Monday, January 30, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia Takes #25, Speakers Enter EFL List

Team Indonesia 2012 from L to R: Alif Satria,
Cheryl Cosslett, Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana
Team Indonesia bested their pre-tournament rank in the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, taking the 25th position out of 48 contestants. The team entered the January 17-27 contest as rank #29. All four debaters also got into the Top 20 English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) speakers list. 


Team Indonesia won 4 debates, all with unanimous decisions when they were opposition, and collected 13 judges in the tournament's 8-round preliminary stage. They defeated Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Germany and Botswana and lost to Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Israel.


While the result was insufficient to qualify for the knockouts, the team fared better than last year's squad and matched the W-L record in the 2006 and 2007 editions. Indonesia broke twice in WSDC, in 2003 and 2004, with 5 wins in the prelims. The 2010 team also bagged the same amount of victories but came short from making the cut.


Team Indonesia 2012 consists of twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar), Cheryl Cosslett (SMA 1 Bogor) and Alif Satria (SMA 8 Yogyakarta). The youngest Cheryl, the only second grader, scored the highest among the four and was the 10th best EFL speaker, immediately followed by Revian at #11EFL. Revaldi came at #15EFL while Alif was right behind him at #16EFL. Their speaker scores ranged from 70.767 to 70.292, an improvement from last year. The best speaker of the 2011 team reached #20 of the EFL list with 69.9. 


Chan Keun Kim from Korea took the best EFL speaker title for the second time in a row with 73.6; he was also #12 overall. The tournament's ultimate best speaker was Singapore's Teoh Ren Jie with 75.262; he also topped the tab last year. Indonesia's speaker point record is in the hands of Soraya Cassandra who scored 72.47 and reached #44 on the main list in WSDC 2005. 


Subarkah Syafruddin, a law student and debater from Universitas Indonesia, coached the team. Former debaters Ruli Manurung from Universitas Indonesia and Vitri Sekarsari from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, respectively supervised and managed this year's contingent. They received support from the entire Indonesian debating community, including former WSDC debaters and coaches. 


Details of their achievements are as follows:
#10EFL Cheryl Cosslett 70.767
#11EFL Revian Wirabuana 70.729
#15EFL Revaldi Wirabuana 70.357
#16EFL Alif Satria 70.292
  1. Prop vs #6/A Singapore (0-3) THW ban alcohol
  2. Opp vs #48/H Zimbabwe (3-0) THBT newly democratised Arab states should not allow religious parties to participate in elections
  3. Opp vs #38/G Mongolia (3-0) THW allow single parents in prison to raise children behind bars
  4. Prop vs #8/B South Korea (1-2) THBT developing nations should place limits on internal rural-urban migration
  5. Opp vs #33/F Germany (3-0) THBT police should racial profiling to fight crime
  6. Prop vs #13/C United Arab Emirates (0-3) THBT the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography
  7. Prop vs #19/D Israel (0-3) TH supports child labour in the developing world
  8. Opp vs #25/E Botswana (3-0) THBT states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights

Friday, January 27, 2012

WSDC 2012: Key Results and Motions

The 2012 World Schools Debating Championships ended yesterday in Cape Town with Scotland winning the final debate and Teoh Ten Jie from Singapore collecting his second best speaker award. He did not only top the individual tab last year but also led his team triumph and become the first champion from Asia.

Here are the key results from the world's most prestigious high school debating tournament. The numbers in the brackets after a team follow this order: post-tournament position, place after 8 preliminary rounds, pre-tournament rank and group. WSDC uses a 3-on-3 format but each team can have up to 5 members and rotate their turns. Only speakers who debated at least 4 times in the prelims can enter the top individual list.

Champions: Scotland #1/#5/#15/C -- 4th trophy
(Alfie Hinchliffe, Charlie Thomas, Ruth Cameron, April Shepherd, Josh Richards)
Team Scotland: world debating champions
WSDC 2012 Champions - Team Scotland (Caledonian Mercury)

Finalists: Wales #2/#7/#10/B) -- 1st appearance in GF
(Amy Jones, David Wigley, Piers Digby, Helen Price)

Best New Nation: Swaziland (#28/28/#47/H)
Best ESL Team: Greece (#13/#12/#5/A)
Best EFL Team: Lithuania (#12/#11/#41/G)

Top 10 Speakers
  1. Teoh Ren Jie (Singapore) -- back-to-back title
  2. Sam Collier (England)
  3. Alfie Hinchliffe (Scotland)
  4. Michael Maklin (South Africa)
  5. Natasha Rachman (England)
  6. Akhsay Karia (England)
  7. Ned Lis-Clarke (Australia)
  8. Ben Goldstein (England)
  9. Darion Hotan (Singapore)
  10. Bo Seo (Australia)
Motions
R1. THW ban alcohol
R2. THBT newly democratised Arab states should not allow religious parties to participate in elections
R3. THW allow single parents in prison to raise children behind bars
R4. THBT developing nations should place limits on internal rural-urban migration
R5. THBT police should use racial profiling to fight crime
R6. THBT the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography
R7. TH supports child labour in the developing world
R8. THBT states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights
OF. THBT the government should create special schools that teach in endangered indigenous languages
QF. THBT gay rights organizations should out gay public figures
SF. TH supports 100% tax on all inherited wealth
GF. TH regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than prosecuting the perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid

Adjudication Test: THW make voting compulsory
Reserve: THBT government-run broacsting stations should give airtime to racist political parties (used in the delayed India v Mexico debate)

Thursday, January 26, 2012

WSDC 2012: Scotland Wins Fourth Crown

Scotland (Alfie Hinchliffe, Charlie Thomas, Ruth Cameron) triumphed in the final debate of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, giving their nation its fourth trophy from the most prestigious high school debating event on the planet. Although Scotland championed WSDC in 1990, 1999 and 2007, middling performance during preliminaries in recent years pushed the country into the C group with a rank of #15. That is likely to change after it only lost once in the 2012 prelims.

In today's final, Scotland from opposition bench crushed Wales (Amy Jones, David Wigley, Piers Digby) in a debate that had the motion "This House regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather the prosecuting the perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid". Eight judges went for the Scots while one dissented. It was Wales' first appearance in a WSDC final. WSDC uses a 3-on-3 format but each team can have up to 5 members for rotation purposes and all team members can help build the cases. Scotland's alternates were April Shepherd and Josh Richards while Wales had only one, Helen Price.

Indonesia collected 4 wins and 13 judges to place #25 on the final tab, besting last year's result and matching the achievements in 2006 and 2007. Since its first participation in 2001, Indonesia has broken twice into elimination stage of WSDC, in 2003 and 2004. The 2013 edition will take place in Turkey. Thailand won the bid to host the tournament in 2014.

WSDC 2012: All UK Final - Wales v Scotland

St. George's Cathedral Cape Town
Venue of WSDC 2012 Grand Final
The champion of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships will come from United Kingdom after #10/B Wales and #15/C Scotland won their semifinal debates, both from opposition bench on 6-1 decisions. They knocked down the motion "This House supports 100% tax on all inherited wealth". Wales eliminated #1/A England while 3-time champion Scotland ended #17/C Philippines' Cinderella run. The Filipinos slayed champions of the two last editions - Canada (2010) and Singapore (2011) in the octos and quarters.

In its first appearance in a WSDC grand final, Wales will propose "This House regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than prosecuting perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid". The last debate in WSDC 2012 will take place at Cape Town's historic St. George's Cathedral, where anti-Apartheid activist and head of South Africa TRC, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was once based.

Team Wales 2012 is led by David Wigley who debated in the last 3 editions. The other members are Helen Price, Amy Jones and Piers Digby. Team Scotland 2012 consists of Alfie Hinchcliffe, Ruth Cameron, Josh Richards, April Shepherd and Charlie Holmes.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

WSDC 2012: Philippines v Scotland; Wales v England in SF

#17/C Philippines killed another giant on their road to the semifinals of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships. After beating 2010 champions #4/A Canada in the octos, the Filipinos dashed #6/A Singapore's dream of defending their title. Singapore only lost a judge after 9 debates but the Philippines convinced all 5 judges on the panel to go their way. Their next opponent will be #15/C Scotland that beat #2/A Australia also with unanimous decision. 

The other semifinal will be between #10/B Wales and #6/A England who both got through on 3-2 decisions. All semifinalists suffered losses in the preliminaries.  England bowed to Australia and South Africa. Wales fell in debates against New Zealand and South Africa. The Philippines lost to the Netherlands and England. Scotland's only defeat was to South Korea.  The motion for the quarterfinals was "This House Believes That Gay Rights Organisations Should Out Gay Public Figures.

WSDC 2012: Two Asian Teams Win OF, Face Off in QF

Two Asian teams - #6/A Singapore and #17/C Philippines - came out victorious in the octofinals of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships but must face each other in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The Filipinos pulled off an upset with a win against #4/A Canada, the 2010 champions. Last year's winner Singapore is hot favourite with no defeat in the preliminaries and 26 out of 27 possible judge points so far. The only other team with a no-loss record is #3/A New Zealand, which will face #1/A England. The motion in the first elimination debate was "This House Believes That Government Should Create Special Schools that Teach in Endangered Indigenous Languages". The QF match-ups are as follows:

1. Singapore (#6/A) v 8. Philippines (#17/C)
4. Australia (#2/A) v 5. Scotland (#15/C)
3. New Zealand (#3/A) v 6. England (#1/A)
7. Wales (#10/B) v 15. Ireland (#12/B)

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

WSDC 2012: Break List

Reigning champion #6/A Singapore broke first into the knockouts of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships after winning all 8 preliminaries and only dropping one judge. Host #9/B South Africa and two-time winner #3/A New Zealand also entered the elimination stage without a loss. The darkhorses are #26/E Malaysia and #41/G Lithuania who collected 6 VP after taking the scalps of higher ranking teams. In R1, Malaysia provided the tournament's first shock with a win against 8-time champion and last year's finalist #2/A Australia. The two teams will meet again in the octofinal. The complete list after 8 rounds is as follows (Country, VP, Judges, Pre-Tourney Rank): 

  1. Singapore (8-23) #6/A
  2. South Africa (8-21) #9/B
  3. New Zealand (8-21) #3/A
  4. Australia (7-20) #2/A
  5. Scotland (7-19) #15/C
  6. England (6-20) #1/A
  7. Wales (6-18) #10/B
  8. Philippines (6-18) #17/C
  9. Canada (6-17) #4/A
  10. India (6-17) #18/C
  11. Lithuania (6-17) #41/G
  12. Greece (6-16) #5/A
  13. Malaysia (6-15) #26/E
  14. Hong Kong (5-16) #14/C
  15. Ireland (5-16) #12/B
  16. Korea (5-15) #8/B
Note: All A teams broke. #7/B Netherlands, which won all their debates last year, ended at #24 after losing 4 times in preliminaries. #11/B Pakistan missed the break on speaker points.

Monday, January 23, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia Ends Journey with 4 Wins

#29/E Indonesia bagged its fourth win after an unanimous victory against #35/E Botswana in the last preliminary round of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships but came short from breaking into the knockouts. The prediction this year is only teams with at least 5 wins and 15 judge points can enter the Top 16 after 8 mandatory debates. Indonesia advanced into the knockouts twice in 2003 and 2004, both on 5 VP. This year's result matches Team Indonesia performances in 2006 and 2007.  

Previously, Team Indonesia 2012 beat #33/F Germany, #38/G Mongolia and #48H Zimbabwe but lost to reigning champion  #6/A Singapore, #8/B South Korea, #13/C United Arab Emirates and #19/D Israel. All wins were unanimous and came from debating as the opposition. The team consists of twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar, Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta and Cheryl Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor.

WSDC 2012: Round 5&6 Recap, Upsets and a Delay

The 2012 World Schools Debating Championships enters its last day of preliminaries with #29/E Indonesia at 3 wins, 10 judges after a loss to #13/C United Arab Emirates in R6 despite valiant efforts from our debaters. Currently, along with 5 other teams, Indonesia has the most judge votes for teams with 3 VP, giving us a chance to slip into the top 16. The next opponents are #19/D Israel and #25/E Botswana. Teams with 6 VP are assured to break while usually those with 5 and high judge votes still could make the cut.

Previously, Team Indonesia beat #33/F Germany, #38/G Mongolia and #48H Zimbabwe but lost to reigning champion #6/A Singapore and #8/B South Korea. This year Indonesia is represented by twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar, Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta and Cheryl Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor.

Upsets and a delay coloured impromptu R5 that debated the motion "This House Believes That the Police Should Use Racial Profiling when Fighting Crime". #1/A England saw their 38 consecutive prelim wins come to a halt after host #9/B South Africa broke that streak on a split decision while UAE bowed to #21/D Sri Lanka. There was a delay in the match between #18/C India and #20/D Mexico due to a disagreement over a decision to define "racial profiling" before the debate. The teams had to use a different topic. In R6, #47/H Swaziland, the second lowest-ranked, defeated #7/B Netherlands that did not lose a prelim last year.

The break list will be out tonight. All teams have dropped at least a judge. Singapore, South Africa and #3/A New Zealand  are the only ones unbeaten after 6 rounds but they will face strong teams in R8.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia Routs Germany for Third Win

#29/E Indonesia unanimously defeated #33/F Germany in the fifth round of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, giving the team a positive W-L scoreline of 3-2  and 10 judge votes. That position gives them a good chance to break. As negative, they dismissed the proposal of allowing police use racial profiling when fighting crime. They have won all their matches from opposition bench.

Previously, they beat #38/G Mongolia and #48H Zimbabwe but lost to reigning champion #6/A Singapore and #8/B South Korea. This year Indonesia is represented by twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar, Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta and Cheryl Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor. In the next round, they will propose the motion "This House Believes That the Feminist Movement Should Seek a Ban on Pornography" against #13/C United Arab Emirates.
 

Friday, January 20, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia at Mid-Table Halfway in Prelims

#29/E Indonesia has 2 wins and 7 judge points at the half-way mark of the preliminaries of the  2012 World Schools Debating Championships. That result puts the team in the second top quarter of the table, where chances to break are still open.

In R3 today, all three judges thought our team convincingly demolished the case of  #38/G Mongolia which proposed "This House Would Allow Single Parents in Prison to Raise Children Behind Bars". In R4, Team Indonesia lost but became the first to steal a judge from #8/B South Korea, which previously beat #32/F Argentina, #15/C Scotland and #21/D Sri Lanka 3-0. After 4 rounds, only Singapore and #1/A England have maximum points of 4 wins, 12 judges.

Yesterday, Team Indonesia unanimously defeated #48/H Zimbabwe in R2 after losing to reigning champions #6/A Singapore in the opener. The preliminaries resume on Sunday at the University of Cape Town after a break tomorrow. This year Indonesia is represented by twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar, Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta and Cheryl Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor.

WSDC 2012: Indonesia at 2-1 After Outclassing Mongolia

Indonesia has a positive scoreline of 2-1 following a second unanimous win  in the third round of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships. Going against #38/G Mongolia, the team negated the impromptu motion "This House Would Allow Single Parents in Prison to Raise Children Behind Bars" and received nods from all three judges. Team Indonesia defeated #48/H Zimbabwe in R2 yesterday. In the next round, they have to defend the motion "This House Believes That Developing Nations Should Place Limits on Internal Rural-Urban Migration" against #8/B South Korea, an upcoming power in WSDC.

Twins Revaldi and Revian Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar opened the opposition case from Team Indonesia while Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta was the whip. The other member of the 2012 contingent, Cheryl Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor sat out in this round after leading the team grabbed yesterday's victory.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia Bags First Point, Malaysia Downs Australia

#29/E Indonesia today scored its first win in the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships after unanimously beating #48/H Zimbabwe in R2. All judges thought Indonesia successfully knocked down the motion "This House Believes That Newly Democratised Arab Nations Should Not Allow Religious Parties to Participate in Elections". In the first round, Indonesia lost to reigning champions #6/A Singapore in a debate in which our team had to propose a ban on alcohol. The 2012 team consists of Cheryl Nazik Cosslett (SMA 1 Bogor), twins Revian and Revaldi Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar) and Alif Satria (SMA 8 Yogyakarta).

The highlight of the competition was #26/E Malaysia's success defeating 8-time champion #2/A Australia in the opener on a 2-1 decision. In the second debate, Australia again lost a judge in the slim victory against #20/D Mexico. At the end of Debate Day 1, only Singapore, #1/A England and #8/B South Korea can boast the perfect scoreline of 2 wins and 6 judge points.

Team Indonesia tomorrow will face #38/G Mongolia in the impromptu R3 and must defend the motion "This House Believes That Developing Nations Should Place Limits on Internal Rural-Urban Migration" against South Korea.  

IVED 2012: Final Team List with No STAN or Binus

Organizers of the 15th Indonesian Varsities English Debate have announced the final list of participants, showing the absence of two-time champion Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara and last year's semifinalist Binus University. IVED's February 7 to 11 schedule clashes with the final exams of the 2 schools and the latter has also decided to focus resources on hosting the Asian English Olympics that will take place less than a week after.

Favorites Universitas Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung and Binus International are all fielding three teams. Reigning champion Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Diponegoro, the winner of the recent JOVED, will have two squads each. Only 16 out of 60 participating teams can proceed into the knockouts. UGM denied UI from grabbing its ninth national 3-on-3 crown last year.   
  1. Binus International A
  2. Binus International B
  3. Binus International C
  4. Institut Manajemen Telkom A
  5. Institut Manajemen Telkom B
  6. Institut Pertanian Bogor A
  7. Institut Teknologi Bandung A
  8. Institut Teknologi Bandung B
  9. Institut Teknologi Bandung C
  10. Politeknik Negeri Malang A
  11. Politeknik Negeri Malang B
  12. Poilteknik Negeri Ujung Pandang A
  13. Sampoerna School of Business A
  14. STEI Tazkia A
  15. STIKES Bali A
  16. Universitas Bakrie A
  17. Universitas Ahmad Dahlan A
  18. Universitas Ahmad Dahlan B
  19. Universitas Airlangga A
  20. Universitas Airlangga B
  21. Universitas Atma Jaya A
  22. Universitas Atma Jaya B
  23. Universitas Brawijaya A
  24. Universitas Brawijaya B
  25. Universitas Bunda Mulia A
  26. Universitas Bunda Mulia B
  27. Universitas Diponegoro A
  28. Universitas Diponegoro B
  29. Universitas Gadjah Mada A
  30. Universitas Gadjah Mada B
  31. Universitas Hasanuddin A
  32. Universitas Hasanuddin B
  33. Universitas Indonesia A
  34. Universitas Indonesia B
  35. Universitas Indonesia C
  36. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman A
  37. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman B
  38. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana A
  39. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana B
  40. Universitas Lambung Mangkurat A
  41. Universitas Lampung A
  42. Universitas Muhammadiyah Jember A
  43. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang A
  44. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang B
  45. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang C
  46. Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta A
  47. Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta B
  48. Universitas Negeri Malang A
  49. Universitas Negeri Semarang A
  50. Universitas Negeri Semarang B
  51. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta A
  52. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta B
  53. Universitas Padjadjaran A
  54. Universitas Padjadjaran B
  55. Universitas Parahyangan A
  56. Universitas Sanata Dharma A
  57. Universitas Sebelas Maret A
  58. Universitas Sumatera Utara A
  59. Universitas Teknokrat A
  60. Universitas Teknokrat B

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

WSDC 2012: Indonesia Gets Unique Draw

Indonesia enters the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, which will start today in the South African city of Cape Town, with an uniquely favourable draw. While Team Indonesia will face reigning champion Singapore in the first round, it will not meet any country where English is the main native language for the subsequent 7 rounds. 

Furthermore, since its first participation in 2001, Indonesia had always met at least one country with Anglo-Saxon roots. Not even one this year. The other opponents are Zimbabwe, Mongolia, South Korea, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Israel and Botswana.

Four preliminaries have prepared motions and the other half are impromptu. All teams debate 8 different teams in the prelims, one from each of the 8 rank-based groupings. Indonesia is in the E grouping (ranks 25-30) and ranks #29 out of 48 contestants. The WSDC groupings are calculated based on victories and judge votes in the past 3 championships.

Team Indonesia 2012 consists of twins Revian Wirabuana and Revaldi Wirabuana from SMA 4 Denpasar, second-grader Cheryl Nazik Cosslett from SMA 1 Bogor and Alif Satria from SMA 8 Yogyakarta. There is no returning member in this team, one aspect that will be common in other contingents because the 2011 edition was only five months ago. Some nations like favourites New Zealand are even sending the same exact team. Most members of Team Indonesia 2011 are already in college.

Since its WSDC entry, Indonesia has broken twice into the octofinals in 2003 and 2004. The highest rank is #11 in 2003 but the team which collected the most judge votes was the one who went to WSDC 2010 in Qatar. Unfortunately, the latter did not break. Only the top 16 teams can break into the knockouts.

The draw, speaking position and schedule of Team Indonesia 2012's debates are as follows:     

19 January 2012 @ The Settlers High School
R1 Prop vs #6/A Singapore - Impromptu
R2 Opp vs #48/H Zimbabwe
THBT newly democratised Arab states should not allow religious parties to participate in elections

20 January 2012 @ Rhenish Girls High School
R3 Opp vs #38/G Mongolia - Impromptu 
R4 Prop vs #8/B South Korea
THBT developing nations should place limits on internal rural-urban migration

22 January 2012 @ University of Cape Town
R5 Opp vs #33/F Germany - Impromptu
R6 Prop vs #13/C United Arab Emirates
THBT the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography

23 January 2012 @ Heideveld Township
R7 Prop vs #19/D Israel - Impromptu
R8 Opp vs #25/E Botswana 
THBT states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights

Monday, January 16, 2012

Roderick Sibarani is the First IndoDebate Debater of the Year

No debater in Indonesia was more active and successful in 2011 than Roderick Sibarani from Universitas Indonesia. The third-year accounting student, popularly known as Odi, won 3 trophies, grabbed 2 best speaker awards and reached at least the semifinals in 8 out of 10 tournaments he joined last year. He championed the classic ALSA UI E-Comp, the longest-running English debate event in the country, and with the same teammates he carried the name of the country all to the first place in the ASEAN Youth Debate.

Based on his accomplishments in 2011, Odi, who is also the current vice president of UI's English Debating Society, deserves to be IndoDebate's first Debater of the Year. That also means he has won a one-year subscription of Newsweek magazine.

Odi had been on the top end of the DOTY table since it first rolled out in May 2011. He only lost his lead once in September to eventual runner-up Rifan Ibnu Rahman from Institut Teknologi Bandung and grabbed it back in October. The title was actually decided in November after the Founders' Trophy as his points were just too far above any of his rivals. Moreover, December did not change the table much because there was no competition in Indonesia and most who debated abroad failed to return with credits. The only tournament that contributed a few revisions was Asian BP but the changes did not affect the top end.

Results from the World Universities Debating Championships in Manila will be incorporated in the 2012 table because they came out after the turn of the year. Odi won the second best EFL speaker title there, a great way to plant his mark on the next DOTY list. Click here for the complete list. Find below the top 10 of the 2011 DOTY list. Some of them may no longer feature in 2012 due to their graduation but there is a sophomore, UI's Elghafiky Bimardhika, whose debating career has just started and should only get better.

1. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
2. Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
3. Ahdiat Permana (Universitas Indonesia)
4. Aryo Febrian (Universitas Bakrie)
5. Satrio Adi Pratama (Universitas Diponegoro)
6. Ahmad Naufal Dai (Universitas Indonesia)
7. Dimas Hokka (Universitas Indonesia)
8. Luthfi Abdurrahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
9. Eldhianto Jusuf (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
10. Elghafiky Bimardhika (Universitas Indonesia)

Thursday, January 12, 2012

LSPR, Ma Chung to Hold Ambitious International Comps

Jakarta-based London School of Public Relations and Malang's Universitas Ma Chung are bent on attracting international teams to compete in their tournaments this year.  However, timing issues have challenged the ambitions of these two private universities that have not yet built strong profiles in the domestic circuit.

LSPR intended to hold the 2nd International Public Speaking and Debate Competition from April 12 to 14 but had to push back the date to June after knowing the plan would clash with the ALSA UI E-Comp, the country's longest-running English debate contest. The organizers want half of the participants foreign. It is unclear whether this means there would be a cap on Indonesian teams.Sixteen institutions, only 4 of them from outside Indonesia, joined the 1st IPSDC in 2010. The debating event with the highest number of international teams, 42 out of 60, held in Indonesia was the 2007 Asian Universities Debating Championships at Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Ma Chung's plan may also hit a snag. The university has scheduled its International Debating Competition for February 15 to 17, which are also the dates of the Asian English Olympics, a regional debating tournament held by Binus University that has been promoted to universities across the continent for months. International teams are likely to prefer the more prepared AEO. The timing is also odd because Malang will be host to the Indonesian Varsities English Debate from February 7 to 11. Non-Malang IVED contestants might find it costly to send teams again to the hillside city less than a week later or force them to extend their stay. IDC organizers also plan to have individual speakers from 8 invited countries to have a go at each other in a so-called master round. IPSDC, IDC and AEO all have chosen British Parliamentary as their format.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

IVED 2012: Prepared Motions

The lead adjudicators of the 2012 Indonesian Varsities English Debate have launched prepared motions for 4 unspecified rounds. IVED has 9 rounds - 5 preliminaries and 4 knockouts. This year the de-facto national championships will take place at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang from February 7 to 11. The prepared motions are as follows:

Economy
THW introduce a financial transaction tax
THW forgive student debt
THBT the government should not treat water as a basic human rights, but rather as a commodity

Modern Society
THW provide free broadband internet services for everyone
THW give tax breaks/credits for those who choose to commit into a covenant marriage
THW require online gaming companies to compensate therapy costs for players who become addicted to MMORPGs

Women
THBT developing countries should embrace reproductive tourism
THBT the Arab Spring has been a disaster for women
THBT the feminist movement should celebrate Disney Princesses

International
THW expand the permanent membership of the UN Security Council
THBT Pakistan should abandon its collaboration with the USA in the War on Terror
THBT the West should push on with its plan to embargo Iranian oil

Chief Adjudicator: Eldhianto Jusuf (UGM)
Deputies: Satrio Adi Pratama (Undip), Dwita Aryani (Unpar), Sabarudin Adinugroho (Binus)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Powerhouses Get Third Slots in IVED 2012

Organizers of the 2012 Indonesian Varsities English Debate, announced only 42 teams on the main list had paid their dues, leaving 18 vacant slots. Among the teams promoted to take them are third teams of 8-time winner Universitas Indonesia, reigning champion Universitas Gadjah Mada, perrenial contender Institut Teknologi Bandung and the current national BP title holder Binus International. Their presence might tighten the competition. Last year, strong C teams made the knockout stage swamped by teams from the three first institutions. Binus International skipped it due to academic scheduling clashes.

IVED, the de-facto national championships that use the 3-on-3 Australasian format, will launch the 2012 debating season in Indonesia. The next edition will take place at Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang from February 7 to 11.

Registered Teams
Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang - Venue of IVED 2012
  1. Binus International A
  2. Binus International B
  3. Binus University A
  4. Institut Manajemen Telkom A
  5. Institut Manajemen Telkom B
  6. Institut Pertanian Bogor A
  7. Institut Teknologi Bandung A
  8. Institut Teknologi Bandung B
  9. Politeknik Negeri Malang A
  10. Politeknik Negeri Malang B
  11. Poilteknik Negeri Ujung Pandang A
  12. Sampoerna School of Business A
  13. Universitas Bakrie A
  14. Universitas Airlangga A
  15. Universitas Atma Jaya A
  16. Universitas Atma Jaya B
  17. Universitas Brawijaya A
  18. Universitas Brawijaya B
  19. Universitas Bunda Mulia A
  20. Universitas Bunda Mulia B
  21. Universitas Diponegoro A
  22. Universitas Diponegoro B
  23. Universitas Gadjah Mada A
  24. Universitas Gadjah Mada B
  25. Universitas Hasanuddin A
  26. Universitas Hasanuddin B
  27. Universitas Indonesia A
  28. Universitas Indonesia B
  29. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman A
  30. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman B
  31. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana A
  32. Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana B
  33. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang A
  34. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang B
  35. Universitas Muhammadiyah Jember A
  36. Universitas Negeri Malang A
  37. Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret A
  38. Universitas Negeri Semarang A
  39. Universitas Negeri Semarang B
  40. Universitas Padjadjaran A
  41. Universitas Padjadjaran B
  42. Universitas Sumatera Utara A
Promoted Teams (alphabetical) -- payment deadline on January 11
  1. Binus International C
  2. Institut Manajemen Telkom C
  3. Institut Teknologi Bandung C
  4. STEI Tazkia A
  5. STEI Tazkia B
  6. STIKES Bali A
  7. STIKES Bali B
  8. Universitas Gadjah Mada C
  9. Universitas Indonesia C
  10. Universitas Jenderal Soedirman C
  11. Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang C
  12. Universitas Mulawarman A
  13. Universitas Mulawarman B
  14. Universitas Mulawarman C
  15. Universitas Negeri Semarang C
  16. Universitas Padjadjaran C
  17. Universitas Parahyangan A
  18. Universitas Sanata Darma A