The Amsterdam Open 2017 was won by Floris en Pieter (Jelte Schievels, Utrecht & David Metz; Leiden) in Opening Government on the motion THBT the Left should focus on using class as its central organising principle, rather than other aspects of identity.

Winners of Amsterdam Open: Jelte Schievels and David Metz – © David Metz

They debated against In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary: come again? (Anastasia Grishkova, KCL & Bas Tönissen, St. Andrews) in Opening Opposition, Wong Call, Bagequit (Brian Wong, Oxford & Johan Bage, Stockholm) in Closing Government and You are fake news (Weronika Mincewicz-Podrecka, Leiden & John Tsopanis, ULU) in Closing Opposition.

The final was judged by Ybo Buruma in chair, together with Daan Welling, Roel Becker, Sharmila Parmanand, Marike Breed and four other judges.

The Pro-Am final was won by Lawsoc take us to the burn unit (Laura Hogan and Rachael Mullally, UCD Lawsoc) in Closing Opposition.

They debated against  Leiden Z (Beatriz Meléndez & Jonas Heid) in Opening Government , Albanian agoculture college C (Caoimhe Gethings & Leon Langdon, UCD LawSoc) in Opening Opposition and Just so you know: Cato is a farmer (Cato Brinkhof & Jop Flameling, Schoolies) in Closing Government on the motion: THW set a narrow maximum difference between the highest and lowest wage within its borders (e.g. if the limit is EUR10,000, if the lowest wage is EUR 20,000, then the highest cannot be more than e.g. EUR 30,000)

The Pro-Am final was judged by Daan Welling (chair), Cindy Williams, Tom Powe and two more judges.

Emma Lucas (Leiden) was declared best open speaker with an speaker average of 82. Best novice speaker was Rachael Mullally (UCD LawSoc) with an speaker average of 78.4.

The tournament was organized by ASDV Bonaparte and convened by Davy Fung.
The CA team were Roel Becker, Sharmila Parmanand and Nick Zervoudis.

The Motions:

R1: THBT the United States should set up and fund an independent (federal) news channel

R2: THR the rise of the sharing economy
Info-Slide: ‘Sharing economies’ allow individuals and groups to make money from underused assets. In this way, physical assets
are shared as services. For example, a car owner may allow someone to rent out her vehicle while she is not using it, or a condo owner may rent out his condo while he’s on vacation.
Some examples of the sharing economy include:
• Hospitality and Dining: CouchSurfing, Airbnb, Feastly, LeftoverSwap
• Automotive and Transportation: RelayRides, Hitch, Uber, Lyft, Getaround, Sidecar
• Retail and Consumer Goods: Neighborgoods, SnapGoods, Poshmark, Tradesy
• Media and Entertainment: Amazon Family Library, Wix, Spotify, SoundCloud, Earbits

R3: THBT the EU should implement a cap & trade system for refugees
Info-Slide: For the purposes of this debate, a ‘cap and trade’ system means that each participating country will be given a quota they are obliged to fulfil (cap). States are be able to pay other countries to take up some (or all of) the oibligation to fulfil that quota (trade).

R4: THR the decline of authorative criticism
Info-Slide: For the purpose of this debate, “decline of authorative criticism” refers to the phenomenon that critics of art and entertainment lose audience and authority, while the voice of ordinary people (for example through forums) is articulated more clearly and found more important.

R5: THBT Asian countries should pivot away from partnerships with the US and seek closer ties with China

Semi Final: THR the rise of megacities in the developing world
Info-Slide: A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of ten million people.
As of 2017, there are 37 megacities in existence. The largest of these are the metropolitan areas of Tokyo and Greater Jakarta, each of these having a population of over 30 million inhabitants, with 38.8 million and 31.5 million respectively.
The UN predicts there will be 41 megacities by 2030.

Pro-Am Final: THW set a narrow maximum difference between the highest and lowest wage within its borders (e.g. if the limit is EUR10,000, if the lowest wage is EUR 20,000, then the highest cannot be more than e.g. EUR 30,000)

Final: THBT the Left should focus on using class as its central organising principle, rather than other aspects of identity.

Open Break: 

1. Leiden Bier, Bitches en Brallen (Emma Lucas & Gigi Gil) – 13 team points
2. In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary: come again? (Anastasia Grishkova, KCL & Bas Tönissen, St. Andrews) – 12 team points
3. Wong Call, Bagequit (Brian Wong, Oxford & Johan Bage, Stockholm) – 11 team points
4. Floris en Pieter (Jelte Schievels & David Metz; Utrecht) – 11 team points
5. EDS Algebros (Emma van der Horst & Fenna ten Haaf, Erasmus Rotterdam) – 11 team points
6. We love polish girls (Joas Bakker & Jeroen Wijnen, Leiden) – 10 team points
7. Bi-cycling booze-drinking babes (Bionda Merckens, Leiden & Simone Landman, Roosevelt) – 10 team points
8. You are fake news (Weronika Mincewicz-Podrecka, Leiden & John Tsopanis, ULU) – 10 team points

Pro-Am Break:

1. Lawsoc trip to the burn unit (Rachael Mullally & Laura Hogan, UCD LawSoc) – 9 team points
2. Leiden Z (Beatriz Meléndez & Jonas Heid) – 9 team points
3. Just so you know: Cato is a farmer (Cato Brinkhof & Jop Flameling, Schoolies) – 8 team points
4. Albanian agoculture college C (Caoimhe Gethings &Leon Langdon, UCD LawSoc) – 8 team points

hh./jm.