WSDC 2014: Six Students Advance to the Final Team Indonesia Selection

Four girls from Java along with 2 boys from outside the main island outshone 9 other students in the Team Indonesia selection for the 2014 World Schools Debating Championships in Thailand. They will go through intensive training before coaches appoint in July the four debaters who deserve to represent the country next August. The filtered six are as follows in alphabetical order:

Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh)
Arinta Pratiwi (SMA 3 Semarang)
Aurora Maria (SMAK 1 Penabur Bandung)
Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar)
Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta)
Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan)

Former Universitas Indonesia debater Subarkah Syafruddin is coaching Team Indonesia for the third time in a row. Fellow UI graduate Riza Aryani is his co-coach this year. Both were part of the UI team that won the ESL category of the 2012 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships.

Indonesia broke into the WSDC octofinals twice, in 2003 and 2004. That achievement has not been matched since. Last year, Indonesia won the best EFL team trophy but came short from advancing into the knockouts.

UGM Debaters Take Trophy, Speaker Awards in PetroGas Debate 2014

#1 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Erwina Salsabila & Thoriq Murtadho) championed the 2014 PetroGas Debate at Universitas Indonesia's Faculty of Engineering after defeating schoolmates UGM D (Alif Satria & Nabila Aghniarizqa) and two teams from Institut Teknologi Bandung -- ITB A (Jane Revevalin & Vicario Reinaldo) and ITB C (Fiski Aditya & Aulia Widyaputra). The winners also topped the individual tab of the competition that had motions related to petroleum engineering. The tournament this year attracted stronger teams and tighter debates than it did when it was launched in 2013. With this victory, UGM has started this year with a bang with 6 different debaters snatching trophies in 3 separate competitions.

ALSA Unpad E-Challenge 2014: Key Results

Champions: #2 Universitas Parahyangan A (Revian Wirabuana, Devris Wijaya, Jeanne Sanjaya)
Finalists: #9 Universitas Paramadina (Gema Bastari, Aliefah Saras, Retno Dewati)
Best Speaker: Revian Wirabuana (Universitas Parahyangan A)
High School Champions: #1 SMA Kristen 1 Penabur Bandung (Vincentius Michael, Sandy Sanjaya, I Made Arisanto)
High School Finalists: #2 SMA 1 Denpasar (Biani Masita, Putu Sri Maharani, Yama Saputra) 
High School Best Speaker: Vincentius Michael (SMA Kristen 1 Penabur Bandung)

Top 10 Speakers
1. Revian Wirabuana (Universitas Parahyangan A)
2. Cindy Fransisca (Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta A)
3. Kristi Ardiana (Universitas Indonesia A)
3. Aldila Irsyad Noi (Universitas Gadjah Mada A)
5. Devris Wijaya (Universitas Parahyangan A)
5. Muhammad Fidhzariyan (Universitas Gadjah Mada A)
7. Sufi Adenda (Universitas Gadjah Mada A)
8. Dena Ambar Sary (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia A)
9. Andrew Prasatya (Universitas Bakrie A)
9. Gema Bastari (Universitas Paramadina)

ALSA Unpad EC 2014: Unpar Wins, Stops Paramadina's Cinderella Run

Gema Bastari (Paramadina) takes a point from Jeanne Sanjaya (Unpar)

#2 Universitas Parahyangan A (Revian Wirabuana, Devris Wijaya, Jeanne Sanjaya) defeated #9 Universitas Paramadina (Gema Bastari, Aliefah Saras, Retno Dewati) in the final of the 2014 ALSA Unpad E-Challenge debate, ending the runner up's Cinderella run. Paramadina pulled off one upset after another when they eliminated teams from powerhouses Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Gadjah Mada in the previous rounds, including #1 UGM A that had not lost a match in the tournament before the encounter with the underdog.

For Unpar, it was the first debate trophy in four years since a victory in the EU-IDC debate way back in 2010. Unpar with UI were the universities that laid the foundation for competitive debating in Indonesia in 1997. For Paramadina, it was the first ever appearance in a final of a major nationwide tournament. While the Unpar trio are all former high school debating stars, the Paramadina team members lacked any significant pre-university English public speaking experience, let alone debating ones. Their meeting in the final shows anyone can excel if they work hard.

The Unpar team's main engine, Revian Wirabuana, who represented Indonesia in the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, also grabbed the tournament's best speaker title.

DOTY 2014: UGM Debaters Keep Leading the Table

Two debaters from Universitas Gadjah Mada are still at the top of the 2014 IndoDebate Debater of the Year table. Romario Tambunan leads after reaching the final of the 2014 Jogjakarta Debate Forum Open and Indriani Pratiwi tails him closely. They both gave UGM its third national 3-on-3 title from the Indonesian Varsities English Debate last January. Whether they could keep leading is still unclear. UGM debaters had a strong start last year but failed to outlast the formidable Binus International pair of Jaran Walia, who eventually won the third DOTY title, and Invi Atmanegara in crucial competitions in the second half of 2013.

Right behind the UGM duo, the first DOTY title holder, Roderick Sibarani from Universitas Indonesia, is making a case as he is bent on making the most out of his last year in college. His partnership with Astri Agustina, another veteran but from UGM, triumphed in the JDF Open. The other tournament that contributed to the list is the 2014 Asian English Olympics. However, foreigners raided the top awards and filled the top side of the individual tab, allowing only very few Indonesians to harvest points. The top 10 individuals on the DOTY 2014 list as of January 2014 is as follows:

1. Romario Tambunan (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
2. Indriani Pratiwi (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
3. Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
4. Alif Satria (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
5. Fauzan Reza Maulana (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
6. Astri Agustina (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
7. Magreta Kailla Adenta (Universitas Indonesia)
8. Edward Sutanto (Universitas Diponegoro)
9. Rizky Akita (Universitas Diponegoro)
10. Melisa Irene (Binus International)

ALSA Unpad EC 2014: Underdog Paramadina Slays #1 UGM to Reach SF

#9 Universitas Paramadina (Gema Bastari, Aliefah Saras, Retno Dewati) pulled off the tournament's upset in the quarterfinal of the 2014 ALSA Unpad English Challenge debate after eliminating #1 Universitas Gadjah Mada A (Muhammad Fidhzariyan, Aldila Irsyad Noi, Sufi Adenda) that had not dropped a point before the match. This is the first time for Paramadina to reach a major national 3-on-3 semifinal. In the octofinal, the giant-slaying Paramadina knocked out another representative of a powerhouse, #8 Universitas Indonesia B (Adeline Tiffanie, Jessica Liong, Dinda Royhan).

In the semifinal tomorrow, Paramadina will face #5 UGM B (Himang Sharatun, Ummi Hadiba, Syadza Annisa) who are bent on avenging their schoolmates. In the other match, #2 Universitas Parahyangan A (Revian Wirabuana, Devris Wijaya, Jeanne Sanjaya) will meet #3 Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta A (Cindy Fransisca, Kario Teguh, Silvya Suwandy). It is still anyone's game now at the competition held at Universitas Padjadjaran's main Bandung campus but what is clear is that there will not be any all-UGM final like last year's edition.