Victoria Wellington Wins Australs 2014, Third Title in 5 Years

#1 Victoria University of Wellington 1 (Asher Emanuel, Jodie O'Neill, Nicholas Cross) championed the 2014 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships after defeating #3 University of Sydney 2 (Evie Woodforde, Joanna Connolly, Emma Johnstone) in the grand final in Otago, New Zealand. The trio reached the final last year but lost to another Sydney 2 team with different members. It was Victoria's sixth Australs title, the third triumph in the last five years. Victoria's Asher Emanuel also became the best speaker of the tournament. International Islamic University 1 (Ameera Moore, Mubarrat Wassey, Ahmad Hazim Norahmadi)  won the English-as-Second Language category. Ameera Moore and Mubarrat Wassey repeated last year's achievement.

Australs 2014 Won't Be in Bali, Otago Wins Bid 16-14

It was close. A bid to hold the 2014 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship in Bali received 14 votes, two less than what rival bidder University of Otago got. The plan promised a debate tournament in Indonesia's paradise but the New Zealand school offered a more formidable adjudication core line up that included 2 Australs winners, an Australs finalist, a two-time Australs ESL best speaker and 2 Worlds finalists. Kudos to Binus University, Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Bali and On That Point speaking institute for fighting hard to bring the second most prestigious debating event in the world to Indonesia. Only 2 major debating tournament hosting rights went to Indonesia's way so far -- the 2007 Asian Universities Debating Championship by Institut Tekonologi Bandung and the 2012 Asian BP by Jakarta-based Binus International.  

Binus, Stikes Bali, OTP Seek to Bring Australs 2014 to Indonesia

A bid to bring the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship to Indonesia next year is in full swing. The parties responsible are Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan (Stikes) Bali, the nursing school that has never competed in Australs before, their mentors from On That Point, the Jakarta-based public speaking institute run by former and current debaters with international debating experience, and the Jakarta-based Binus University from where many of the OTP personnel hail. The other bidder is University of Otago, the New Zealand college that reached the final of the last WUDC.

The Indonesia bid's mantra to beat the Kiwis is the location - the paradise island of Bali. The proposed hotel, the sprawling Grand Inna, is literally on the famous Kuta Beach, where surfers around the world seek the perfect waves, sunbathers seek the perfect tan and sightseers seek the perfect red sunset. It also a hop away from all sorts of nightlife. Several snazzy establishments in southern Bali have been lined up for the parties. As a place drenched in culture and blessed with natural beauty, the tourist haven also has myriad choices of artistic entertainment and excursions.

The four-star hotel would be the venue for everything related to the tournament before the break announcement. The knockouts until the semis would take place at Stikes Bali, which hosted Indonesia's national BP competition in 2012. The Hard Rock Ballroom, across the street from Grand Inna, is the choice for the finals.

While OTP-trained Stikes Bali is the home institution, its students will not hold key posts. The convener and her deputies as well as leaders of the socials, transport, accommodation, food, registration and publication units would be Binus University students with experience in running the annual  Jakarta-based Asian English Olympics debate. The tournament director would be OTP's Aryo Febrian, a Bakrie University student who championed the 2011 United Asian Debating Championship's EFL category. The Balinese would act as liaison officers, runners and unit members.
 
Bryan Gunawan, a Binus University alumnus who founded OTP, is the proposed chief adjudicator. He championed the EFL category of the 2008 Asian Universities Debating Championship and served as DCA at the 2011 Asian BP. His deputies would be Kristen Price (University of Queensland - Australs 2007 Champion), David Maher (University of New South Wales - USU 2011 Finalist), Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University Malaysia - Australs 2011 Best ESL Speaker) and Sandeep Chulani (University of Hong Kong - 2009 East Asian IV Best Grand Final Speaker). The project is expected to spend $20,000 on travel subsidies to strengthen the judging pool.

The main tabmasters would be IBM's Rendy Darmawidjaja, a Binus University alumnus who worked on the WUDC 2013 tabs, and University of Melbourne's Michael Ciesielski, who tabbed Australs 2009.   

The proposed dates would be July 22 to 30, which may pose an issue for Muslims because Eid al Fitr, one of the holiest days of the religion when families gather, falls on July 29 next year. This is no problem from an organizing aspect. While more than 80 per cent of Indonesians follow Islam, Bali is predominantly Hindu and July is always a busy holiday season.                  

WUDC 2013: Key Results

Champions: #48 University of Monash B (James Beavis & Nita Rao)
Finalists: #2 University of Sydney B (Paul Karp & Dominic Bowes), #6 University of Auckland A (Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom), #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn)
ESL Winners: #14ESL BRAC University A (Ratib Mortuza Ali & Aaqib Farhan Hossain)
EFL Winners: #5EFL University of Porto A (Ari da Cunha & Tiago Laranjeiro)

Top 10 Speakers
1. Pam Cohn (University of London Union A)
1. Chris Bisset (Monash University A)
3. Catherine Murphy (University of London Union A)
4. Madeline Schultz (Monash University A)
5. Paul Karp (University of Sydney B)
5. Christine Simpson (University College Dublin L&H A)
7. Dominic Bowes (University of Sydney B)
8. Elle Jones (University of Sydney B)
9. Mark Haughton (University College Dublin L&H A)
10. Seb Templeton (Victoria University of Wellington A)
10. Nita Rao (Monash University B)

Top 5 ESL Speakers
1. Martin Kiik (Harvard University C)
2. Arinah Najwa (International Islamic University A)
3. Syed Saddiq (International Islamic University A)
4. Karin Merckens (University of Leiden A)
5. Daan Welling (University of Leiden A)
5. Senna Maatoug (University of Leiden C)
5. Henk van Zullen (University of Groningen A)

Top 5 EFL Speakers
1. Ary da Cunha (University of Porto A)
2. Viktor Prlja (University of Belgrade A)
3. Rodolfo Mendez (Monterrey Institute of Technology A)
4. Radu Tiganas (University of Bucharest A)
5. David Lopez (Monterrey Institute of Technology A)

WUDC 2013: Monash Wins Again, Sets Records

Maritim Hotel Berlin - the venue of the WUDC 2013 finals

Monash reign continues in the World Universities Debating Championships. In an all-Oceania final at WUDC 2013, #48 Monash University B (James Beavis & Nita Rao) defeated #2 University of Sydney B (Paul Karp & Dominic Bowes), #6 University of Auckland A (Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom) and  #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn).

This is Monash's third victory in a row. No other institution has done this before. It is also its fifth WUDC title, matching the record held by University of Sydney and University of Glasgow. The best speaker award also went to Melbourne-based Monash through Chris Bisset (Monash A) who shared the title with Pam Cohn (University of London Union A). Both speakers fell in the quarterfinals at the hands of Monash B.  

But what makes this Monash B triumph extra sweet is they made history as the first under-32 team that won WUDC. That would have been impossible had the council voted against the break expansion from 32 teams to 48. The landmark decision to expand the break list paved the way for a strong team with high speaker scores to compensate points dropped during the preliminary stage. #48 Monash B might have been last to break and only gathered 17 points from 9 rounds but they were the only team with that many points that broke, which means they had the highest speaker scores from the 17-point lot. Actually, Monash B's combined speaker score was even higher than #4 University of Cambridge A that had 21 points. Below #2 Sydney B, Monash B had the second highest speaker scores among the finalists. It was not suprising that Monash B whip Nita Rao got the 10th best speaker title.
 
The champions defeated the motion "This House Would Not Allow Religious Communities to Expel Members on the Basis of Views or Actions that Contradict Doctrinal Teachings" from Closing Opposition, the position from where they first won WUDC in 1999. Monash bagged the two previous WUDC titles from Opening Government.

WUDC 2013: Cinderella Teams Slay Favourites in QF

It wouldn't be Worlds if it had no surprises. In one of the quarterfinals, two lower-ranked teams sent favourites out of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championships. #48 Monash University B (James Beavis & Nita Rao), the last team to qualify into the knockouts, and #24 University of Otago A (Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn), which come from a school that has never broken in WUDC before, defeated #1 University of London Union A (Pam Cohn & Catherine Murphy) and #8 Monash A (Chris Bisset & Madeline Schultz), who all have broken more than once.

Monash B's success would never be possible if the WUDC council had not expanded the break list from 32 to 48 at the start of the Berlin event. They are now the only under-32 team still standing at the moment. Less surprisingly, powerhouse University of Sydney will have 2 teams in the semifinals, both the highest ranked in their respective matches, opening the possibility of taking half of the spots in the final. A half-Sydney final has been done a few times before; last in 2001.

One of the teams that Sydney B eliminated was #15 International Islamic University, the last Asian team in the open competition. Besides IIU, National University of Singapore also broke into the main out rounds but their journey ended in the octofinal.

Here are the semifinal match ups:

SF 1: #5 Sydney A vs #12 St. Andrews A vs #24 Otago A vs #48 Monash B
SF 2: #2 Sydney B vs #6 Auckland B vs #10 Melbourne A vs #19 Oxford B

WUDC 2013: Open Break List; University of London #1

University of London Union A (Catherine Murphy & Pam Cohn) advanced into the elimination stage of the 2013 World Universities Debating Championship as the top-ranked team. This all-female, all-postgraduate pair harvested 24 points from nine rounds of preliminary debates. Both speakers broke last year as well but competed for their separate undergraduate institutions. Murphy debated for Trinity College Dublin while Cohn represented University of Durham. ULU is the umbrella organisation for students from around 20 schools in the University of London system. It has reached a number of WUDC finals but never won the title.

For the first time in WUDC history, 48 teams are eligible to break. The top 16 will wait when the 32 teams under them jostle for the remaining 16 octofinal slots. Two Southeast Asian teams --International Islamic University and National University of Singapore-- made the cut. A Turkish squad from Galatasaray University is also in. Powerhouses Monash University, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Queensland and New Zealand darkhorse University of Otago have 3 teams standing. Here is the full list.

1. University of London Union A (ENG) Catherine Murphy & Pam Cohn -- 24
2. University of Sydney B (AUS) Paul Karp & Dominic Bowes -- 22
3. University College Dublin L&H A (IRE) Christine Simpson & Mark Haughton -- 22
4. University of Cambridge A (ENG) Ashish Kumar & Rebecca Meredith -- 22
5. University of Sydney A (AUS) Elle Jones & Daniel Swain -- 21
6. University of Auckland A (NZL) Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom -- 21
7. University of Queensland A (AUS) Kirsten Price & Anthony Smith -- 21
8. Monash University A (AUS) Chris Bisset & Madeline Schultz -- 20
9. University of Oxford A (ENG) Clive Eley & Nathaniel Ware -- 20
10. University of Melbourne A (AUS) Daniel Golder & Tim Blair -- 20
11. University of Aberystwyth A (WAL) Ollie Newlan & Roberto Sarrionandia -- 20
12. St. Andrews University A (SCO) Ben Adams & Alex Don -- 20
13. University of the Witwatersrand A (SAF) Michael Maklin & Chris Wood -- 20
14. National University of Singapore A (SIN) Imran Rahim & Robin Teo -- 20
15. International Islamic University A (MAL) Syed Saddiq & Arinah Najwa -- 20
16. Victoria University of Wellington A (NZL) Richard D'Ath & Sebastian Templeton -- 19
17. Yale University B (USA) Michael Barton & Andrew Connery -- 19
18. Harvard University A (USA) Josh Zoffer & Coulter King -- 19
19. University of Oxford B (ENG) Matthew Handley & Natasha Rachman -- 19
20. University of Durham A (ENG) Ben Dory & Simon Tunnicliffe -- 19
21. Harvard University C (USA) Martin Kiik & Ben Sprung-Keyser -- 19
22. Yale University C (USA) Sesenu Woldermariam & Zach Bakal -- 19
23. University of Cambridge B (ENG) Freddy Powell & Jei Wei -- 19
24. University of Otago A (NZL) Alec Dawson & Kieran Bunn -- 19
25. University of Otago B (NZL) John Brinsley-Pirie & Kurt Purdon -- 19
26. University of New South Wales B (AUS) Angela Kintominas & Ben Williams -- 19
27. Harvard University B (USA) Julia Clark & William Ryan -- 19
28. Yale University A (USA) Max Dovala & Ben Kornfeld -- 18
29. McGill University A (CAN) Emma O'Rourke Friel & Sarah Balakrishnan -- 18
30. Trinity College Dublin Phil A (IRE) John Engle & Adam Noonan -- 18
31. University College Dublin L&H B (IRE) Michael O'Dwyer & Hannah Lucey -- 18
32. University of Queensland C (AUS) Helena Obermair & Thomas Ashby -- 18
33. Stanford University A (USA) Andrew Suciu & Emma Pierson -- 18
34. University of Queensland B (AUS) Emily Chalk & Alex O'Hara -- 18
35. Queen's University A (CAN) William Gibson & Kaya Ellis -- 18
36. Griffith University A (AUS) Jessica Musulin & Josh Taylor -- 18
37. University College Cork Phil A (IRE) Barry O'Gorman & Gearoid Wrixon -- 18
38. Monash University C (AUS) Stephen Moore & Nicole Franklin -- 18
39. University of Bristol A (ENG) Alice Coombes-Huntley & Imogen Parkes -- 18
40. University of New South Wales C (AUS) Pramudie Gunaratne & Justin Chan -- 18
41. Princeton University A (USA) Matthew Arons & Daniel Lewis -- 18
42. University of British Columbia A (CAN) Kaja Marinic & Vivian Dong -- 18
43. London School of Economics A (ENG) Yuan Yang & Jonathan Kay -- 18
44. University of Glasgow B (SCO) Graeme Cowie & Duncan Crowe -- 18
45. Bates University A (USA) Ben Smith & Catherine Djang -- 18
46. University of Otago C (NZL) Paul Hunt & Alice Sowry -- 18
47. Galatasaray University A (TUR) Engin Arikan & Akin Egemen -- 18
48. Monash University B (AUS) Nita Rao & James Beavis -- 17