DOTY 2014: UGM Debaters Flood Top 10 After Busy September

Universitas Gadjah Mada debaters did not only keep the pole position in the 2014 Debater of the Year table but also took the majority of spots in the Top 10 after results from six tournaments in September were added. Six UGM debaters now claim the eight highest ranks of DOTY 2014. Indriani Pratiwi is still leading the pack following her victory in the Bawor Cup. Other UGM speakers received bonus points by reaching the semifinals of the Indonesia Debate Open, which had more international participants than local ones due to the high registration fee. The DOTY table appreciates achievements in open international tournaments. IDO 2014, which had no Indonesian debater in the final, had a definite international flavour.

The other September tournaments that the DOTY calculations considered were the agricultural debate in Bogor, where host Institut Pertanian Bogor pulled off an upset against a highly favoured UGM team, the Just for Fun debate at Universitas Indonesia, the National Debate Competition-National Economic Seminar in Bandung and the debate competition at Universitas Soegijapranata in Semarang.

The only debaters who can spoil the rise of the first DOTY from UGM come from UI and all of them just graduated in August. Graduates still can harvest points if they start the year as a student. It is common practice in the international debating world to give a grace period for such debaters. If these debaters are allowed to compete in the World Universities Debating Championship at the end of the year, DOTY will also count them in. Indeed, the two most recent DOTYs secured the title after they graduated. This year the chance is not as large because there are only two national tournaments left that allow graduates to compete, Ganesha Open and Founders Trophy, and the UGM students are leading the table with a comfortable cushion. It is more likely to see a UGM debater snatch the title considering the available opportunities. 

DOTY 2014 Top 10 as of September:

1. Indriani Pratiwi (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
2. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)
3. Romario Tambunan (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
4. Wida Wahyuni (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
5. Alif Satria (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
6. Noel Hasintongan (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
7. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
8. Erwina Salsabila (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
9. Aulia Anggita Larasati (Universitas Indonesia)
10. Melisa Irene (Binus International)

UI Debaters Win Their First Varsity at NDC-NES 2014

After a number of varsity-level grand final appearances, debaters of #3 Universitas Indonesia B (Gabriel Charlotte & Revaldi Wirabuana) finally triumphed today in the 2014 National Debating Competition-National Economic Seminar at Universitas Padjadjaran. Revaldi Wirabuana, who is also the current president of UI's debating society, bagged the best speaker award to wrap up his victorious run while partner Gabriel Charlotte ranked 3rd on the individual list.

In the last debate, the former high school debating stars successfully defended the motion 'That This House Regrets the Establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community' from the position of closing government and defeated schoolmates #7 UI A (Boy Al-Idrus & Tanita Rahmani), #1 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Erwina Salsabila & Noel Hasintongan) and #5 Institut Teknologi Bandung A (Aulia Widyaputra & Ferry Fernando).

NSDC 2014: Key Results

Champion: #1 Bali (I Gede Sthitaprajna Virananda, Yandiaz Maulana Siregar, Keila Ayu Anandasita)
Finalist: #3 Jawa Barat (Nabila Balkis, Sandy Sanjaya, Sarah Afifah)
Best Speaker: I Gede Sthitaprajna Virananda (Bali)

Top 10 Speakers

1. I Gede Sthitaprajna Virananda (Bali/SMA 4 Denpasar)
2. Yandiaz Maulana Siregar (Bali/SMA 4 Denpasar)
3. Kevin Nicholas Chandra (Jawa Timur/SMA Gloria Surabaya)
4. Nabila Balkis (Jawa Barat/SMA 5 Bandung)
5. Agnes Amalia Guntara (Jawa Tengah/SMA Kalam Kusus Sukoharjo)
6. Nadhif Agliandhana (Jawa Timur/SMA 3 Malang)
7. Syarifah Aliyah Fitrisam (Sulawesi Tengah/SMA Al-Azhar Palu)
8. Keila Ayu Anandasita (Bali/SMA 1 Denpasar)
9. Alisa Namira Imani (Jakarta/SMA 28 Jakarta)
10. Sandy Sanjaya (Jawa Barat/SMAK 1 BPK Penabur Bandung)  

Bali Reclaims National School Title, Raids Speaker Awards

#1 Bali (Yandiaz Maulana, Jana Virananda, Keila Ayu) championed the 2014 National Schools Debating Championship that the province won two years ago. They were unbeaten in the preliminary stage and continued to eliminate opponents in the knockouts. Jana Virananda topped the speaker tab while Yandiaz Maulana came second. Both come from SMA 4 Denpasar, the powerhouse that supplied all the debaters who won NSDC 2012. Their team mate Keila Ayu is a student of cross-city rival SMA 1 Denpasar, the school from which Bali's unsuccessful 2013 team derived.

The 2013 failure led to no Bali representation in the 2014 national high school team after the two past teams each had two members from the province. There is now a big chance Bali will be prominently present again in Team Indonesia 2015 that will compete in next year's World Schools Debating Championships in Singapore. In the final yesterday, Bali defeated #3 West Java.    

Host IPB Wins Agricultural Debate, Beats UGM Favourites

Little known debaters from Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia's top agricultural school, showed thematic competency can ensure victory with their triumph in the Debate Competition on Environment and Agriculture that was held on their own campus yesterday. In the final, IPB A (Anwari Sugiharto & Adhi Pranata), who had failed to excel in past tournaments, defeated runaway favourite Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Caessar Pronocitro & Erwina Salsabila), both debaters have won prestigious awards for years, UGM B (Wida Wahyuni & Noel Hasintongan) and Universitas Indonesia A (Qurrat Abu Ayub & Ayu Sistiafi). This was the first time IPB championed a well-attended debate competition, let alone an international one.

The success in the final was no fluke because IPB debater Adhi Pranata also topped the individual tab and his partner Anwari Sugiharto came second on that list, showing their prominence in the preliminary rounds. In line with the competition's name, most debates had an agricultural theme. The winners were the only agricultural students in the final, in which they proposed the lifting of protectionist policies on agricultural products, an issue that they study at the university. The other finalists were international relations, french literature, biology and medical students.
    

UGM Wins Bawor for First Time, UI Debater Defends JFF Title

Bawor Cup 2014 Champ - UGM (Alif & Indri)

#1 Universitas Gadjah Mada (Alif Satria & Indriani Pratiwi) emerged as the winner of the 2014 Bawor Cup. It was the first time for the school to champion Purwokerto's annual debate, which has benefited from its past ties with the World Universities Peace Invitational Debate. WUPID stopped running last year. The winning debaters also came out as co-best speakers of the tournament. In the final on Sunday, they defeated #2 UI, #3 Binus University and host #8 EFEC Universitas Jenderal Soedirman C.

On the same day, Roderick Sibarani from Universitas Indonesia championed the Just For Fun debate for the second time in a row and also took home the funniest speaker award. On Sunday, he won the tournament with Magreta Kailla Adenta who was also his partner during the victorious run in this year's ALSA UI English Competition. JFF 2014 followed the tournament's tradition of having fantasy motions and had topics related to Disney. Magreta also topped the individual tab.

DOTY 2014: UGM Pole Position No Longer Safe

Universitas Indonesia debaters, especially national champion and best speaker Dennys Kapa, are challenging the pole position in the 2014 Debater of the Year list that has been held by Universitas Gadjah Mada students since the start of this year. Dennys won the Jakarta Mini in July and the National Universities Debating Championship in August with different partners. The victories have propelled him to second place on the DOTY list with two points away from current leader Indriani Pratiwi from UGM. His NUDC partner, Aulia Anggita, is at fourth on the list.

The two UI speakers were not in the DOTY 2014 Top 10 in June due to their lack of competitive participation this year. The UI duo, who defeated UGM in the NUDC final, graduated a few days after becoming national champions but their scores from future debates will still be counted for DOTY until the end of 2014.

The current DOTY list combines results from July and August due to the low number of nationwide tournaments in those two months. From this priod, only results from NUDC and Jakarta Mini have been incorporated into the table. There is a flurry of competitions in September that started from a small competition in Semarang last week. But their results will be added at the end of the month. The full list can be accessed here.

1. Indriani Pratiwi (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
2. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)
3. Romario Tambunan (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
4. Aulia Anggita (Universitas Indonesia)
5. Melisa Irene (Binus International)
6. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
7. Wida Wahyuni (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
8. Aulia Widyaputra (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
9. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya)
10. Erwina Salsabila (Universitas Gadjah Mada)

NUDC 2014: Key Results

Champion: #1 Universitas Indonesia (Dennys Kapa & Aulia Anggita)
Finalists: #2 Binus University (Rivera Kathrin & Marchella Febriyanti), #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indriani Pratwi & Wida Wahyuni), #7 Universitas Sanata Dharma (Sekartiyasa Kusumastuti & Tethy Pesoa)
Best Speaker: Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)
Best Novice Team: Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Novarian Budi & Husna Amirah)
Best Novice Speaker: Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita (Universitas Udayana)

NUDC 2014 Best Speaker - Dennys Kapa (UI)

Top 10 Speakers:
1. Dennys Kapa (Universitas Indonesia)
2. Indriani Pratiwi (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
3. Aulia Anggita (Universitas Indonesia)
4. Wida Wahyuni (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
4. Rivera Kathrin (Binus University)
6. Muhammad Luthfi (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
7. Marchella Febriyanti (Binus University)
7. Saagar Teckchandani (Universitas Pelita Harapan)
9. Aulia Widyaputra (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
10. Aliefah Saras (Universitas Paramadina)
10. Tethy Pesoa (Universitas Sanata Dharma)

NUDC 2014: UI Wins First Title, Breaks Binus Streak

NUDC 2014 Champ - UI (Dennys Kapa & Aulia Anggita)

Universitas Indonesia has the most successful debating society in the country with a room full of trophies from all major nationwide debate tournaments bar one - the National Universities Debating Championship (NUDC), the top school-based British Parliamentary contest. That void finally has been filled. #1 UI (Dennys Kapa & Aulia Anggita) won the 2014 NUDC last night after defending the final motion that proposed Indonesia should invest more in the arms industry.

UI dashed the hope of #2 Binus University (Rivera Kathrin & Marchella Febriyanti) that were bent on grabbing the fourth consecutive title for the Jakarta-based school. The other finalists were #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indriani Pratiwi & Wida Wahyuni) and #7 Universitas Sanata Dharma (Sekartiyasa Kusumastuti & Tethy Pesoa), which both came from Yogyakarta. The UI, Binus and Sanata Dharma, the top three in the final, are eligible for funding to go to the 2015 World Universities Debating Championships in Malaysia.

UI's Dennys Kapa came out as the best speaker of the tournament, a title that last went to an UI debater in 2012. He graduated from a high school in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, one of the most impoverished provinces in Indonesia. Today's victory crowned his years of national success that include two ALSA UI championship titles, the last one won with her NUDC partner Aulia Anggita. He is an example how a debater from a non-Java high school can excel on the national stage when he can find a suitable institution and receive a supporting environment to train and enhance his skills.

In the novice category, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Novarian Budi & Husna Amirah) from East Java came out triumphant after defeating three non-Java teams Universitas Andalas, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara and Universitas Mulawarman. The best novice speaker award went Ida Ayu Pradnya Paramita from Universitas Udayana Bali, who was a member of Team Indonesia in the 2013 World Schools Debating Championships. The former high school debating star is an example of a talented non-Java debater who decided to stay in her home province after graduation. Udayana reached all the way to the main quarterfinal.

NUDC 2014: Underdog Sanata Dharma Slips into Female-Dominated Final

#7 Universitas Sanata Dharma (Tethy Pesoa & Sekartiyasa Kusumastuti) advanced into the grand final of the 2014 National Universities Debating Championship, scoring the school's first appearance at the penultimate debate of a major nationwide competition. In the debate for the national title, they will face three powerhouses, #1 Universitas Indonesia (Aulia Anggita & Dennys Kapa), #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indriani Pratiwi & Wida Wahyuni) and #2 Binus University (Rivera Kathrin & Marchella Febriyanti), which are bent on securing the fourth win in a row for their Jakarta-based school. The final is also unique due to the gender composition. UI's Dennys Kapa will be the only male debater in the final, revealing the female domination in NUDC 2014.  

NUDC 2014: All-Java Semifinal Again. Can Binus Win Four Titles in a Row?

The 8 teams in the semifinals of the 2014 National Universities Debating Championships are all from Java-based institutions, including Binus University Jakarta that has held the title for the last three years. The geographical hegemony has stood although the education ministry this year expanded the number of participation to 112 from 96 that gave 16 more slots to non-Java institutions. 

In the first semifinal, reigning champion #2 Binus University (Rivera Kathrin & Marchella Febriyanti) must overcome challenges from #7 Universitas Sanata Dharma (Sekartiyasa Kusumastuti & Tethy Pesoa), #3 Universitas Pelita Harapan (Saagar Teckchandani & Dharma Dwitama Harja) and #14 Universitas Padjadjaran (Erfan Supradhono & Omar Azfar) if they want to secure their fourth title in as many years. The two last teams eliminated one of the tournament's favourite, NUDC 2009 champion #6 Institut Teknologi Bandung.

In the second semifinal the country's two top powerhouses, #1 Universitas Indonesia (Aulia Anggita & Dennys Kapa) and #4 Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indriani Pratiwi & Wida Wahyuni), will clash along with #12 Universitas Brawijaya (Zelly Sidi Zamzami & Fahri Akbar) and #16 Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (Muhammad Iqwan & Karjongko). The semifinal motion reads "This House Believes That People Have the Right to be Forgotten".

UI debaters have secured the right to receive state financing for their participation in the 2015 World Universities Debating Championship after they broke first into the knockouts. More WUDC funding packages will go to three NUDC 2014 finalists. The ongoing national BP tournament is taking place at Universitas Batam in the Riau Islands.    

Non-Java squads Universitas Syiah Kuala from Aceh and Bali's Universitas Udayana gave spirited challenges in the quarterfinals but came short from becoming the first from outside of the main island to reach the top 8. Aceh and Bali, provinces that have won the national high school championship before, have strong squads at the pre-varsity level but their universities need to attract those talented debaters to stay home to extend success into varsity level. Some debaters from those provinces are now debating for UI.

However, it was also refreshing to see there was a team from far eastern Indonesia, Universitas Pattimura from Ambon, in the octofinal although they could not advance into the top 16. That shows serious training, including from organizations like On That Point that try to empower disadvantaged regions, can make a difference. This issue has nothing to do with race, ethnicity or any other personal background. The best Indonesian debaters are hard working individuals who come from all kinds of social groups. The matter is institutional. It is about how institutions and institutionalized training can provide the right exercise, materials and environment for eager debaters to enhance their skills and knowledge. Without them, even the most talented with the gift of the gab would never shine on the debating stage. 

WSDC 2014: Key Results & Motions

Here are the key results from the 2014 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: England (#1/#3/#2/A) -- 4th trophy

(Will Cook, Louis Collier, Eleanor Shearer, Sam Feinburg)

Finalists: South Africa (#2/#1/#4/A) -- 2nd appearance in GF

(Josh Broomberg, Samuel Musker, Saadiyah Mayet, Kate Dewey, Rachel Gardiner)

Best ESL Team: Peru (#6/#9/#24/D)

Best EFL Team: Netherlands (#7/#10/#7/B)

Top 10 Speakers

1. Will Cook (England)
2. Jane Carroll (Australia)
3. James Stratton (Australia)
4. Chin Wee Lee (Singapore)
5. Josh Broomberg (South Africa)
6. Kuan Hian Tan (Singapore)
7. Samuel Musker (South Africa)
8. Louis Collier (England)
9. Eleanor Shearer (England)
10. Sam Feinburg (England)

Best English-as-Second Language Speaker: Nishanth Selvalingam (Malaysia)

Best English-as-Foreign Language Speaker: Regina Cara Riantoputra (Indonesia)

Motions:
R0: THW Ban Children from Becoming Professional Models
R1: THW Ban Unpaid Internships
R2: THBT Only Liberal Democracies Should Host International Sporting Events
R3: THW Allow Prisoners to Volunteer for Drug Trials in Exchange for a Lighter Sentence
R4: THBT Post-Revolution States Should Delegate Trials of Former Rulers and High Ranking Officials to the ICC
R5: THBT Slum Tourism Does More Than Good
R6: THW Disallow Unvaccinated Children from Attending Public Schools
R7: THW Lift Tax Exemptions from Religious Institutions that Refuse to Recognize Marriage Equality
R8: THW Remove All Patents on Green Technology
Octofinal: THW not Prosecute Defamation
Quarterfinal: THBT Labour Unions are Becoming Obsolete
Semifinal: THBT Drone Strikes are a Legitimate Tool of Foreign Policy
Final: THBT an ASEAN Political Union is an Impossible Dream  

WSDC 2014: Team Indonesia Return with Awesome Accolades, New Records

WSDC 2014 Best EFL Speaker Regina Cara with Thai host

 

#11 Indonesia came out of the 2014 World Schools Debating Championship  in Thailand with a trail of new national records and Regina Cara Riantoputra snatching the top EFL speaker title. The SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan debater, who has been winning awards for her school for years, was the team's star as she debated in all matches in WSDC Bangkok, making her presence widely known in the world's top high school debating event.

The 2014 team now hold almost all pf the Indonesian WSDC records, some without match. They are the Indonesian team with the most wins ever. The 2014 team won 6 out of 8 mandatory WSDC rounds, enabling Indonesia to break into the octofinal for the first time since 2004. They matched a 10-year record of breaking into the WSDC knockouts set by the 2003 and 2004 teams, which were made up by almost the same debaters.  Moreover, they bested the score of the 2003 and 2004 teams that also reached the octofinal but both 'only' had 5 preliminary wins. The 2014 team equaled the 2003's record #11 position. Only 16 teams can advance into the WSDC knockouts.

Reaching the quarterfinal stage is still an elusive feat for Team Indonesia. In the recent tournament's octofinal, WSDC 2013 champion Australia stopped Team Indonesia's amazing journey that included wins over Greece, Sweden, Romania Turkey, Estonia and 2012 finalist Wales. 

Cara, however, reached a place where no Indonesian has gone before. She entered the elite Top 20 club after she ranked 17th on the overall speaker list. That club is usually populated by debaters from countries that have won WSDC before. This year, only Cara and a Malaysian debater who broke into the party. She is now the Indonesian WSDC debater with the highest rank so far. Her team mate John Amadeo Daniswara from Raffles International School Jakarta also slipped into the Top 50 main speaker list and ended at #39. This is the first time two Indonesian speakers could enter that honourable group in the same year.

Individually, only two Indonesians had made it into the Top 50 list before WSDC 2014. Siti Astrid Kusumawardhani was the first one when she was ranked 49th in 2003. Two years later in WSDC Calgary, her sister Siti Soraya Cassandra ranked five notches higher at #44. Cara and John broke that record in Bangkok. Cara also became the first Indonesian to top the EFL speaker list with team mate Alif Azadi from SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh coming at 6th on that list. John could not enter the EFL list due to his international school background but ranked 6th on the English-as-Second-Language speaker list. The only record that still stands is Cassandra's speaker score of 72.47, which is only 0.1 higher than Cara's.           

The other members of Team Indonesia in WSDC 2014 were Marsa Harisa from SMA 9 Yogyakarta and Kevin Bonaparte from SMA 17 Makassar. Although they debated less than the previous trio, the duo played a vital role in the construction of the cases. All members of the team, which range from 3 to 5 debaters, can be involved in casebuilding although only three are allowed to debate in one match. Coaches have the chance to rotate the debating lineup throughout the tournament. This year's coaches were Australs 2011 ESL champions Subarkah Syafruddin and Riza Aryani, who have graduated from Universitas Indonesia. 

WSDC 2014: Title Goes to England, Indonesia Debater Best EFL Speaker

WSDC 2014 Champion - England

#3 England (Will Cook, Eleanor Shearer, Sam Feinburg, Louis Collier) won the 2014 World Schools Debating Championships in Bangkok, giving their country its fourth title from the most prestigious high school debate competition on the planet. Team Indonesia came home with the best EFL speaker award after an astonishing performance by a Banten high school debating star.

In the final that had England oppose the motion 'This House Believes That an ASEAN Political Union is an Impossible Dream', the eventual champion dashed the hope of  #1 South Africa (Saadiyah Mayet, Kate Dewey, Josh Broomberg, Rachel Gardiner, Samuel Musker) to become the first champion from the continent of Africa. England's Will Cook took home the best speaker award.

WSDC 2014 turned out to be a tournament of surprises. The teams that debated in the WSDC 2012 final, Scotland and Wales, failed to advance. In the top 16, there were 6 Asian teams - Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Singapore and the Philippines. Indonesia, which had never broken in the last decade, advanced with 6 wins, the most ever scored by a team from the country. China broke for the first time ever. South Africa, which has never won WSDC, topped the preliminary tab with 8 wins and 23 judge points, short one ballot from perfect. They continued to convince all judges in knockout rounds before the final. Triumphant England stopped that incredible run after a 7-2 split decision.  

#9 Peru ranked as the Best English-as-Second-Language Team with Nishant Selvalingam from Malaysia topping the ESL speaker list. #10 Netherlands exited the tournament as the Best English-as-Foreign-Language Team with SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan Regina Cara Riantoputra snatching the top EFL speaker title. She is the first Indonesian to officially win that title. Last year, another Indonesian debater was announced to get that award but the organizers had to give it to another speaker after the eventual winner's language status was corrected. The next tournament will take place in Singapore, the only Asian country with a WSDC title. 

WSDC 2014: Best Team Indonesia Ever with 6 Wins and 16 Judge Points

Team Indonesia in WSDC 2014 at Assumption University Bangkok (l to r) : Riza Aryani (coach), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), John Amadeo (Raffles International School Jakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Subarkah Syafruddin (coach)

Team Indonesia advanced into the octofinals of the 2014 World Schools Debating Championships in Bangkok with 6 wins and 2 losses, the best ever record by the country's high school debaters. Indonesia had only broken twice before, in 2003 and 2004, both times with a 5-3 record in the 8-round mandatory stage. The 2010 team also won 5 times in the preliminaries but came short from breaking.

In the preliminaries, Team Indonesia defeated 6 European squads - Sweden, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Estonia and an English-as-first-language team Wales, which reached the final of WSDC in 2012. They only lost to WSDC 2010 champion Canada and United Arab Emirates. Team Indonesia broke as the 11th team on the list, equalling the rank of the WSDC 2003 squad. Indonesia's upset win over Wales made the latter fail to break in the end but it was not the only favourite that collapsed. Former champions Scotland and the United States also could not qualify into the Top 16.

Team Indonesia 2014 consist of Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and John Amadeo (Raffles International Christian School Jakarta). Their overall speaker score was quite high, indicating some of them may enter the top 50 speaker list. Only two Indonesians have entered that illustrious list - sisters Siti Astrid Kusumawardhani and Siti Soraya Cassandra in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Their coaches are Australs ESL champion Subarkah Syafruddin, an Universitas Indonesia alumnus who guided Team Indonesia to respectable 4-4 finishes in WSDC 2012 and 2013, and his Australs teammate and fellow UI graduate Riza Aryani. The coaches fought for the provision of the fifth seat in the team for a debater who comes from outside the education ministry system of selection.

That fifth member, John Amadeo who comes from an English-speaking school, was an integral part of the success. The two girls in the squad, Regina Cara Riantoputra and Marsa Harisa, are well-known high school debating stars with numerous best speaker awards. Team Indonesia 2014 also had two non-Java debaters, Kevin Bonaparte from South Sulawesi and Alif Azadi from Aceh, who showed there should be no barriers for debaters in Indonesia to excel if they work hard to enhance their skills through rigorous training.

But this is not new. Non-Java debaters have been a vital part of the WSDC squads since Indonesia first joined the competition in 2001. The first Team Indonesia was even captained by a student from West Kalimantan. Time and again, non-Java high school debaters have proven they can compete with the rest. However, almost all of the non-Java WSDC debaters ended up debating for Java-based universities. This is the Indonesian debating world's brain drain issue that should start from making non-Java educational institutions attractive for these high school stars.

In the octofinal, Team Indonesia had to end their amazing journey in the hands of defending champions Australia, which later fell in the quarterfinal. Although WSDC 2014 has become the tournament of upsets with favourites exiting early, the semifinal debates had four English-as-first-language teams. The final will be between undefeated #1 South Africa, which is bent on becoming Africa's first WSDC champion, and #3 England, the three-time winner.

WSDC 2014: Indonesia With 2 Wins So Far in Unpredictable Tourney

At the mid-way point of the 2014 World Schools Debating Championship, Team Indonesia has collected 2 wins from 4 rounds. There are 4 preliminaries to go with an open chance to break into the top 16. Our national squad defeated lowly ranked Sweden and  highly seeded Greece. They lost to the 2010 champion Canada and United Arab Emirates, which are among the top ten favorites. In the next 4 rounds, they will face opponents with more or less of the same quality. They need at least 5 wins out of 8 debates to be able to advance into the elimination stage.

The tournament itself has been full of surprises, showing the tight level of competition. Former WSDC champions Scotland and Singapore bowed to underdogs China and Germany, respectively in round 1. Barbados, a team with erratic participation and without a good track record in WSDC, is becoming a dark horse with 3 wins out of 4. All teams have lost at least one judge point.  

Team Indonesia 2014 consist of Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan)
and John Amadeo (Raffles International Christian School Jakarta). Their coaches are Australs ESL champion Subarkah Syafruddin, an Universitas Indonesia alumnus who guided Team Indonesia to respectable 4-4 finishes in WSDC 2012 and 2013,  and his Australs teammate and fellow UI graduate Riza Aryani.

Indonesia has only broken twice into the WSDC out rounds, in 2003 and 2004, both times with a 5-3 record in the 8-round mandatory stage. The 2010 team also won 5 times in the preliminaries but came short from breaking. The 2013 team won the best EFL team award.

NUDC 2014: Biggest National Round to Take Place on Batam Island

Universitas Batam will host the final battles of the 2014 National Universities Debating Championship from August 19 to 24. This will be the biggest ever NUDC following the expansion from 96 teams to 112. This is due to the new education ministry policy that created two new regional offices, increasing the number to 14 from 12. Sticking to its geographical representation principles, the ministry still allows each regional office to send 8 teams each, regardless of skill level.

So, the expansion means a hike in quantity, not quality. The regional offices that were broken into smaller units all were among those that had the worst performing teams. There will be 8 teams from the remote West Papua/Papua region alone after they no longer need to compete with universities in Maluku. The same thing goes to Aceh province, which will have 8 teams, although it had difficulty to qualify more than one when it was still part of the northern Sumatra regional division. There will be a lot more teams with insufficient understanding about what a good competitive debate should be like. This will give extra pressure to adjudicators in reviewing debates with low clarity.  

While many of the participating teams are new, the main adjudication panel is not. Last year's chief adjudicator Boby Andika Ruitang from Universitas Indonesia returns to lead the judges along with three deputies who come from the three most successful state universities in debating. They are UI's Egalita Irfan, the best speaker of the 2012 Indonesia Varsities English Debate, Erwina Salsabila, the EFL champion of United Asian Debating Championship 2014 from Universitas Gadjah Mada, and Alris Alfharisi, the EFL Champion of UADC 2013 from Institut Teknologi Bandung. They will face the tough challenge to decide motions that can be understood and give added value to a pool of debaters who mainly may have limited insight into the most contemporary topics. They will also need to make sure all teams, including total greenhorns, get fair adjudication for their efforts.

The teams are as follows (alphabetical within their regions):

Region I (North Sumatra)
Akademi Sekretari Manajemen Cendana, Politeknik Ganesha, STBA Persahabtan Internasional Asia, STIE IT&B, STMIK Mikroskil, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, Universitas Muhammadiyah Tapanuli Selatan, Universitas Sumatera Utara,   

Region II (South Sumatra, Lampung, Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung)
Politeknik Sriwijaya, STBA Teknokrat, STIE Musi Palembang, STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu, Universitas Bengkulu, Universitas Bina Darma, Universitas Lampung, Universitas Sriwijaya,  

Region III (Greater Jakarta, Banten)
Institut Pertanian Bogor, Sekolah Tinggi Parawisata Trisakti, Universitas Bakrie, Universitas Bina Nusantara, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Universitas Paramadina, Universitas Pelita Harapan

Region IV (West Java)
Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Institut Teknologi Bandung, STKIP Siliwangi, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Universitas Padjadjaran,  Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Universitas Telkom, Universitas Wiralodra 

Region V (Yogyakarta)
STBA LIA Yogyakarta, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Universitas Sanata Dharma

Region VI (Central Java)
Universitas Dian Nuswantoro, Universitas Diponegoro, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Universitas PGRI Semarang 

Region VII (East Java)
Politeknik Negeri Malang, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Brawijaya, Universitas Jember, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Universitas Negeri Malang, Universitas Surabaya 

Region VIII (Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara)
Politeknik Negeri Bali, STIBA Saraswati, STIKES Bali, Universitas Mahasaraswati, Universitas Mataram, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Universitas Udayana, Universitas Warmadewa

Region IX (Sulawesi)
Politeknik Negeri Ujung Pandang, Universitas Hasanuddin, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pare-Pare, Universitas Muslim Indonesia, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Universitas Negeri Makassar,  Universitas Sam Ratulangi

Region X (West Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, Riau Islands)
Politeknik Negeri Batam, Politeknik Negeri Bengkalis, Universitas Andalas, Universitas Batam, Universitas Jambi, Universitas Mahaputra Muhammad Yamin, Universitas Negeri Padang, Universitas Riau

Region XI (Kalimantan)
IKIP PGRI Pontianak, Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin, STKIP PGRI Banjarmasin, Universitas Balikpapan, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, Universitas Mulawarman, Universitas Palangka Raya, Universitas Tanjungpura 

Region XII (Maluku, North Maluku)
STIKES Maluku Husada, STIKOM Ambon, STKIP Kie Raha Ternate, Universitas Iqra Buru, Universitas Khairun, Universitas Kristen Indonesia Maluku, Universitas Muhammadiyah Ternate, Universitas Pattimura

Region XIII (Aceh)
STKIP Bina Bangsa, STKIP Muhammadiyah Aceh Barat Daya, Universitas Abulyatama, Universitas Al Muslim, Universitas Jabal Ghafur, Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Universitas Ubudiyah

Region XIV (West Papua, Papua)
STKIP Muhammadiyah Sorong, Universitas Cenderawasih, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sorong, Universitas Musamus Merauke, Universitas Negeri Papua, Universitas Sains dan Teknologi Jayapura, Universitas Victory Sorong, Universitas Yapis Papua,  

The top teams in NUDC have always come from the same places. For the last three years, the title has been held by Jakarta-based Binus University. Non-Java teams have never reached the semifinal of NUDC. However, powerhouses are constrained by the regulation that a school can only send one team to NUDC. The fact is schools that have the chance to win still come from a very small circle, all of them are Java-based. Hence, for the top teams, real competition only starts at the top 16 stage.

The reality is still harsh for non-Java teams. Without better training and sustainable support for non-Java debaters, this divide has little likelihood to change. Simply sending debaters to competitions is not enough for non-Java institutions. The things good debaters do before a competition  -practicing, case-building, reading materials, watching debate videos- need to be done consistently by the non-Java debaters if they want to catch up. This does not mean a debater who comes from a remote place in Indonesia cannot excel on the national stage. In this year's NUDC, one of the debaters who have the chance to emerge as best speaker actually went to a high school in East Nusa Tenggara, one of the poorest provinces in the country. UI's Dennys Kapa is now part of the elite class of Indonesian debaters because he trained hard for years and had a supporting environment in his current university.  

WUDC 2015: 10 Indonesian Teams Secure Slots, ITB Missing

Ten teams from 7 Indonesian institutions are on the updated attendance list of the 2015 World Universities Debating Championship in Kuala Lumpur. Those who have been part of the original list should pay before July 31 while teams that got updated allocations have until August 29 to meet their payment obligations. The number of Indonesian participants may increase if other teams from Indonesia can get on the main list after the aforementioned deadlines. Institut Teknologi Bandung, which championed the 2014 WUDC's English-as-Foreign-Language category, was missing from the main list after its allocation was dropped. Click here to access the registration list. The 10 teams are as follows:
 
Universitas Indonesia - 3 teams
Universitas Gadjah Mada - 2 teams
Binus International - 1 teamBinus University - 1 team
Institut Pertanian Bogor - 1 team
Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta - 1 team
Universitas Padjadjaran - 1 team

WSDC 2014: Draw's Out, Indonesia Meets 5 Familiar Rivals

The draw for the 2014 World Schools Debating Championships in Bangkok for Team Indonesia looks quiet similar to last year's. They will face Wales, Romania, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Greece again. Indonesia lost to the first three and defeated the last two in WSDC 2013. The other opponents will be Canada, Sweden and Estonia. Indonesia has never lost to Sweden and Estonia before in WSDC.

All WSDC teams must debate 8 different teams in the preliminary stage, supposedly one from each of the 8 rank-based groupings. However, this year Indonesia received an unlucky draw that has led the team to meet 2 B class countries and none from the H class. Indonesia is in the E grouping (#25-30) and ranks #28 out of 46 contestants. The WSDC groupings are calculated based on victories and judge votes in the past 3 championships. Canada is from group A. So, it is the highest ranked team Indonesia will face in the mandatory rounds. Four preliminaries have prepared motions and the other four rounds are impromptu. Winning less than 5 prelims guarantees seats in the audience during the knockouts.

Since its WSDC entry in 2001, Indonesia has broken twice into the octofinals in 2003 and 2004, both with 5 wins. The highest achievement is #11 in 2003 but the team which collected the most judge votes was the one that went to WSDC 2010 in Qatar. Unfortunately, the latter did not break although they also collected 5 wins. Only the top 16 teams can break into the knockouts. Last year, Team Indonesia won the best English-as-Foreign-Language team award ended at #22 after having a 4-4 record.

The members of Team Indonesia 2014 are Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and John Amadeo (Raffles International Christian School Jakarta). There is no returning member in this team, one aspect that will be common in other contingents. The coaches are Subarkah Syafrudin and Riza Aryani, former Universitas Indonesia debaters who won the English-as-Second-Language category of the 2011 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships.

The draw, speaking positions and motions for Team Indonesia 2014's debates are as follows:
R0 Prop vs United Arab Emirates  (#9/B) - Impromptu

R1 Opp vs Canada (#6/A) - THBT post-revolution states should delegate trials of former rulers and high-ranking officials to the International Criminal Court
R3 Prop vs Sweden (#40/G) - THW allow prisoners to volunteer for drug trials in exchange for lighter sentences

R4 Opp vs Greece (#10/B) - Impromptu
R5 Opp vs Romania (#34/F) - THBT slum tourism does more harm than good

R6 Prop vs Wales (#16/C) - Impromptu
R7 Prop vs Estonia (#20/D) - THW lift tax exemptions from religious institutions that refuse to recognize marriage equality

R8 Opp vs Turkey (#27/E) - Impromptu

DOTY 2014: UGM Duo Keep Lead After Asian Success

Universitas Gadjah Mada debaters Romario Tambunan and Indriani Pratiwi are still leading the 2014 Debater of the Year table after good results in this year's United Asian Debating Championship. The former won the 2014 UADC's English-as-Foreign-Language category while both were among the top 10 Indonesian speakers in the Asia's most prestigious tournament. Their strong run this year began when they triumphed in the national 3-on-3 championship last January.

The 2014 edition of Java Overland Varsities English Debate, the first debate tournament in Indonesia with an internationally accepted format, also contributed to the current standing. Binus International sibling debaters Melisa Irene and Wilson Salim took home the best team and individual awards from the competition, which was held in Semarang. Both of them have now slipped into the top ten of the DOTY 2014 table, which can be found below. The full list can be accessed here.

1. Romario Tambunan (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
2. Indriani Pratiwi (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
3. Melisa Irene (Binus International)
4. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
5. Erwina Salsabila (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
6. Vicario Reinaldo (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
7. Alif Satria (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
8. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya)
9. Wilson Salim (Binus International)
10. Magreta Kailla Adenta (Universitas Indonesia)

UI Debater Defends Jakarta Mini Title with an UI Alumnus

Final year Universitas Indonesia student Dennys Kapa retained his title in Jakarta Mini 2014 but with a different partner, Ahmad Naufal Dai, who graduated from UI a few years ago. In the final, Dennys' team defeated his accomplice from last year's tournament, Rifan Ibnu Rahman, who debated with Dhia Fairus Shofia. The other finalists were Aulia Anggita & Ibrahim Panji Indra from UI and Aulia Widyaputra & Muhammad Lutfi from Institut Teknologi Bandung. Jakarta Mini is a small-size British Parliamentary open competition held by Binus University, which annually attracts strong debaters from across the main island of Java.    

Victoria Wellington Wins Australs 2014, Third Title in 5 Years

#1 Victoria University of Wellington 1 (Asher Emanuel, Jodie O'Neill, Nicholas Cross) championed the 2014 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships after defeating #3 University of Sydney 2 (Evie Woodforde, Joanna Connolly, Emma Johnstone) in the grand final in Otago, New Zealand. The trio reached the final last year but lost to another Sydney 2 team with different members. It was Victoria's sixth Australs title, the third triumph in the last five years. Victoria's Asher Emanuel also became the best speaker of the tournament. International Islamic University 1 (Ameera Moore, Mubarrat Wassey, Ahmad Hazim Norahmadi)  won the English-as-Second Language category. Ameera Moore and Mubarrat Wassey repeated last year's achievement.

NUDC 2014: Seeded Java Regions Conclude Their Selections

All Java regions have finished selecting teams that will compete in the National Universities Debating Championship, which may be held later in August. Non-Java teams never managed to reach the final of NUDC, let alone win it. NUDC is the state-sponsored debating tournament that gives opportunity for varsity debaters from all corners of the country to participate. Although the geographical cover is truly nationwide, NUDC has a lower overall quality of participants than other major tournaments because it only allows each university to send one team, preventing powerhouses to fill the competition with their members, who prepare better than those who lack access to proper training methods. Nonetheless, NUDC winners are the official national champions for the British Parliamentary style of debating.  

There were a couple of surprises in the Java selections. Powerhouse Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta failed to qualify from the Greater Jakarta regionals while dark horse Universitas Jember repeated last year's upset by advancing first in East Java above universitties from Malang and Surabaya that have better track records. One of the pioneers of Indonesian debating, Universitas Parahyangan, will have no representation for the second time in a row due to a clash with the school's academic calender, the same reason behind last year's absence. Here are the teams from Java that will debate in the main round of NUDC 2014.

Region 3 (Greater Jakarta & Banten)
Regional Champion: Universitas Indonesia (Aulia Anggita & Dennys Kapa)
Qualified Teams: Universitas Pelita Harapan, Universitas Bina Nusantara, Universitas Bakrie, Universitas Paramadina, Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Institut Pertanian Bogor, Sekolah Tinggi Parawisata Trisakti

Region 4 (West Java)
Regional Champion: Institut Teknologi Bandung (Aulia Widyaputra & Muhammad Lutfi)
Qualified Teams: Universitas Padjadjaran, Universitas Wilarodra, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Universitas Telkom, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Politeknik Negeri Bandung, STKIP Siliwangi

Region 5 (Yogyakarta)
Regional Champion: Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indriani Pratiwi & Wida Wahyuni)
Qualified Teams: Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Universitas Sanata Dharma, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Sekolah Tinggi Bahasa Asing LIA Yogyakarta

Region 6 (Central Java)
Regional Champion: Universitas Diponegoro (Haekal Muhammad & Fandi Achmad)
Qualified Teams: Universitas Negeri Semarang, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Universitas Katolik Soegijapranata, Universitas Dian Nuswantoro

Region 7 (East Java)
Regional Champion: Universitas Negeri Jember (Meilia Shofi & Tri Indah)
Qualified Teams: Universitas Brawijaya, Universitas Negeri Malang, Universitas Airlangga, Universitas Surabaya, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Universitas Widya Mandala, Politeknik Negeri Malang