WSDC 2014: Best Team Indonesia Ever with 6 Wins and 16 Judge Points

Team Indonesia in WSDC 2014 at Assumption University Bangkok (l to r) : Riza Aryani (coach), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), John Amadeo (Raffles International School Jakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Subarkah Syafruddin (coach)

Team Indonesia advanced into the octofinals of the 2014 World Schools Debating Championships in Bangkok with 6 wins and 2 losses, the best ever record by the country's high school debaters. Indonesia had only broken twice before, in 2003 and 2004, both times with a 5-3 record in the 8-round mandatory stage. The 2010 team also won 5 times in the preliminaries but came short from breaking.

In the preliminaries, Team Indonesia defeated 6 European squads - Sweden, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Estonia and an English-as-first-language team Wales, which reached the final of WSDC in 2012. They only lost to WSDC 2010 champion Canada and United Arab Emirates. Team Indonesia broke as the 11th team on the list, equalling the rank of the WSDC 2003 squad. Indonesia's upset win over Wales made the latter fail to break in the end but it was not the only favourite that collapsed. Former champions Scotland and the United States also could not qualify into the Top 16.

Team Indonesia 2014 consist of Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and John Amadeo (Raffles International Christian School Jakarta). Their overall speaker score was quite high, indicating some of them may enter the top 50 speaker list. Only two Indonesians have entered that illustrious list - sisters Siti Astrid Kusumawardhani and Siti Soraya Cassandra in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Their coaches are Australs ESL champion Subarkah Syafruddin, an Universitas Indonesia alumnus who guided Team Indonesia to respectable 4-4 finishes in WSDC 2012 and 2013, and his Australs teammate and fellow UI graduate Riza Aryani. The coaches fought for the provision of the fifth seat in the team for a debater who comes from outside the education ministry system of selection.

That fifth member, John Amadeo who comes from an English-speaking school, was an integral part of the success. The two girls in the squad, Regina Cara Riantoputra and Marsa Harisa, are well-known high school debating stars with numerous best speaker awards. Team Indonesia 2014 also had two non-Java debaters, Kevin Bonaparte from South Sulawesi and Alif Azadi from Aceh, who showed there should be no barriers for debaters in Indonesia to excel if they work hard to enhance their skills through rigorous training.

But this is not new. Non-Java debaters have been a vital part of the WSDC squads since Indonesia first joined the competition in 2001. The first Team Indonesia was even captained by a student from West Kalimantan. Time and again, non-Java high school debaters have proven they can compete with the rest. However, almost all of the non-Java WSDC debaters ended up debating for Java-based universities. This is the Indonesian debating world's brain drain issue that should start from making non-Java educational institutions attractive for these high school stars.

In the octofinal, Team Indonesia had to end their amazing journey in the hands of defending champions Australia, which later fell in the quarterfinal. Although WSDC 2014 has become the tournament of upsets with favourites exiting early, the semifinal debates had four English-as-first-language teams. The final will be between undefeated #1 South Africa, which is bent on becoming Africa's first WSDC champion, and #3 England, the three-time winner.

WSDC 2014: Indonesia With 2 Wins So Far in Unpredictable Tourney

At the mid-way point of the 2014 World Schools Debating Championship, Team Indonesia has collected 2 wins from 4 rounds. There are 4 preliminaries to go with an open chance to break into the top 16. Our national squad defeated lowly ranked Sweden and  highly seeded Greece. They lost to the 2010 champion Canada and United Arab Emirates, which are among the top ten favorites. In the next 4 rounds, they will face opponents with more or less of the same quality. They need at least 5 wins out of 8 debates to be able to advance into the elimination stage.

The tournament itself has been full of surprises, showing the tight level of competition. Former WSDC champions Scotland and Singapore bowed to underdogs China and Germany, respectively in round 1. Barbados, a team with erratic participation and without a good track record in WSDC, is becoming a dark horse with 3 wins out of 4. All teams have lost at least one judge point.  

Team Indonesia 2014 consist of Alif Azadi (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Kevin Bonaparte (SMA 17 Makassar), Marsa Harisa (SMA 9 Yogyakarta), Regina Cara Riantoputra (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan)
and John Amadeo (Raffles International Christian School Jakarta). Their coaches are Australs ESL champion Subarkah Syafruddin, an Universitas Indonesia alumnus who guided Team Indonesia to respectable 4-4 finishes in WSDC 2012 and 2013,  and his Australs teammate and fellow UI graduate Riza Aryani.

Indonesia has only broken twice into the WSDC out rounds, in 2003 and 2004, both times with a 5-3 record in the 8-round mandatory stage. The 2010 team also won 5 times in the preliminaries but came short from breaking. The 2013 team won the best EFL team award.

WSDC 2011: Indonesia Misses Break, Ends at #37

Indonesia was seeded at #27 before the 2011 World Schools Debating Championships in Dundee but ended at #37 out of 48 participating countries after 8 mandatory rounds. Only the top 16 can proceed to the next round.

Team Indonesia this year won 2 debates, collected 8 judge points, and lost 6 matches, half of them unanimously. While Indonesia had a 2-6 record in 3 past tournaments since it first competed in WSDC in 2001, its lowest rank was at #34 in 2008. Indonesia has broken twice in WSDC, in 2003 and 2004, each with a 5-3 record.

The details of the matches in the past week are as follows:

R1 THW Offer Dictators Immunity in Return of Leaving Power
Opp vs Australia (#2/A) -- 0-3

R2 THW Allow the Distribution of Free Music on the Internet
Prop vs Namibia (#44/H) -- 1-2

R3 THBT Universal Primary Education is a Misallocation of Resources for the Developing World
Prop vs Nigeria (#41/G) -- 2-1

R4 THW Make Voting in National Elections Mandatory
Opp vs Pakistan (#9/B) -- 0-3

R5 THW Legalize the Sale of Human Organs
Prop vs Sweden (#32/F) -- 3-0

R6 THW Stop Sending Humans into Space
Opp vs Israel (#13/C) -- 1-2

R7 THBT Women Can Only Achieve Equality under a Secular System of Government
Opp vs India (#21/D) -- 0-3

R8 THW Penalize Sporting Teams for the Behavious of Their Fans
Prop vs USA (#28/E) -- 1-2

Debaters: Ruth Gracia Nainggolan (SMA 81 Jakarta), Nudzran Yusya (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Margreta Kailla Adenta (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and Wisnu Aryo Setio (SMA 5 Bandung).
Coaches: Eldhianto Jusuf (Universitas Gadjah Mada) and Ahmad Naufal Dai (Universitas Indonesia)

WSDC 2011: Indonesia Unanimously Defeats Sweden

#27 Indonesia won the votes of all three judges in the fifth round of the 2011 World Schools Debating Championships against #32 Sweden. Team Indonesia successfully defended the motion "This House Would Legalize the Sale of Human Organs", keeping the chance to advance into the knockouts alive. They stand at 2-3 at the moment with 3 more debates to go.

Usually, only teams with at least 5 victories out of 8 rounds have the possibility to reach the top 16. Indonesia has broken twice in WSDC, in 2003 and 2004, each with a 5-3 record. Last year's team matched that scoreline but did not make the cut on judge points. Ruth Gracia Nainggolan (SMA 81 Jakarta), Nudzran Yusya (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Magreta Kailla Adenta (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and Wisnu Aryo Setio (SMA 5 Bandung) are representing Indonesia this year. While only 3 debaters can be fielded in a match, all members of the squad can contribute in case building.

Only #4 New Zealand have the perfect record of 5 VP and 15 judge points after 5 rounds of debates in Dundee. Darkhorse #13 Netherlands, an EFL team, are among the 5 teams with 5 VP so far. 

WSDC 2011: Indonesia at 1-3 After 4 Preliminary Rounds

At the half way mark of the preliminaries, #27 Indonesia's chance to advance into the knockouts of the 2011 World Schools Debating Championships is slim. Today's Round 4 impromptu debate on mandatory voting against #9 Pakistan ended with an unanimous decision for the opponent, leaving Indonesia at 1-3 and 3 judge points.

Usually, only teams with at least 5 victories out of 8 rounds have the possibility to reach the top 16. This means Team Indonesia must win all of the remaining 4 rounds to keep the hope alive. Indonesia has broken twice in WSDC, in 2003 and 2004, each with a 5-3 record. Last year's team matched that scoreline but did not make the cut on low judge points.

#32 Sweden and #13 Israel are the R5 and R6 opponents on Sunday while Team Indonesia will face #21 India and #28 United States on the final day of prelims. This year's team consist of Ruth Gracia Nainggolan (SMA 81 Jakarta), Nudzran Yusya (SMA Modal Bangsa Aceh), Magreta Kailla Adenta (SMA 2 Tangerang Selatan) and Wisnu Aryo Setio (SMA 5 Bandung).

Three teams so far still have the perfect record of 4 VP and 12 judge points in WSDC 2011 - #4 New Zealand, which won the 2009 tournament, and darkhorses #11 South Korea and #12 Wales.