#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.
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