St. Andrews A (Ruairidh Macintosh, Alex Don) and Tel Aviv B (Stav Singer, Iddan Golomb) are the European Champions 2015.St. Andrews won the debate on "This House would treat the deaths of soldiers as regrettable losses of lifes rather than examples of heroism." out of Closing Opposition against GUU A (Duncan Crowe, Chris Edgar) in Opening Government, UCD LawSoc A (Aodhan Peelo, Paul O'Dwyer) in Opening Opposition and Tel Aviv A (Ayal Hayut-man, Dan Lahav) in Closing Government.The final in the category "English as a Second Language" was won by Tel Aviv B out of Opening Opposition. They debated against ...

The European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) are almost over. Time to publish the break and the results of the outrounds so far:The BreakThe following teams broke into the quarterfinals of this year's EUDC:     The outrounds were judged by Adam Hawksbee, Amanda Moorghen, Anat Shapira, Andrew Ford, Annabelle van Beusekom, Ary Ferreira de Cunha, Ben Adams, Bethany Garry, Beth Eades, Bionda Merkens, Claudia Hyde, Cerys Bradley, Christine Simpson, Craig McDonald, Daan Welling, Daniel Bregman, Eitan Har Oz, Eliot Pallot, Emilia Carlqvist, Franny Solnick, Fred Cowell, Gavin Tucker, Gavin Illsley, Gareth Williams, Sarah Jennings, Hannah Metcalfe, Harish Natarajan, James Clough, James Dixon, Jamie Batchelor, Jess pierce, Jess Redmond, Joe Mayes, Karin Merckens, Kitty Parker Brooks, Leela Koenig, Louis Collier, Luke Murray, Madeline Schultz , Mark Haughton, Matthew Wilmore , Michael Shapira, Niels Schröter, Nika Jelaska, Omer Nevo, Oskar Avery, Penny Sadeghi, Pete Doughton, Radu Cotarcea, Rebecca Irvine, Richard Hopps, Rosie Unwin, Ruby Holmes, Sam Block, Samuel Ward Packard, Sella ...

The first three days and six open rounds of the European Universities Debating Championships are already over. Tomorrow the competing teams will debate three more rounds without getting the results before the break will be announced at the Pratersauna.The Adjudication Team published the resultes in a Google-Doc, which is available online.The results of competing teams of debating societies of the VDCH - Association of German Speaking University Debating Societies are listed here:[caption id="attachment_27073" align="alignright" width="400"] Registration Desk on the first day of Vienna EUDC 2015. (c) Vienna EUDC 2015[/caption]Berlin A - 9 points (Florian Grünwald and Tanja Maximow, Berlin)Berlin B - 8 points ...

Ab kommendem Sonntag, dem 2. August, bis Samstag, dem 8. August, wird die European Debating Championship (EUDC) 2015 in Wien stattfinden. Der Zeitplan beinhaltet neun Vorrunden sowie Halbfinals und Finals in zwei Sprachkategorien. Dazu gibt es offizielle Abendessen, Partys und ein Treffen des EUDC-Council.Das Turnier ist das zweitgrößte weltweit nach der Debattierweltmeisterschaft und wird vom Debattierklub Wien organisiert, einem Mitglied des Verbands der Debattierclubs an Hochschulen (VDCH). Über 650 Teilnehmer aus ganz Europa werden anreisen.Wie üblich bei großen internationalen Turnieren wird es Equity-Richtlinien geben, die im aktuellen Briefing der Equity-Kommission nachgelesen werden können. Behandelt werden dort der generelle Umgang miteinander ...

This summer, about 1000 people will travel to Vienna for the 17th European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC or Euros). The Debattierklub Wien (DK Wien) hosts the week-long tournament. Stefan Zweiker is the convener, overseeing 23 other members of the organising committee and international volunteers.One year after and 267 kilometres to the north of Zagreb EUDC, the championship is again up for grabs. Until then, Sheffield holds the title; in the category of English as a Second Language (ESL), the current champions are from Belgrade.The Blue Danube Euros, as the organisers call them, will last from August 2-8.The Chief Adjudicators (CAs) ...

After Tim Squirrel provoked a debate on free speech, Amanda Moorghen, deputy chief adjudicator of this year's European Universities Debating Championship in Vienna, proposed in a comment on Facebook that chief adjudicators (CAs) should take the debaters' feelings into consideration when setting motions: "Your race, your gender – these are things which affect the feelings a motion creates in you. It is wrong when, even unintentionally, we only selectively attempt to avert the suffering of others."  The post got a lot of attention. Shengwu Li, European Champion 2009 and best speaker of the World Univeristies Debating Championship in 2010, answered ...

After the Nordic Debating Championship in 2013 and the first Helsinki Open last year, the debating societies from Aalto University (ADS) and Helsinki University (HDS) invite debaters in the Far North: to the second Helsinki Open on May 9 and 10, 2015 - one of the Northernmost debating tournaments. The organizers are confident to present a wonderful, not-so-cold event featuring five preliminary rounds with a break into semi-finals as well as socials including traditional Finnish sauna. The tournament will be on Saturday and Sunday, but there will be a social on Friday night. A Google Doc for registration is already ...

Auf den vergangen Weltmeisterschaften im universitären Debattieren (WUDC) 2015 in Kuala Lumpur war eine Abstimmung über den Ausrichtungsort der WUDC 2017 vorgesehen. Da die bis dahin einzige bestehende Bewerbung noch zwei unterschiedliche Unterkunftskonzepte prüfen wollte, wurde sie auf den Weltmeisterschaften zurückgezogen. Das WUDC Council, das höchste Gremium der  internationalen Debattierszene, welches jährlich auf den Weltmeisterschaften tagt, entschied daraufhin, die Frist für potenzielle Bewerber zu verlängern, die Abstimmung zu vertagen und online dezentral nachzuholen.Das bisher übliche Prozedere sah vor, dass sich die deutsche Delegation – alle deutschen Teilnehmer an den Weltmeisterschaften – auf den WUDC trifft und über die Bewerbungen abstimmt. ...

The Glasgow University Union (GUU) invites debaters from all over the world to participate at the GUU Ancients and the GUU Women's on Friday, May 15 to Sunday, May 17, 2015. The organising comitee promises a three course black-tie dinner and yakka.The Chief Adjudicaters for GUU Ancients are Emilia Carlqvist, Simon Tunnicliffe, Hugh Guidera and Heather Whiteside. For GUU Women's, Parnian Sadeghi, Hannah Martin and Maria Ni Fhlatharta sit on the panel.Important information for GUU Ancients:Host: GUUDate: 15 and 16 May 2015Convener: Duncan CroweRounds: Five preliminary rounds, break to the semisChief Adjudicators: Emilia Carlqvist, Simon Tunnicliffe, Hugh Guidera and Heather WhitesideRegistration fee: £40 in advance for UK based institutions and Open teams (£50 on ...

The CBS Debating Society announced the second Copenhagen Open. The tournament takes place from the 27th to the 29th of March 2015 and will provide five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches and a break to semifinals. The detailed schedule is available at the Facebook-Event.There are going to be two Chief Adjudicators (CAs) and two Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs):CA Dessislava Kirova, who served as DCA at Manchester European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2013, Co-CA of the Pan-African University Debating Championship in Limpopo 2014 and is an English as a Second Language (ESL) Finalist of the Zagreb EUDC 2014, Finalist of ...

Südafrika bewirbt sich um die Ausrichtung der World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) 2017. Sollte die Bewerbung erfolgreich sein, wäre Dessislava Kirova gemeinsam mit Gemma Buckley aus Australien und Syed Saddiq aus Malaysia Teil der Chefjury. Anne Gaa sprach mit ihr über ihre Pläne für die Weltmeisterschaft.Achte Minute: Wie kam es dazu, dass du vom Organisations-Team Südafrikas schon bei dem Bid für 2016 als Chefjurorin angefragt wurdest? Gibt es eine besondere Beziehung zwischen den beiden Debattierländern?[caption id="attachment_25765" align="alignright" width="231"] (c) privat[/caption]Dessislava Kirova: Das war ziemlich überraschend. Auf dem Paris Open 2013 hat mich eine der damaligen Co-Organisatoren kennengelernt. So entstanden Kontakte, ...

The Organising Committee (OrgCom) of the European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC or Euros) 2015 in Vienna published their call for international volunteers. Everyone can apply to support the existing crew and be part of the this year's EUDC.Stage one of the application process consists in reading the International Crew Recruitment Guideline and filling out the International Crew Recruitment Survey. In stage two beginning in mid-April, the OrgCom will contact the applicants if they have questions or need their expertise and knowledge. Stage three is the tournament itself.Everyone can apply for being an international volunteer - the OrgCom emphasizes that age, ...

Genug von langer Diagonale und linken Kategorien? Es gibt außer dem British Parliamentary Style (BPS) und der Offenen Parlamentarischen Debatte (OPD) noch viele andere Formate, in denen irgendwo auf der Welt debattiert wird oder wurde. Zeit, einen Blick über den Tellerrand zu werfen!Debattieren in der American Parliamentary Debate Association„Unser Thema ist ganz einfach“, sagt der Premierminister. „Wir glauben, dass die Welt besser wäre, hätte die landwirtschaftliche Revolution nie stattgefunden.“ Er lehnt sich auf das Rednerpult und schaut erwartungsvoll zur Opposition, die fieberhaft nach Fragen sucht. „Meint ihr die Grüne Revolution?“ – „Nein, wir glauben, die Menschen hätten niemals sesshaft werden ...

Shortly after this year's World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) in Malaysia, Gemma Buckley wrote down her thoughts on the topic of discrimination based on language skills and the existing power structures in the debating community. Her article caused a broad debate on that issue on Facebook. She allowed the Achte Minute to republish it on this blog. You can discuss it here or add a comment to the existing discussion. Judging at this year's WUDC was an eye opening (and occasionally devastating) experience for me, as has been made clear through my recent posts on Facebook. After many took offense to ...

The World Universities Debating Championship 2015 in Malaysia has its champions:And the winners are...The Open CategorySydney A (Edward Miller, Nick Chung) won the final in the Open Category. They debated the motion "This House believes that humanitarian organisations should, and should be allowed to, give funding, resources or services to illegal armed groups when this is made a condition for access to vulnerable civilians." and won against Oxford A (Patrick Bateman, Natasha Rachman) in Opening Government, BPP A  (Steven Rajavinothan, Michael O'Dwyer) in Opening Opposition and Harvard A (Bo Seo, Fanelesibonge Mashwama) in Closing Opposition. The final was adjudicated by Shafiq Bazari (chair), Dominic ...

Team break Out of the contingent of the Association of German Speaking University Debating Societies (VDCH) we are very happy to report the break of one team at this year’s Worlds in Malaysia! In the category "English as a foreign language" (EFL) the team Potsdam A (comprised of Mathias Hamann and Moritz Kirchner) broke in 4th place with 14 team points in total. The next round for them will be the EFL Semi Final on Friday, 2 January 2015. It will take place at 1 pm local time in Malaysia (which translates into 6 am local time in Germany) and will be streamed ...

Yesterday the 35th World University Debating Championships were officially started by the grand Opening Ceremony. The German speaking debating circuit is represented by a strong delegation this year. Seven members of the VDCH – the Association of German Speaking University Debating Societies are comprised of ten teams and ten adjudicators. Debating societies Berlin Debating Union (BDU, Berlin), Debattierclub Goethes Faust Frankfurt (Frankfurt), Debattierclub Kiel, Debattierclub München (Munich), Debattierclub Münster, Wortgefechte Potsdam, Debattierklub Wien (Vienna). [caption id="attachment_25445" align="alignright" width="400"] The Opening Ceremony. © 2014 Matthias Carcasona[/caption] Debate teams BDU A: Philip Schröder, Christina Dexel BDU B: Lilian Seffer, Alexander Hans BDU C: Pegah Maham, Christof Kebschull Frankfurt A: Andreas Dreher, Sven Schuppener Kiel ...

 It is the most important tournament of the year: From December 27 until January 4, more than 1000 participants will gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Registration opened at 8 am on Saturday, December 27. The official program will start in the evening at 8 pm with welcoming drinks. Up to this point, registration was smooth with no major problems and short waiting times. For many, the only problem is becoming accustomed to the tropical weather with temperatures between 24-30°C and a humidity of almost 100 percent. The participants are being accomodated in the five-star Pullmann Kuala Lumpur ...

Update: As not enough teams have registered, the Open Worlds have been canceled.In the summer of 2015, Las Vegas will be the glamourous site for the Open Worlds. This is a new, week-long tournament meant to complement the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC). Just as at WUDC, the Open Worlds uses British Parliamentary Style. The main difference however is that as an open tournament, there is no restriction to university institutions.Teams may register independently or represent universities or even employers. “Too often debating is restricted to university students when experience tells us that communication skills, and the ability to develop ...

Die Vorbereitungen für die European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) 2015 in Wien sind im vollen Gange. Stefan Zweiker ist der Convenor des Events, das 800 Gäste in der österreichischen Hauptstadt unterbringen wird. Die Pressesprecherin des Debattierklub Wien (DKWien) Damita Pressl führte ein kurzes Interview. Stefan, wie läuft die Organisation derzeit? Was steht alles schon fest? Einerseits steht der Kern des Organisationskomitees fest. Das heißt, bis jetzt haben ungefähr 20 Leute die allermeisten Aufgaben erledigt. Ich würde sagen, dass wir da kurz vor einem Wachstum stehen, und ich schätze, dass nochmals 20 Leute dazukommen werden, um zusätzliche Aufgaben zu übernehmen, da die ...

"Was your institution invited to debate at WUDC Malaysia but not able to attend because you're an Israeli institution? Were you ranked 7th on your institution's list, just missing the cut? Is a €380 registration fee to high for your club to cover?" For debaters who have to answer one of these questions with "yes" but don't want to stay home, the Jerusalem Open might be the solution. [caption id="attachment_25110" align="alignright" width="400"] Debaters who are not able to participate at this year's WUDC can visit Jerusalem instead.[/caption] The idea of hosting a tournament simultaniously to the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) in ...

The Debattierclub Magdeburg announced to host the first English judging seminar in Magdeburg. On Saturday, November 22, the participants will have one day of workshops and training. It will focus on how to arrive at a just call with the panel and how to justify it before the speakers. The workshop will be held by Rebecca Irvine and is aimed at debaters with little judging experience (knowledge of the rules of the British Parliamentary Style is assumed, but not much active judging experience is required). Felicia Hoer wrote that there are ten spots for members from other societies. If necessary, the ...

As a prominent part of the thematic focus on Europe, the VDCH – Association of German Speaking University Debating Societies – and two member clubs organized two “European Debates Conferences”. They aim to bring the participants of the other projects and many other debating societies together to jointly debate about controversial political, economic and societal issues. The participants are not only improving their knowledge about Europe and their rhetorical and argumentative skills. They also get to know students from up to 11 other countries and learn about the differences and similarities in their points of view on common challenges. [caption id="attachment_25351" ...

Dan Lahav (Tel Aviv) and Yair Har-Oz (Haifa) won the Tilbury House IV - the 2nd European Debates Conference. They beat Osnabrück A (Stefan Torges, Jan Dirk Capelle), Maastricht Guess The Novice (Srdjan Miletic, Evelyn Svingen) and BDU Die schweigenden Lämmer (Rebecca Irvine, Philippe Holzhey) in the final, debating the motion "This House would ban anti EU parties from participating in the EU elections."  The final was jugded by Senna Maatoug (Chair), Itay Ben Yair, John Harper, Leo Münstermann and Emma Hartholt. [caption id="attachment_25062" align="alignright" width="320"] The final of the Tilbury House IV 2014. © Achte Minute[/caption] The following teams broke to ...

In the year of the European Elections, the Association of German Speaking University Debating Societies (VDCH) chose to make Europe the main focus of its work. For that purpose, it participates in conducting 22 public “European Debates” in 7 countries, to invite students and the broad public to actively take part in debates concerning the most important subjects of European policy. Also, this years’ German-Speaking University Debating Championship was held under the motto “Speaking German – Thinking European” and hosted participants from many other European countries. As a prominent part of the thematic focus on Europe, the VDCH and two member ...

For the eleventh time, the Leiden Debating Union will host the Leiden Open. The tournament will last from February 28 to March 1 and features five preliminary rounds and breaks into semi-finals as well as a novice final. The tournament will be on Saturday and Sunday, but there will be a social on Friday night. A detailed schedule will be announced soon on the tournament’s facebook event. There will be one Chief Adjudicator (CA) with three Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs): CA Daan Welling won last year’s Leiden Open and was a finalist at the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) in Berlin 2013. ...

It is one of the oldest tournaments in Europe: This December, for the 16th time, the SSE Riga IV will take place. Latvia’s capital is European Capital of Culture in 2014.  The British Parliamentary Style-tournament will have five preliminary rounds and a break to quarterfinals as well as a novice final. On Saturday night, a spiritual debate will take place. Steven Ramesh Rajavinothan and Gediminas Užkuraitis are Chief Adjudicators. Both the Tabmaster and the Equity Officer are yet to be announced. Up to 72 teams can participate in the tournament. For more information, see the facebook event. Ruta Gabalina is the ...

On the weekend of November 14-15, the Debattierklub Wien will host a novice tournament in British Parliamentary Style (BPS). Everyone with less than a year of experience in debating and over the age of 18 may participate in the four rounds with a direct break into final. Speeches will be only five minutes long. Peer Klüßendorf, Madlen Stottmeyer and Ioana Stupariu will be the Chief Adjudicators. Additional information can be found at the tournament’s facebook event. Here is the information in a nutshell: Date: November 14-15 Chief Adjudicators: Peer Klüßendorf, Madlen Stottmeyer, Ioana Stupariu Team cap: 32 Rounds: Four preliminary rounds, final Registration Fee: €35, including ...

Deutschland wird wieder Austragungsort einer Debattierweltmeisterschaft! Vom 19.-29. Juli 2016 findet die World Schools Debating Championship (kurz World Schools oder WSDC) in Stuttgart statt. Um nicht gleich mit der Tür ins Haus zu fallen, zunächst einmal: Was sind die World Schools? Ins Leben gerufen wurde die WSDC 1988 in Australien. Nachdem damals in Sydney die World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) ausgerichtet wurde, veranstalteten Mitglieder der Australian Debating Federation um Christopher Erskine erstmalig ein Pendant für Schüler. Waren es 1988 nur sechs Nationen - Australien, England, Hong Kong, Kanada, Neuseeland und die USA -, so ist das Turnier mittlerweile auf rund 50 Teilnehmerländer ...

The Lund Debate Society invites debaters to Sweden for its Lund IV 2014. The tournament will feature five preliminary rounds and a break into quarterfinals as well as a novice final. The organisers advertise the competition via the Facebook event, highlighting the 4-star hotel accommodation, the breakfast buffet, and the fact that the out rounds will take place in the hotel. The Chief Adjudicators (CAs) of Lund IV will be a team of four debaters: Ashish Kumar was champion of the European University Debating Championships (EUDC) in 2013 and Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) of Zagreb EUDC 2014. Madeline Schultz won the Australasian Intervarsity ...