ALSA UI E-Comp 2013: New High School Champ but Still from Bali

Back-to-back champion SMA 4 Denpasar, popularly known as Foursma, failed to score a hat-trick in the ALSA UI English Competition's high school category this year but a cross-city rival ensured the trophy stay in the Bali capital. In yesterday's final, #1 SMA 1 Denpasar (Aldwin Wijaya, Hansen Tanaka, Kaizar Nararya) defeated darkhorse #10 SMAK Petra 2 Surabaya (Jesslyn Vania, Felicia Magdalena, Francisca Victoria), which eliminated the reigning title holder in the semifinal.

Just like the winning Foursma teams of the past two years, the 2013 champions came out from the tournament undefeated. SMA 1 Denpasar was previously considered inferior to its neighbour, which has produced champions and WSDC debaters year after year. The team that won this year's ALSA UI E-Comp, the most prestigious institution-based high school tournament in Indonesia, actually competed with the exact line-up in 2012 but failed to break into the knockouts. With hard work, they have changed the perception. The same SMA 1 Denpasar debaters also recently knocked out SMA 4 Denpasar in the city-level qualification for the national championships after years of the latter's uninterrupted dominance.

SMA 4 Denpasar did achieve a hat-trick in the individual tab through Alanna Deborah who became the third ALSA UI E-Comp best speaker from Foursma in as many years.