NUEDC 2012: The Games Begin Today Without Bakrie

Around 300 varsity debaters and adjudicators have descended on the tourist island of Bali for Indonesia's largest debating competition, except the team from Universitas Bakrie who are among the favourites to win. The 2012 National Universities English Debating Championship will start today and crown a winner on June 26. Ninety-six teams from 12 regions are eligible to participate but the sudden schedule announcement has made Bakrie, the reigning national 3-on-3 champions, unable to come. A team member who helped secure the ticket to the national round in the regional selection has a prior academic commitment and NUEDC rules do not allow substitutions.

NUEDC 2012 will have 7 mandatory preliminary rounds. Half of the participants will proceed to the knockouts - 32 teams for the main category and 16 for the separate novice break. Last year, several novice teams that were part of the original top 32 chose to go for the weaker break for the sake of more accesible prizes. The result was lower ranking teams entered the main break, revealing a gap of quality between them and the experienced squads.


NUEDC uses the four-pairs-in-a-match British Parliamentary format, matching the World Universities Debating Championship. The champions will be funded to go the closest WUDC - this time in Berlin. Each university is only allowed to send one team, regardless of the depth in a school's debating squad.


There are a few teams with debaters who have won the best team or speaker award in a national-scale tournament, reached the finals of at least one of them or become the EFL winners of an international debating event in the past two years. The teams that may stand out are (alphabetical order):

• Binus University - Rosmiyana (ALSA Unpad 2012 best speaker) & Sabarudin Adinugroho (BIND 2011 finalist) 
• Institut Teknologi Bandung - Kirana Kania (IVED 2010 champion) & Jane Revevalin (PNDC 2012 champion)
• Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta - Cindy Fransisca (IPSDC 2012 best speaker + finalist) & Davin Susanto (IPSDC 2012 finalist)
• Universitas Brawijaya - Dungga Nur Prayogo (IDC Ma Chung 2012 champion) & Yeremia Azaria
• Universitas Diponegoro - Edward Sutanto (JOVED 2011 champion) & Rizky Akita (JOVED 2011 champion)
• Universitas Gadjah Mada - Erwina Salsabila (IHL 2012 champion) & Thoriq Murtadho (ALSA UI 2012 Finalist)
• Universitas Indonesia - Dimas Hokka (Australasians EFL 2011 champion/ Bawor 2011 champion) & Riza Aryani (Australasians EFL 2011 champion/IVED 2010 best speaker)
• Universitas Parahyangan - Dwita Aryani (ALSA Unpad 2011 best speaker) & Josefhine Chitra

Indeed, dark horses may emerge from other schools as many universities are fielding up-and-coming debaters who can pull upsets amid intense competition. The actual debates start tomorrow at the nursing school Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Bali.