February 29 is a date not so common, recurring only once in four years. This year, it’ll be a day to remember for another reason, too: Registration for the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC or Euros) opens that day. Get your computers ready, check your internet connection and make sure eveything is in the right place on Wednesday, 12 o’clock CET, i.e. Central European Time. Convener Milan Vignjevic explains it more detailed: “That is 11:00 London/Dublin/Lisbon, 12:00 Belgrade/Paris/Amsterdam/Berlin, 13:00 Athens/Ankara/Tallinn and 14:00 Moscow/Doha time.” And he’s got another good advice: “Make sure your institutional representative has their clicking finger warmed up!” How the registration for Euros works is explained in detail on the Belgrade Reg Blog. More info on Euros is avalaiblefrom the website www.eudc2012.org, the Facebook group of the Belgraders will keep you updated.

The European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC or Euros) have been held annually since 1999. It was started in Rotterdam where 32 teams of two competed for the title. For the records: In Amsterdam, 192 teams competed for the very same title in 2010. Format has ever since been British Parliamentary Style (BPS), language of debate is English. Debaters from all over Europe and even as far away as Israel and Qatar take part in Euros and compete with each other in two categories: the open break (for native speakers) and “English as a Second Language” (ESL). Current champions are Ben Woolgar and Hugh Burns (Oxford), ESL champions are Sella and Omer Nevo, two brothers from Tel Aviv University. This year’s Euros will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, from 5 to 11 August. Chief adjudicator is Art Ward, his deputies are Manos Moschopoulos, Isabelle Loewe, Ben Woolgar, Filip Muki Dobranic and Stephen Boyle. During the Euros, the EUDC Council will sit and for instance decide about the host of next year’s championship.