Asian BP Jakarta Dates Confirmed

Come rain or shine, Jakarta in 7 months will host its first ever major international debating tournament. The 2012 Asian British Parliamentary Intervarsity Debating Championship will take place from October 22 to 28, organizers confirmed. Debates will fill the Binus International campus that is surrounded by malls in the southern leafy area of Senayan and debaters will stay at the Sunlake Hotel in the northern section of the city.

Binus International Campus, Jakarta
Venue of the 2012 Asian BP 

Jakarta has seen a few competitions with international participation in recent years but all of them only could attract a small number of teams from overseas. ABP promises scores of debaters flying into the metropolis from all over the continent. It has been 5 years since the last major international tournament in Indonesia and it was Bandung that hosted the 2007 Asian Universities Debating Championships, not the country's capital. So, it will be interesting how organizers address the biggest headache in the capital, traffic, and not let the congestions dent the event.

ABP 2012 will have 6 preliminary rounds to decide who can qualify for the open pre-quarterfinals (top 24) and EFL semifinals on October 27. A day after, finals of both categories will conclude the competition. Reigning national BP champion Astrio Feligent Tjong from host Binus International is the convenor while University of the Philippines' Alistair Zosa, finalist of the 2011 United Asian Debating Championships, and Douglas Cochran, Chief Adjudicator of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championships, will lead the judges.

Registration fee is set at $250 per debater/adjudicator, quite a price for Indonesian teams who should take this rare chance to compete with the best in the region. Teams should begin to seek slots on April 15.