Key Information on WUDC 2012 in Manila

Indonesia first sent teams to the World Universities Debating Championships when it was held in Manila in 1999. After more than a decade, the planet's top debating tournament will return to the Philippines' capital city soon and many Indonesian universities have already shown interest to take part in the WUDC 2012. Here are key details of the championship:


When: December 27, 2011 - January 4, 2012
Where: De La Salle Univ., Manila with the grand final at the Philippine Int'l Convention Center
Tournament Cap: 400 teams
Institutional Cap: 3 teams
Registration Fees: PHP 23,500 (around IDR 4.8 Million) per Debater or Adjudicator
Adjudication Rule: n-1


Registration Dates:
Phase 1 (Online Registration)- April 1, 2011- May 19, 2011
Phase 2 (Down-Payment - 50% or Full Payment)- April 8, 2011 - May 20, 2011
Phase 3 (Participant Information)- April 8, 2011 - October 24, 2011
Phase 4 (Payment of the remaining balance)- April 8, 2011 - September 9, 2011
Phase 5 (In-House Registration)- December 27, 2011


Indonesian teams should register as soon as phase 1 opens at 10 a.m. Manila time on April 1 because a WUDC in Asia tends to attract many Asian universities that might skip a WUDC that is held outside the continent due to transport reasons. Many of these universities may even send more than the instutional cap of three teams as they can use different institutions within the same school to skirt around the restriction. For example, University of Delhi likes to send teams under the name of the many colleges that are part of the university's system e.g. St. Stephen's, Ramjas, Hindu. Of course, the same case may apply in other continents but Asia has far more schools and the popularity of parliamentary debating is increasing across the continent so the local interest effect will be far more apparent.


Applicants that register after the 300th slot is taken will be put on the waiting list that does not automatically follow the first come, first served principle. On details of the WUDC 2012 registration, please go to http://www.dlsuworlds.com/registration.html. 


Teams who receive funding from the Indonesian government through the NUEDC scheme should be careful in registering their team names. The WUDC Constitution article 22.2 reads as follows: "During the academic year of the competition, competitors shall represent the institution at which they pursue at least half of their courses toward a particular degree." Hence, representing an institution that does not give courses that lead to a particular degree like Dikti may be seen as a violation to the constitution although the debaters are students from the same university.


For performance of Indonesian teams in WUDC, please click the WUDC button on this blog.
For other details on WUDC, there is no better website than the World Debating Website by Colm Flynn.