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)

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)

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.

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

Indonesia is #29 on WSDC Pre-Tournament Rankings

Indonesia remains in the E group of the pre-tournament rankings ahead of the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, at #29 of 48 contestants -- 2 notches below the placement on the pre-WSDC 2011 list. The WSDC seedings are calculated based on victories and judge votes in the past three championships.

The list serves as the key in matching teams in the coming tournament in Cape Town from January 17 to 27, 2012. A WSDC team will meet 8 different teams in the preliminary rounds, one from each of the 8 groupings. The predetermined draw will be announced in December. Four preliminaries use prepared motions while the rest will be impromptu. Only the top 16 can advanced into the knockout stage. While victory points are the ultimate decider like most tournaments, judge votes have more weight in WSDC than collective team scores.

Group A: 1) England, 2) Australia, 3) New Zealand, 4) Canada, 5) Greece, 6) Singapore
Group B: 7) Netherlands, 8) South Korea, 9) South Africa, 10) Wales, 11) Pakistan, 12) Ireland
Group C: 13) UAE, 14) Hong Kong, 15) Scotland, 16) Slovenia, 17) Philippines, 18) India
Group D: 19) Israel, 20) Mexico, 21) Sri Lanka, 22) Peru, 23) Estonia, 24) Bangladesh
Group E: 25) Botswana, 26) Malaysia, 27) USA, 28) China, 29) Indonesia, 30) Qatar
Group F: 31) Romania, 32) Argentina, 33) Germany, 34) Bermuda, 35) Thailand, 36) Czech
Group G: 37) Turkey, 38) Mongolia, 39) Kuwait, 40) Sweden, 41) Lithuania, 42) Slovakia
Group H: 43) Nigeria, 44) Japan, 45) Denmark, 46) Macau, 47) Swaziland, 48) Zimbabwe

WSDC 2012 Prepared Motions Announced

A day after the formation of Team Indonesia for the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, organisers of the Cape Town event revealed the motions for the prepared rounds. Each WSDC team must undergo 8 preliminary rounds, half of them prepared while the other four will be announced an hour before the debates.

WSDC does not use a power matching system as the draw is predetermined using a scheme that gives each team reasonably equal chance to meet opponents from various levels. While the motions for WSDC Cape Town are out, the organizers did not disclose the timing of the motions. They may be revealed along with the role assignments and complete draw in December. The only motion with a clear designation is the one for the grand final.

The prepared motions for the 2012 WSDC that will take place from January 17 to 27 are:

Preliminaries:
THBT newly democraticised Arab nations should not allow religious parties to participate in elections
THBT the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography
THBT developing nations should place limits on internal urban-rural migration
THBT states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights

Grand Final:
TH regrets South Africa's decision to use the Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than prosecuting perpetrators of crimes committed under Apartheid

Good luck to Team Indonesia 2012 (Alif Satria, Cheryl Nazik Cosslett, Revaldi Wirabuana, Revian Wirabuana) in prepping the motions.

Team Indonesia for WSDC 2012 Revealed

Selectors last night picked 4 students to represent Indonesia in the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships, two of them are twins from Bali. The selected team emerged after 5 days of trials in which 24 debaters were invited. This is the first time a pair of siblings made the cut in the same year. Sisters have entered Team Indonesia before but in different years. Nobody who previously debated  for Indonesia in WSDC had a twin.

Members of Team Indonesia for WSDC 2012 are ( in alphabetical order):

• Alif Satria (SMA 8 Yogyakarta) 
• Cheryl Nazik Cosslett (SMA 1 Bogor) 
• Revaldi Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar) 
• Revian Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar) 

The upcoming WSDC will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from January 17-27, 2012, giving coach M. Subarkah Syafruddin less than two months to train a team that can put Indonesia back on the map. In the last WSDC, Indonesia ended at #37, the lowest rank since the first participation in 2001. Indonesia has broken twice into the WSDC octofinals, in 2003 and 2004.    

Trials for Indonesia's WSDC Team Reach Final Stage

After 3 days of trials, 8 debaters from the 24 students who were invited to the Team Indonesia selection for the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships earned the right last night to progress into the next phase. They need to undergo more try outs until November 17 before securing the 4 seats in the Cape Town-bound team. The list of the advancing candidates is as follows, according to the alphabetical order of their first names.

Alif Satria (SMA 8 Yogyakarta)
Aulia Widya Putra (SMA 8 Pekanbaru)
Cheryl Nazik Cosslett (SMA 1 Bogor)
Cut Maghfirah Faisal (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh)
Gabriel Charlotte Wajong (SMA 81 Jakarta)
Revaldi Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar)
Revian Wirabuana (SMA 4 Denpasar)
Zivana Sabili Chaniago (SMA 3 Medan)

Selections for Indonesia's WSDC 2012 Team Begins Today

The Ministry of Education has invited 24 high school students from all over the country to join the selection process to get 4 debaters who will represent Indonesia in the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships. The trials begin today at Jakarta's Wisma Subud and they are aimed at selecting Team Indonesia before the November 18 deadline. The next WSDC will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from January 17 to 27.

Indonesia has broken twice into the WSDC knockouts, in 2003 and 2004, with a nearly identical line-up. No other Indonesian team has advanced from the preliminaries. Debaters and coaches of those two successful teams will take part as judges in today's trials.

The coach for the upcoming Team Indonesia is M. Subarkah Syafruddin whose Universitas Indonesia team won the ESL category in the 2011 Australasian Inter-Varsities Debating Championships in Seoul. Sume, as he is affectionately known, has a tough task ahead. He needs to form a solid team from scratch while several nations have decided to use debaters who competed in the 2011 WSDC last August as the backbone of their Cape Town squads.

Australs ESL Champ to Coach Indonesia's WSDC 2012 Team

The Education Ministry has chosen Muhammad Subarkah Syafruddin, a law student from Universitas Indonesia, to coach Team Indonesia for the 2012 World Schools Debating Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. Sume, as he is popularly known, was part of the UI team that championed the ESL category at this year's Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, the most prestigious varsity debate contest in Asia Pacific. He is also active in UI's award-winning international law moot court squad.

The next WSDC will be held from January 17 to 27, giving very little time to select and build a team. According to the latest WSDC newsletter, details of the team should be submitted no later than November 18. Team Indonesia missed the break and ended at #37 in the last WSDC in Dundee, Scotland last August.

Indonesia has only broken twice in WSDC, in 2003 and 2004, since its first participation in 2001. In 2010, the national high school team came close to breaking after winning 5 out of their 8 mandatory debates, equalling the win-lose record in 2003 and 2004. The 2012 team will be made up of debaters who competed in the 2011 National Schools Debating Championships.

WSDC 2011: Trophy Goes to Singapore, First Champ from Asia

#15 Singapore became the first Asian winner of the World Schools Debating Championships after beating #4 Australia on a 7-2 decision in the finals of the 2011 edition in Dundee, Scotland. Debaters from the tiny, modern city-state, where one party has ruled alone since its conception, successfully knocked down the motion "This House Believes That Autocracy is Doomed in the Age of Facebook".

The road to glory was no cakewalk. Team Singapore, which reached the finals in 2003 and 2007, barely broke into the knockouts this year. They lost 3 of their 8 preliminary rounds, bowing to New Zealand, Pakistan and the Netherlands, an EFL team. Singapore met New Zealand again in the octofinals where they scraped a close 3-2 win. The revenge was the turning point as they progressed to the throne with more convincing victories.

This year Singapore fielded an experienced team. All 5 members, including WSDC 2011 best speaker Teoh Ren Jie, had debated in past editions. Four debaters came from Raffles Junior College - Ashish Kumar, Benjamin Mak, Adil Hakeem, and captain Teoh, who competed in 2010 and 2009 - while the fifth member was Li Ki Ng from Hwa Chong Institute.

The next WSDC will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from January 17 to 27, 2012 - five months away. The close timing may force countries to have teams filled with returning members. It is unclear whether that will apply for Indonesia after the 2011 team ended their journey in Dundee at #37 with a 2-6 record. Indonesia's one consolation was Nudzran Yusya from SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh slipped into the Top 20 EFL speaker list.

WSDC 2012 Five Months From WSDC 2011

The 2012 World Schools Debating Championships will take place in South Africa only five months after this year's August 16-26 edition in Scotland. Organizers of  WSDC 2012 have sent their first newletter confirming the tournament will span from January 17 to 27, 2012 and registration is open throughout August 2011. The team cap for next year's competition is 48 teams.

Indonesia started to compete in WSDC in 2001, when it was last convened in South Africa, and won the Best New Team Award then.  The debates next year will be in Cape Town, not Johannesburg like in 2001, but the range of venues will be similarly interesting -- from public schools in poor black townships to elitist ones in predominantly white suburbs.