WSDC 2013: Key Results & Motions

Here are the key results from the 2013 World Schools Debating Championships, the most prestigious high school debating tournament this year. The numbers in the brackets after a team name 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: Australia (#1/#5/#1/A) -- 9th trophy

(Bo Seo, Tyrone Connell, Zoe Brown, Nicholas Salmon, James Stratton)

Finalists: Swaziland (#2/#2/#25/E) -- 1st appearance in GF

(Famele Mashwama, Oliver Mills, Wabantu Hlophe, Sandile Mndzebele, Lindelani Mabuza)

Best ESL Team: Peru (#9/#8/#36/F)

Best EFL Team: Indonesia (#22/#22/#27/E)

Top 10 Speakers

1. Bo Seo (Australia)
2. Fanele Mashwama (Swaziland)
3. Pavan Hedge (Hong Kong)
4. Darion Hotan (Singapore)
5. Thomas Simpson (New Zealand)
6. Zoe Brown (Australia)
7. James Lo (Hong Kong)
8. James Penn (New Zealand)
9. Aodhan Peelo (Ireland)
10. Tyrone Connell (Australia)

Best English-as-Second Language Speaker: Siddarth Srikanth (India)

Best English-as-Foreign Language Speaker: Carrisa Tehputri (Indonesia)

Motions:
R0. THW ban publication of opinion polls during election campaign
R1. THBT important decisions about children's health should be made by medical professionals
R2. THBT the media should be prevented from intruding the lives of public figures
R3. TH suppots greaters US military presence in East Asia
R4. THW allow prisoners choose death over life sentence
R5. THW cease the exploitation of resources in the Arctic region
R6. THW require government schools to teach religious studies
R7. TH supports sovereign debt default as a legitimate economic strategy for countries
R8. THW require university students to work in their country of origin for a number of years after graduation
OF. THW cut welfare payment for gamblers
QF. THBT social movements in democratic countries should drive social change through the courts rather than the legislature
SF. THBT the government should pay housewives and house husbands for their work
GF. THBT Turkey is better off outside the European Union