Koc Worlds 2010 Important Updates‏

Dear participant of the Vehbi Koc World Universities Debating Championship 2010,


We are writing with some important updates about Worlds. We'll try to keep the mail short.

1) Final details entered into the registration system: As of tomorrow, our registration system will effectively close. We will make our plans according to the information that has been filled in by you or your delegation leader. This means that if you have not filled in dietary requirements, room preferences, whether you are EFL or ESL, travel details etc we cannot do anything about it. For example, we are signing our final transportation contract on Saturday - if your name is not on the list, there won't be a seat for you from the airport or coach station. If you believe information is still missing, please go to registration.kocworlds2010.com and tell us what is missing. If you have technical difficulties, please contact Hasan at h.s.arik@kocworlds2010.com.

2) Thursday was the last day you could pull out of Worlds and got your refundable registration fee refunded: We signed our final service level agreement with the hotel on Thursday. This means that we have transferred them money . If you pull out from this moment, we cannot give you your money back because we have spent it. We appreciate that your cancellation could be due to an act of God but from this moment, we won't be able to show flexibility regarding your fees because we won't have them anymore.

3) Judging test: After some technical trouble, the Adjudication Team has prepared the test and will be able to put it online at the weekend. Adjudicators will have all of next week up to Friday to watch the debate and then respond to 12 questions about the test and about themselves. Please try to set aside an hour and a half at some point next week to do this. The adjudication team will e-mail all adjudicators with further instructions at the weekend.

4) What should you pack: First off, whilst we hope it won't rain or be slightly cold, there is a chance that we get unlucky. Right now in Antalya it is 20 degrees celsius (70 fahrenheit for our American friends) but this is interspersed with occasional rain. Basically, you should pack at least some warm and rain-repellent clothing. If you have black tie, beautiful gowns or national dress, there will be ample opportunity to show this off - do bring. The theme for the final night party will be white so also try to bring something that is white. Otherwise, smart, casual, hobo, whatever it is that you normally wear, will suffice. There are swimming pools and of course the Mediterranean sea 20 paces or so from your room so feel free to bring swimwear. Do note, however, that swimming in the sea at night while drunk will not be tolerated - if you get swept away, we won't know until your body washes ashore in North Africa. This is really not something with which we want to deal,nor we imagine is it something that your loved ones or indeed you would want as a start to 2010.

5) Global village: At Koc, we have always hosted a global village party. This year it will be on the 29th December 2009. You should bring along your local beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), foodstuffs (subject to suitable laws - please check with your customs), flags and national dress if possible. There are going to be around 60 nationalities represented at Worlds so this should be a good night. Global village will also be an opportunity to see what Botswana have planned for 2011 as we will hand the party to them in the course of the evening.

6) Visas: We really hope you've sorted these out by now. Most people just have to pay a small amount of money on entering the country. When you arrive in Turkey, don't go straight to customs if you are one of these people. Go to the place which sells visas (which is in the same area as customs) and then proceed to the customs desks. This will save you queuing up fruitlessly. If you need an actual visa and are still having difficulties, please let Cem Hot know at i.hot@kocworlds2010.com.

7) Socials: We will release the final schedule of the tournament with details about the socials at the end of this week. We won't write a separate e-mail about this because we want to keep e-mail contact for the really important stuff. However, we would like you to have a look so check our website at the end of the week. We will also send details out from our Facebook group - please do join, it's called Vehbi Koc World Universities Debating Championship. One thing to note is about alcohol consumption - as we promised, we have arranged free alcohol from 10 in the morning to 2am or 4am the next day depending on which social it is. There will be three days on which this won't be the case (the 29th, 30th and 31st December) when alcohol will not be served before the end of the second round of each day. We hope you understand why we have taken this decision and hope that noone will harrass hotel staff for alcohol before the allowed time. The alcohol available for free will be localbrands (including but not limited to beer, wine, vodka and gin) but should you have more expensive tastes, you can purchase foreign brands at the bars. Those of you that don't drink alcohol will be able to get free soft drinks at all times.

We hope you are having a relaxing couple of weeks before you join us on the 27th December (or earlier). Try to chill now after a long term because we're going to tire you out all over again very soon. Hopefully, this won't be because we've made the tab explode but instead because our motions have exercised your brains and our socials have then blown your mind.

Just to give you an early hint: the New Year's Eve Party and Break Night will be held in a transparent tent next to the beach. It will be a full moon that night (the first full moon on New Year's Eve since 1990 and the last until 2028) and should the weather hold up, you will be able to leave the tent for a chat/cigarette and sit on a cushion on the beach next to a fire, watching the moonlight dance on the Mediterranean. Even if the weather doesn't play fair, you'll be in a big tent where you can see everything outside. Get ready....

See you soon. Get in touch if you have any queries - if they are specific to travel, diet, rooms etc do check on our website who the relevant contact is.

Fatih Mehmet Inal
Co-Convenor, The Vehbi Koc World Universities Debating Championship 2010
E-mail: f.inal@kocworlds2010.com
Tel: 00905323847547
Web: www.kocworlds2010.com

Tribute to hard working Vermont coach

One of the hardest working guys I have come across on the debating circuit is Alfred "Tuna" Snider. You may know him from his Global Debate Blog.

There is a nice article in his college newspaper about his achievements and the work with his team. It is nice to see him get recognised for the hard work he has put into Vermont.

Here is the article: University Communications : University of Vermont

Great Serdang Debate Championship 2009

The Great Serdang Debate Championship 2009 has just concluded in UPM. The tourney saw 52 teams from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and was run on the British Parliamentary (Worlds) format.


Winners : Dengkil Institute for Cultural Improvement (Praba a.k.a Gigolo G & Prashant a.k.a. Balloons)
Runners-up : IIUM Gombak (Shaaber & Tasneem)
Finalists: NUS 1 (Rebecca & Sneha) NUS 2 ( Ashok & Jun Chung)

Semifinalists : KDU 1 ( Julius & Don Siron Pereira), Universitas Indonesia (Natalia & Lesly), , MMU Cyberjaya ( AlexXx & Fangz), & UT MARA Shah Alam ( Qajser & Izwan (Throng))

Overall Best Speaker : Teh Tian Yan (UCTI)

Finals Best Speaker: Prashanth Sreetharan 'Balloons' (DICI)

Motions:
R1 : THW abolish vernacular schools
R2: THW allow doctors to charge higher service fees for patients who lead unhealthy lifestlyes
R3: THBT all countries have the right to own nuclear weapons
R4: THBT the hijab is a symbol of female oppresion
R5: THBT EU should remove all laws against holocaust denial.
Quarter-finals: THBT religious site are legitimate target military targets in times of war
Semi-finals: THW try Israel for war crimes
Grand Final: THW televised corruption trial against Malaysian public officers
 
Source: malaysian debaters mailing list.

New Competition: Cork Open 2010

The UCC Philosophical Society is proud to announce that, for the first time and in addition to the legendary Cork IV, we will be hosting a Summer Open. With all of the food, fun and frolics you've come to expect from the Cork IV, except with sun (hopefully).


Taking place just two weeks before Amsterdam Euros, the Cork Open is the perfect opportunity to blow away some debating cobwebs, catch up with friends and enjoy all that Cork has to offer in the Summer. Being an Open, this is also the perfect chance to ditch your debating partner after a year of IVs and try your hand with someone from another, or no, university.

As the only Euros Prep competition in Ireland, we have decided to seek a CA of gravitas, experience and quality. Mr. Ross McGuire, DCA of Amsterdam Euros, will do the honours with a strong pool of local judges with successes at Worlds, Euros and IVs across Ireland and the UK.

The Cork Open will take place on the 25th & 26th June 2010. Any queries should be sent to Alanna Landers at exofficio@uccphilosoph.com .

Sydney Mini Results‏

Sydney (Steve Hind & Chris Croke) have won the 2009 Sydney Mini tournament. 

In the final they defeated Monash (Steve Amit Golder & Tim Jeffrie), Sydney (Tim Mooney & Bronwyn Cowell) and Monash (Colette Mintz & Nita Rao). 

The semifinalists were Melbourne (Seamus Coleman & Duncan Kauffman), Queensland (Lauren Humphrey & Kristen Price), ANU (Claudia Newman-Martin & Matt Sherman) and ? (Brad Lancken & Hamish White).


Seamus Coleman of Melbourne topped the speaker tab

Motions

1. THS a surge in Afghanistan 

2. THBT the government should not fund IVF for infertile couples 

3. THW abolish defamation as a cause of civil action 

4. THS an independent Kurdistan 

5. THW bar current or former bank executives from financial regulation posts 

6. THW charge the poachers of endangered species with first-degree murder 

7.THW place trade sanctions on countries that refuse to ratify the Copenhagen Treaty 

Semi: THW not require child support payments from fathers who offer to pay for an abortion 

Final: THBT the government should forcibly remove women and children from extremist religious communities

Alaska win the 2009 Cork IV

Alaska (James Kilcup and Michael Imeson) have continued their strong start to the year by winning the 2009 Cork IV. In the final they defeated KCL, TCD Hist A and TCD Hist C

KCL (Ross Frenett and Tiernan Fitzgibbon) topped the team tab.  Ross Frenett was the best speaker on the tab.

Motions :

1 This House Would Not Allow Parents To Remove Their Children From Sex Education Classes
2 This House Would Remove Executive Clemency For Death Row Inmates
3 This House Would Introduce An Annual Tax On High Value Residential Property
4 This House Would Not Negotiate With a Divided Palestine
5 This House Believes The US Government Should Fund Abortions Through Public Health Insurance
Novice final: This house would Ban The Eating of Meat.
Semi: This house believes That The State Should Help Those Seeking A Cure For Homosexuality
Final: This house would Emmigrate".

Worlds 2012 Bids: More info from Toronto

Hiya everyone!

It has come to our attention that there has been speculation about our bid already committing to DCAs for 2012. This isn't true, although many of the alleged DCAs are super-cool and we would love to have them on board.

The process for selecting DCAs will be very simple, should we win the bid.

- We will solicit DCA applications from the world debating community and evaluate the feedback
- One DCA will be chosen from each of the following three regions (Europe/Middle East/Africa, Oceania, Asia)
- One DCA will be chosen from a traditionally underrepresented region/group

The only A-team role that we have appointed so far is that of Chief Adjudicator. Our CA Jason Rogers is a WUDC Grand Final Adjudicator, WUDC quarter-finalist, WUDC Top Public Speaker, CUSID National Championships CA, and a North American Championships CA. We think Jason's pretty swell and we hope you think so too!

Lastly, we'll be updating the list of judges on our website in a couple of days, but we're very excited to announce that we've added even more names to our list of confirmed adjudicators (both domestic and international). At this point we are supremely confident in providing an incredibly high calibre of judging before we spend a single cent on subsidies.

That being said, thanks to the significant support we've received from Hart House and U of T we fully anticipate being able to subsidize not only registration for highly-qualified adjudicators, but THEIR TRAVEL AS WELL. After all, we do it every year for our IV, and we feel that the moderate financial cost is well worth it to add to our judging pool.

As always, please pass our message on to anyone you feel would benefit from it, and we look forward to seeing everyone in... ack! 20 days! :)

Sincerely,

Monica Ferris
External Relations Officer
Hart House 2012 Bid Committee

PAUDC Update

Dear PAUDC Participants:

This email is for all PAUDC participants. We are only a few days away from the kickoff of the 2nd annual PAUDC. There are going to be 400 participants this year. We are growing! Please heed the following points when preparing to arrive:

1) Bring your own personal spending money! Food is only provided from supper on December 12. Until that time you are responsible for your own food expense. There are locations on and off campus where food may be bought. Unlike last year we will not be entertaining any requests for food before the scheduled catering times. Meals can be purchased for 15-20 Pula (about 3 USD) on the street or for about 5-7 USD at the malls and cafeterias. Plan accordingly.

2) We will provide transport from the airport to the University. This will be done with buses. Once you arrive at the airport you will find a bus or a PAUDC representative to tell you when the next bus will arrive.

3) If your University or College is delinquent with any portion of registration fees bring it in CASH. NO checks, NO last minute bank transfers. If you don't have cash to pay you probably won't be able to participate or accommodated.

4) There are some expenses you will be expected to pay throughout the tournament. You will have to buy padlocks for 10 Pula. If you want alcohol during the tournament it will be availible for sale. There will be no free alcohol this year. Also for the Concept Party, there is no cover fee but if you want to buy drinks or snacks bring your own cash.

5) It is hot in Botswana right now. It is summer. Bring a small fan if you want.

6) Rooms have internet, so bring an internet cable if you are bringing a laptop. Rooms are two to a person and separated by a partition in the middle of the room. They are quite nicer than last years and we believe you will be pleased! Linens will be provided for your bed, however if you want to bring your own you are allowed to do so.

7) Registration is when you will confirm the spelling and attendance of all people in your delegation. Appoint a head of your delegation now to deal with registration matters. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THIS PERSON KNOW WHO IS DEBATING WITH WHO! Please come prepared to tell the registration director the team pairings for all members of your delegation.

8) If you have any questions please ask them now before departing.

Cheers,
Graham Sowa
Registration Director

Worlds 2012 Bids: Info from Toronto

Hi all! Your (friendly?) external relations person here. We're only a few weeks away from Koc Worlds, and we thought we'd send out a few reasons why we think a Hart House Worlds would be great for the world debating community!

Reasons to vote for a Hart House Worlds :
1) Unparalleled Organizational Experience
* The Hart House Debating Club has hosted a successful WUDC each decade for the past thirty years; our organization continues to benefit from the wisdom of veterans of two of those championships.
* Each year we host one of the Western Hemisphere’s largest and most international British Parliamentary tournaments. The Hart House IV receives judges and debaters from across North America and IONA every year.
* Our bid is being organized by an experienced and dedicated committee of students, working within the transparent and externally-reviewed governance system established by Hart House.
* Our bid is being financially and organizationally supported by both the University of Toronto and the Hart House student centre. We will have full-time paid staff working on our logistics and will be receiving advice and support from a 12-person professional marketing and communication team with contacts in media and business

2) The Deepest Adjudication Pool Ever
* We are in a city with one of the largest collections of former debaters (“lawyers”) anywhere. We have 2 Worlds DCAs, 3 World Champions, 1 Worlds Top Speaker, 7 National Champions, and dozens of worlds-breaking debaters and judges in the immediate vicinity. This is not to mention the scores of individuals in the area who have seen success at major BP IV’s. Our base-line level of local judging resources is so high that we can guarantee a superbly well-judged Worlds before we even spend a penny on travel subsidies.
* Judges from Central Canada and the North-Eastern US are an easy drive away. The integrity of judging at Hart House Worlds will not be dependent on the willingness of adjudicators to foot their own bills for flights. And those that do fly will find Toronto easy to reach.
* These judges will be organized by Hart House’s own Jason Rogers, who adjudicated last year’s Worlds Grand Final. He will be assisted by a team of the best DCAs available, selected in a competitive and open process. We are committed to a DCA from each of Europe Middle East & Africa, Asia, and Oceania, with an additional spot reserved for a representative from a WUDC region that has not traditionally been represented on the DCA team

3) HM The Queen’s Favourite Canadian Hotel
* Hart House has already agreed to a deal with a 5-star hotel in the centre of the city. The Royal York was built in 1929 and is one of the grandest hotels in the country. It is the traditional home-base of the rich and famous. When touring the hotel, we ran into an ex-Canadian Prime Minister. It’s that sort of place.
* Transport to rounds will leave from the subway station in the hotel’s basement, socials and entertainment are only steps away, and out-rounds will be held in the hotel’s many opulent ballrooms.

4) Toronto: an Exciting, Cosmopolitan, and Safe City
* Described as “NYC run by the Swiss,” we are the safest, cleanest, and friendliest bustling metropolis you’ll find.
* Average temperatures near zero may add a dusting of snow for character.
* The city is filled with restaurants, museums, and attractions catering to all tastes and budgets, from $3 dumplings to internationally-renowned fine dining.
* Free use of the clean and efficient transit system. So no cabs home, and you can explore as much of the city as you like.
* Day trips to Niagara Falls and, weather permitting, skiing an hour from the city

5) Amazing Socials
* Dancing at four-story, state-of-the-art clubs, evenings exploring exciting neighbourhoods, drinking at nineteenth century distilleries, and socials sponsored by local wineries

6) Respect for Regional Rotation
* North America has not hosted a Worlds since 2007. By 2012, Europe (’09,’10), Africa (’11), and Asia (‘08) will have each hosted at least one WUDC since then

7) Easy and Convenient International Access
* Toronto’s Pearson International Airport is one the best-served in the world, with direct flights to almost all WUDC countries. It is within one transfer of every institution that attended Cork Worlds

8) Cost
* Toronto can be enjoyed on any budget, from $0 to significantly more than zero dollars
* FREE transportation for the duration of the tournament. You'll never have to shell out for a cab
* Air travel is reasonably cheap (particularly from Europe, the US and Northeast Asia) and for more significant discounts you can fly out of Buffalo, NY and take the short bus to Toronto
* Our financial support from the hotel and the school are so significant that we can offer a very low reg fee

So please vote for Hart House at council this year! We have the adjudication depth and organizational experience to make Worlds more than just a fun vacation.

Monica Ferris

Worlds 2012 Bids: Info from DLSU

To the world Debate Community,

It is my pride and honor to announce that Sam Block will be the co-CA of the DLSU Worlds bid.

We were so gratefil that Mr. Sam Block agreed to our invitation to grace DLSU Worlds with his presence as co-CA. We are currently working with him to make sure that quality adjudication and excellent tournament organization will be the top priorities of the De La Salle Bid.

Sam was the Best Speaker at WUDC 2008 and at EUDC 2007. He was also the winner of Euros, Oxford IV, International Mace (the UK & Ireland National Championships), and the LSE Open. As for his judging credentials, Sam was the CA of EUDC 2009, DCA of EUDC 2008, and was a Final Panelist at WUDC 2009. He was also invited as a judge in WUDC 2010.

More updates will follow soon. Rest assured that we are working hard here in Manila to bring you the best worlds possible!

In St. La Salle,

Dino de Leon
Convenor, De La Salle Worlds
Vice Chair, United Asian Debate Union

World Schools 2010 Motions

Here are the World Schools motions for next year's tournaments.  Note these are the World Schools Debating Championships motions.  If you are going to World Universities Debating Championships in Koc at the end of the month these don't apply.

From WSDC mailing list:

Greetings everyone.

On behalf of Qatar, the host of WSDC 2010, I hereby announce the the motions at WSDC 2010;
(a) for the prepared preliminary debating rounds (4 in total)
(b) for the Grand final.

First, I wish to thank the motions committee which has worked very hard in order to bring you the motions earlier than two months prior to the start of the championships.

The Motions Committee members are:
Chris Erskine (chair)
Sherria Ayuandini (Indonesia)
Taimur Bandey (Pakistan)
Russell Courts (Greece)
Jim McElroy (Ireland)
Loucia Isaac (Qatar)
Simon Quinn (Qatar)

And now.....the motions.
PRELIMINARY ROUNDS
(forgive the capital letters, the Motions Commitee is not trying to shout, but the convention is to write motions in capitals)

THAT WE SHOULD SUPPORT MILITARY INTERVENTION IN SOMALIA
THAT EVERY COUNTRY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO POSSESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS
THAT DOCTORS SHOULD REPORT EVIDENCE OF MARITAL ABUSE TO THE POLICE
THAT TERRORIST SUSPECTS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL IN CIVILIAN COURTS

GRAND FINAL
THAT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD NEVER BAIL OUT BIG COMPANIES

Until the draw is announced, teams will not know whether they will be proposition or opposition for the 4 prepared preliminary rounds, so they should begin preparing both sides.

The remaining four preliminary rounds will be on motions announced to the teams one hour before the debate begins, as will all the break round debates (the octo finals, quarter finals and semi finals).

Good luck and happy preparing.

Kind regards,

Claire Ryan
Chairperson,
Executive Committee,
WSDC ltd

Some recent results: KCL IV

Tom Hosking and Ben Woolgar of Oxford HW won the KCL IV defeating Oxford LLM (Shengwu Li and Jonathan Leader Maynard), Middle Temple A (Jo Box and Fred Cowell) and Oxford CH (Henry Curr and Natasha Hausdorff) in the final.

Jonathan Leader Maynard topped the speaker tab.


The motions were

ROUND 1: This House Would Ban All Forms Of Private Education
ROUND 2: This House Believes That Governments Should Not Subsidise Public Broadcasting
ROUND 3: This House Would Replace All European National Armies With A Centralised EU Force
ROUND 4: This House Would Pay All Government Officials And Elected Politicians A Wage Equal To The Median Income Of The Country They Govern
SEMI: This House Would Deport Convicts To Countries Willing To Accept Payment To Receive Them
FINAL: This House Believes That It Is Legitimate To Fire Upon Voluntary Human Shields