions throughout the year.

All of the final debaters are among the top 24 speakers who are going through a selection for Team Indonesia for the 2013 World Schools Debating Championship in Turkey. Bali is a regular producer of WSDC debaters. The last time South Sulawesi could grab a spot in Team Indonesia was in 2001.    

UI Team Break into OIC Knockouts in Malaysia

#6 Universitas Indonesia (Aulia Anggita Larasati, Egalita Irfan, Hana Hanifah) advanced into the knockouts of the 2012 Organization of Islamic Cooperation Intervarsities Debating Championship as the only surviving Indonesian team in the Malyasia-based competition. They won 3 of their 5 preliminary rounds, beating Jahangirnagar University from Bangladesh, University of Brunei and Malaysia's KDU College. They will meet #3 KDU again in the quarterfinals today. This is the first time an Indonesian team broke into the main knockouts of an overseas tournament this year. Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Parahyangan and Universitas Sriwijaya also sent teams to the OIC debates but failed to progress. The tournament had 22 participating teams from member countries of the OIC.  

NSDC 2012: Bali Break First With Clean Sheet Again

Last year Bali, represented by students from the award-winning SMA 4 Denpasar, won all debates except the grandfinal in the National Schools Debating Championship. This year's team, consisting of debaters from the same school once more,  matched the unbeaten streak in the preliminaries. But this time they hope the ending will be rosier. The top three teams on the prelim tab all come from outside Java, contrasting the pattern in the varsity level which is overwhelmingly dominated by Java-based colleges. Perennial contenders Banten failed to advance to the knockouts this time. NSDC, Indonesia's top high school tournament, is province-based, not institution-based. Knockouts start today. The complete break list is as follows:

1. Bali
2. South Sulawesi
3. Aceh
4. Central Java
5. East Java
6. West Java
7. Maluku
8. East Kalimantan
9. West Nusa Tenggara
10. West Kalimantan
11. Jakarta
12. Yogyakarta
13. Central Sulawesi
14. Riau
15. North Sumatra
16. Jambi