South African Schools Debating website

Hi there

I thought you might be interested to hear that the South African Schools Debating Community now has an active website (http://www.debate.org.za/). We're trying to turn this into a portal for all SA schools debating activities, as well as a place where debaters can chat - we have forums attached.

Thanks!
Claire Hawkridge.

Task Team Chair

South African Schools Debating Board

Irish Times Final 2008

The Finalists in the 2008 Irish Times are:

1st Prop: UCC Phil. Art Ward and Derek Doyle

1st Opp: UCD Law. Ross McGuire and Marguerite Carter

2nd Prop: TCD Hist. Andrea Mulligan and John Gallagher

2nd Opp: TCD Hist. Chris Kissane and David Kenny

1st Prop Indiv: UCC phil Conor O'Brian

1st Opp Indiv: UCD L&H Stephen Boyle

2nd Prop Indiv: UCC Phil. Ross Frennett

2nd Opp Indiv: IPLS Belfast. Conor Houston

The Final will be held on 29th Feb and the motion is:

"THB that Ireland owes a debt of gratitude to the Catholic Church"

For more info here

(Photo is of pCiaran Denny from last years final and was found on www.tcd.ie)

Gaborone Tirelo Rotary Club Schools

Tirelo Rotary Club of Gaborone alongside the University of Botswana Debating Masters Association will host a one day debating tournament on February 23rd at the University of Botswana. The tournament will start at 8 am until 6pm and will be among Gaborone private and public Secondary Schools. These schools are St Josephs College, Legae Academy, Naledi Senior Secondary, Maruapula, Ledumang, Gaborone Senior Secondary, Westwood and Al-Nur.

The tournament will have 3 preliminary knockout debates before the finals and will run along the World Schools debating method. The University of Botswana Debating Masters Association will through out the week offer pre-tournament workshops to all the schools involved. A provisional list of the top 10 speaker from the participating students will be selected and short listed pending final selection of a National debating Team after the School Debating Championships to be held in Maun in April of this year. The top 5 debaters in Botswana will then proceed to represent Botswana in the African Schools Debating Championships happening in Johannesburg in May and the World Schools Debating Championships in Washington D.C this September.

Rotary Club and the UB debating masters are committed to making the tournament well organized and professionally run. A panel of 28 judges made up of UB debaters and UB accredited adjudicators has been put in place and is undergoing final training. The organizing committee for the tournament includes, veteran debater Mr Lesang Magang as the Chief Adjudicator, Deputy Chief Adjudicators-Mr Tebogo Taylor Mogotsi and Oteng Chilume, Tournament Convener is former Big Brother Africa Housemate Justice Motlhabani,Tournament Director is world championship top speaker Kevin Segadimo, Thabo Bogatsu running the tournament Tab and world championships quarterfinalist Maswabi Maswabi directing tournament Logistics.

There will be more than 60 debaters at the tournament expected to compete in 16 debates that will be going on simultaneously. Rotary Club has committed to providing the winning team with shields and certificates. Topics for the tournament are on peace and democracy. Rotary club and UB debating masters hopes the competition will foster appreciation for logical argumentation and critical thinking, and that it will help develop future leaders. Tournament Convener Justice Motlhabani says that the tournament aims to stimulate and propel the development of debate across Botswana. “Our concern is that at a time when there is much talk and excitement about the African Renaissance and the establishment of the African Union it is very easy to get caught up in discussions about infrastructure and trade and to forget how critical the development of human capital will be for the advancement of Africa. At this tournament students will gain increased confidence and communication skills, this knowledge results in pupils trained in debating being able to contribute more meaningfully to civil society”

EUDC 2008 Tallinn - questions about registration

Dear all,
Below you will find a summary of questions and answers concerning registration to EUDC 2008 Tallinn. I have been asked these questions during the past week and we believe that giving answers publicly will best serve the purposes of efficiency and fairness. This information will also be posted on our website http://www.eudc2008.eu/ (FAQ's section), our Facebook group and the British Debate list.

I will be posting similar Q&A's every week until registration starts on 10th March 2008, and if need be, also later.

Q: If an institution has several debate communities, are they to register separately?

A: In general terms, a team must represent an institution, not some nebulous idea of a "debate community". The reasons are twofold: 1) it is the European Universities' Debating Championships and 2) it is unfair for an institution to subdivide in a way which enables them to obviate the team cap. In each specific case, eligibility for participation at the EUDC will be determined according to the rules and decisions of Council, in consultation with the Chair of Council.

Q: Are accomodation and food included in the 210EUR fee?

A: Yes, the participation fee covers accommodation and also all meals during the tournament.

Q: What format will debates be?

A: The debates will be in British parliamentary format.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of people one institution can send as judges?

A: The number of judges required from one institution is calculated according to the n-1 rule, but there is no upper limit to the amount of judges one institution can send.

Q: Is it necessary to pay for additional judges?

A: All judges and debaters have to pay the participation fee of 210EUR. There are no additional fees.

Yours,
Maarja Teder

Lincoln-Sudbury Wins Harvard US National

Alex Loomis & Alexander Stubbs from Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) defeated Robbie Abdo & Eddie DiBenedetto from Regis (NY) to win the Public Forum Debate division at the 34th Annual Harvard National Invitational Forensics Tournment.

Daniel Cobos from American Heritage School (FL) was the top speaker.

For complete results, Click here:

UPDATE: There is some sad news of a 15 year old student who died while at the tournament. Condolences to his family and friends.

BOLESWA Intervarsity Debate Tournament

Winners of the first BOLESWA intervarsity Debate Championships held in Mbabane, Swaziland in February of 2007


The annual intervarsity games (BOLESWA) between the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland will be held on the 22nd February 2008 at the university of Botswana. The games between the three sister universities will last for 8 days.

The games command a huge following- around 4000 people from different sporting codes and some as tourists are expected to grace this year’s intervarsity games. Debating in BP was introduced as a new code when the games were held in Mbabane Swaziland in February 2007.

This year will see the second BP debating championship between the three countries. So far about 56 debaters and 26 adjudicators have registered to participate in the tournament and more teams are expected to show interest. This is the second known debating championship in the African continent held in BP after the South African Debating Championships.

The University of Botswana has decided to keep its worlds bid organizing committee to run the event. BOLESWA games are held on a rotational basis between the University of Botswana, National University of Lesotho and National University of Swaziland. Of the 53 countries in the African continent only 6 countries- Zambia, Lesotho Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and Botswana have been the only African participants at worlds with South Africa and Botswana attending regularly and South Africa dominating the region.

It is hoped that events like the BOLESWA intervarsity debates will help close this gap and spread debate in the African continent.

Justice Motlhabani