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.                  

NUDC 2013: STIKES Bali Champions Region VIII

Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Bali, the host of last year's nationals, won the 2013 National Universities Debating Championship selection for Region VIII, which covers the provinces of Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara or known as the Lesser Sunda islands. In the final, STIKES Bali (Ida Rastiti & Rosa Tri Anggaraeni) defeated Universitas Udayana, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, both also from Bali island, and Universitas Mataram, which is located on neighbouring isle Lombok. All of them are eligible to proceed to the national round next month.

NUEDC 2012: All Java in Main Semifinals, Undip Out

All of the 8 teams that will fight in the main semifinals of the 2012 National Universities English Debating Championship come from the country's main island of Java. However, one of them did not place among the top 8 on the prelim tab. #12 Universitas Negeri Jakarta pulled an upset in the quarterfinals, eliminating #4 Universitas Diponegoro - the champions of JOVED 2011. The main semifinals and championship debate will take place tomorrow at Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Bali. Here are the match ups.

#1 Universitas Gadjah Mada v #5 Binus University v #8 Universitas Atma Jaya Jakarta v #12 Universitas Negeri Jakarta
#2 Universitas Parahyangan v #3 Universitas Indonesia v #6 Institut Teknologi Bandung v #7 Universitas Brawijaya

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. 

NUEDC 2012: Date, Venue and Top Judges Confirmed

After weeks of informal talks speculating the precise date and venue for the 2012 National Universities English Debating Championship, the Ministry of Education finally confirmed the tournament will take place from June 22 to 27 at STIKES Bali in Denpasar. That means there will only be eight days left for 96 teams to prepare for the competition that pulls in debaters from Aceh to Papua.

The lead judges have also been selected, all of them are well-known debaters from Java-based state universities. The line up of the adjudication core is as follows:

STIKES Bali Convention Hall
Venue for NUEDC 2012 Finals

Chief Adjudicator:
Eldhianto Jusuf (Universitas Gadjah Mada)
IVED 2011, JOVED 2010 Champion - IVED 2012, JOVED 2011 CA

Deputy Chief Adjudicators:
Luthfi Abdurrahman (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
ALSA UI 2010, NUEDC 2009 Champion - NUEDC 2011, IVED 2009 CA
Roderick Sibarani (Universitas Indonesia)
Jakarta Mini 2012, ALSA UI 2011 Champion
Mashita Kamilia (Universitas Diponegoro)
ALSA UI 2011, JOVED 2010 DCA