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, ...

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 ...

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 ...

The preparations for the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2015 in Vienna are in full swing. Stefan Zweiker convenes the event, which will host 800 participants in Austria’s capital. Press representative of Debattierklub Wien (DKWien) Damita Pressl conducted a short interview. Stefan, how is the organisation going at the moment? What details have been confirmed so far? For one thing, we have a key organisation committee, meaning that up to this point, we had around 20 people completing most tasks. That number is now set to grow, and I would guess around another 20 people are going to join us and take ...

"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 and Yair Har-Oz 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 the semi-finals and ...

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 ...

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 ...

It is the first international debating tournament in British Parliamentary Style (BPS) in Macedonia: Skopje Open will take place on the weekend of November 7-9, 2014. Up to 32 teams can register now. The tournament costs €50 per participant, including accommodation in a hotel and three meals per day, organiser Milka Gerovska says. For people arriving early because they directly come from Thessaloniki Open on the preceding weekend, the organisers will provide with crash accommodation or a cheap hostel.The convener of the tournament is the Youth Educational Forum (YEF), an NGO that has organized many debate competitions before, more than ...

The European Universities Debate Champions 2014 have been announced. In the category English as a Second Language, Stefan Siridzanski and Helena Ivanov from Belgrade B in Opening Opposition won the debate with the motion „This house would, assuming it was technically feasible, remove the ability of soldiers to feel fear.” In the Open final, Adam Hawksbee and Matthew Willmore from Sheffield A in Closing Opposition were able to beat their competitors in a debate with the motion „This house believes that the feminist movement should oppose military interventions that claim to further women's rights.” [caption id="attachment_24372" align="alignright" width="240"] Venue of the Open ...

From the 7th to the 9th November, the annual Tilbury House IV will take place in Cologne, Germany. The event will combine the debate tournament with the 2nd European Debates Conference. There will therefore be a public debate with politicians on an European issue. The tournament features five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches and a break to the semi-finals. Chief Adjudicators (CAs) of the tournament will be Yael Bezalel, former finalist of the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) in the category English as a Second Language (ESL) and judge of the EUDC ESL final 2014; and Pete Doughton, octo-final ...

The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) is the largest international debating tournament. The first WUDC took place in Glasgow in 1981. Back then, 43 teams from seven nations participated. This year, more than 400 teams from all continents compete for the title of World Debating Champion. The WUDC 2015 will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is hosted by The Debate Society of the Universiti Technologiki Mara, one of the largest universities in Malaysia. The tournament starts on December 26th and lasts until January 3rd. The organisers published the following video:   Adjudication Team Chief Adjudicators (CAs) of the Malaysia Worlds will be ...

The break to the Finals at the European Universities Debating Championship 2014 has been announced. In the ESL category, Berlin A, Lund A, Belgrade B and BBU A made it through the semi-finals with the motion "This house believes that leaders of minority religions in Europe should strongly encourage their congregations to refrain from public displays of their faith". In the Open break, Oxford A, Sheffield A, Nottingham A, and Edinburgh A won the semi-finals with the motion "THBT the US should invade and forceably partition Iraq". Semi-finals of the Zagreb EUDC In the Open semi-final 1, the following teams competed: OG: Edinburgh A OO: ...

The break of the European Universities Debating Championship 2014 in Zagreb has been announced. The following teams will compete in the out-rounds on the 22nd of August (data might be inaccurate): Open Break 23: Cambridge C 22: Oxford B 21: Cambridge B 21: Oxford A 21: GUU A 20: Cambridge A 20: Oxford C 19: Edinburgh A 19: LSE A 19: Sheffield A 19: Durham B 19: KCL A 19: Hebrew A 19: Nottingham A 19: Durham C 18: BPP A ESL Break 19: Hebrew A 18; Belgrade B 18: Lund A 18: Tartu A 18: Berlin A 17: Tel Aviv B 17: Leiden A 17: Bucharest A 17: BBU A 17: Tilbury House A 17: Mannheim A 17: ELTE A 17 BGU A 16: Belgrade A 16: Tel Aviv A 16: tie of ...

Update: The Hashtag that will be used for Twitter from the 19th August on is #EUDC14 This Monday, the 18th of August, the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2014 starts in Zagreb, Croatia. For the next six days, 216 teams from 33 countries will compete in nine preliminary rounds, quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final for the title of European Debate Champion in the Open Break and in the category English as a Second Language (ESL). A list of all VDCH* teams will follow shortly. Nikos Bosse will be responsible for covering all news around the Zagreb EUDC for Achte Minute. Regular updates ...

At the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) in Zagreb, the EUDC council will meet to decide who will host the EUDC in 2016. A couple of weeks ago, the University of Cork announced their bid for the EUDC 2016. Now there is a second bid: The University of Warsaw Debate Society has joined the ranks of the applicants to host the prestigious tournament. Marcus Ewald, former President of the EUDC council, asked both bidding societies to provide information to enable debaters to compare the bids. The full information gathered is compiled in a Google Doc. As a caveat, Marcus notes that ...

On the 18th and 19th of October, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Debating Society at the University of London will hold their annual SOAS IV in London, England. The first Chief Adjudicator (CA) who has already been announced is Andrew Ford. Remaining CAs are yet to be announced. Equity officer will be Leah Wright. The tournament features five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches, a break to quarter-finals as well as a break to semi-finals for teams in the category English as a Second Language (ESL), provided there are enough ESL teams for an ESL semi-final. From the 25th ...

The Roosevelt Debating Society will host the third Roosevelt Open on October 17th and 18th in Middleburg in the South-West of the Netherlands. The conveners will be Sarah Rust and Jordy van Rijsingen. According to the information on the Roosevelt Open facebook page, the tournament is supported by the European Commission, Province of Zeeland and the municipality of Goes. This promotion video has been published by the conveners: The Roosevelt Open will feature five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches, semi-finals, a final as well as a novice final. The team cap is 40 and the n-1 rule will apply for ...

On Sunday November 23rd 2014, the first Cambridge Women’s Open will take place right after the Cambridge IV 2014 on the weekend before. It is a one day tournament featuring four rounds with seven minute speeches, semi-finals, and a final as well as a Novice final. During lunchtime, there will be open discussions on women in debating. Chief Adjudicators Chief Adjudicators (CAs) will be Emilia Carlqvist, winner of the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2013 in Manchester in the category English as a Second Language (ESL) and Deputy Chief Adjudicator of the Vienna EUDC 2015, and Srishti Krishnamoorthy, breaking judge and speaker ...

The Cambridge IV 2014 will take place on the 21st and 22nd November in Cambridge, England. The tournament features five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches, quarter finals, semi finals, and a final, as well as semi finals and a final for teams in the category English as a Second Language (ESL). It will start at 3 o'clock on Friday with team registration and will end with a Black Tie Social on Saturday night. On Sunday, the first Cambridge Women's Open 2014 will take place. Chief Adjudicators (CAs) of the tournament will be Madeline Schultz, Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) of the ...