UGM Rules English Fiesta, Bakrie Comes of Age in ALSA UI

The UMM English Fiesta in Malang will wrap up today with four elimination rounds, including the grand final, while ALSA UI E-Comp will have octos and quarters for varsity and high school categories. Reigning IVED champion Universitas Gadjah Mada has shown its might in the first tournament after teams took the two top spots on the tab. Two other UGM teams also broke into the ALSA UI knockouts but the stars of the show in Depok come from up-and-coming Universitas Bakrie.

After steadfastly learning from experiences from past tournaments where they have been seen as perrenial underdogs, Bakrie teams broke first and fourth in this year's version of the longest-running English debating tournament in Indonesia. Bakrie B (Aryo Febrian, Yudha Mustafa Putra, Alfan Rezani) topped the tab with a clean sweep after beating teams from powerhouses Institut Teknologi Bandung, UGM, and Universitas Indonesia in the preliminaries. Bakrie teams have managed to reach semifinals of two national-scale tournaments this year but the achievement in ALSA, even if they fail to grab the trophy in the end, is the clearest sign that this university has come of age in the Indonesian debating scene and should get the respect that it deserves.

The ALSA UI trophy itself is still up for grabs. Bakrie B is the only one with a perfect score but their road to glory is full of tough opponents. Most of the top 16 teams have 4-1 records and many teams with 3 VPs failed to break, promising tight battles in the knockouts. UGM, Binus International and Universitas Brawijaya who have teams in the knockouts of EF and ALSA may still have the chance to achieve double success this week.