From October 31st  to November 2nd, the Ρητορική Εταιρεία - Debating Society of Greece invites the debate community to the Thessaloniki Open 2014. As the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) 2016 takes place in Thessaloniki as well, the Thessaloniki Open will give a first impression of what Worlds could feel like in Greece. According to the Debating Society of Greece, the tournament is an official event of the European Youth Capital 2014 programme and is supported by the Centre for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe and the Association for Democracy in the Balkans. The Thessaloniki Open will feature five preliminary ...

The German Peer Klüßendorf, who has been debating for Lund University for the last two years and won the European Championship 2013, went to the second French World Debating Championship in Paris. In this week’s Mittwochs-Feature, he summarises his experiences and writes about different debating formats, French humour, and a Grand Final judging panel that refused to announce the winner before an encore with reversed roles. A suavely suited up young man walks on stage. With his loud voice he fills the historic auditorium easily. He raises a sword. 30 seconds later, he is sitting on the President's chair, still speaking, ...

From the 14th to the 15th November 2014, Molly McParland and Jamie Jackson of the Oxford Union will organise the annual Oxford IV in England. For international participants, the tournament offers a program already starting on Thursday the 13th November. The program comprises the Oxford Union Debate and an International Social on Thursday evening as well as a tour of Oxford and debating workshops on Friday. The tournament will feature five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches, quarter- and semi-finals and a final. There will also be semi-finals and a final for speakers with English as a Second Language (ESL) as ...

Having been openly trans for a while, at the beginning of this year I abandoned my old name and started dressing more unambiguously femininely. When I went to debating competitions it was obvious that there were some practical things that needed to do be done to make debating an enjoyable experience for transgender people. In particular, I argued that the debating circuit should implement pronoun introductions at the start of debates. Since then I’ve been really pleased with the UK debating circuit’s openness to pronoun introductions, and numerous competitions have used them successfully. For reference, I use the words trans and ...

From the 24th to the 26th October 2014, conveners Khanh Van Le and Beenish Waris from the Jacobs University Bremen Debating Society will host the annual Jacobs Open in Bremen, Germany. Henrik Maedler, whom Chief Adjudicator Niels Schröter called the "007 of debating", will also be part of the organisation team. The tournament features four Chief Adjudicators (CAs) and three Independent Adjudicators. The CA-team consists of the following: Peer Klüßendorf, European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) winner in the category English as a Second Language (ESL); Niels Schröter, EUDC ESL finalist; Cerys Bradley, EUDC semi-finalist; and Bionda Merckens, CA of ...

Yael Bell and Dan Lahav have won the first BBU Open that took place from the 11th to the 13th July 2014 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The team from Tel Aviv won from Closing Opposition in a debate with the motion: You are a scientist. You have discovered absolute conclusive proof that God does not exist. This house would destroy the information. [caption id="attachment_23996" align="alignleft" width="320"] Yael Bell and Dan Lahav(c) BBU DS[/caption] In Opening Government, Belgrade with Helena Ivanov and Stefan Siridžansky competed against Lund with Michael Saliba and Peer Klüßendorf in Opening Opposition and a Mixed team with Georgiana Mihut and ...

From the 9th to the 10th of August, the Westminster IV will take place in London and gives debaters another opportunity to prepare for the European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) in Zagreb. Only participants from the same university are allowed to compete at Westminster IV. The tournament features five rounds, an open final as well as an ESL final, if at least 12 ESL teams register. Chief Adjudicators (CAs) are Matt Handley, EUDC finalist and a two time semi-finalist of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), and Amanda Moorghen, designated Deputy Chief Adjudicator of the EUDC 2015 in Vienna. Becki Howarth, ...

From the 2nd to the 3rd of August, the Imperial IV will be hosted by the Imperial College Union Debating Society in London. The tournament features five preliminary rounds with seven minute speeches, a break to semi-finals and a final. The two out of three Chief Adjudicators (CAs) already announced are Ruairidh Macintosh and Daniel Bramble. Registration costs £45 and does not include accommodation. For all those who need accommodation, the organisers can provide contact details of hostels in the vicinity. Everybody who goes to the Imperial IV as well as the Westminster IV one week later will receive a 20 ...

From the 22nd to the 30th of November, the 12th International Debate Academy Slovenia (IDAS) will be held in Kranjska Gora and in Ljubljana. In the year before, over a hundred students from four different continents attended the Debate Academy, according to the organisers. The first part of IDAS consists of a training program taking place in Kranjska Gora. The second part from the 28th on will be a tournament in Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital. [caption id="attachment_23644" align="alignright" width="280"] Ljubljana[/caption] Videos of past debates and training sessions can be found in the Academy's vimeo channel. During the first days, debaters will listen to lectures ...

From the 17th to the 19th of October, the University of Turku Debating Club hosts the Turku Open for the second time in Finland. The tournament features 5 preliminary rounds of BPS debating with a break to semi-finals and a final. Speeches will be 7 minutes in length, the team cap is 32 teams. The Chief Adjudicators (CAs) are Harish Natarajan, CA of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) 2014 in Chennai, Peer Klüßendorf, European Champion in the category English as a second Language (ESL) and ESL finalist at WUDC 2014, and Helena Ivanov, ESL Finalist as well as Best EFL ...

From the 9th to the  12th of August, the Riječka Debatna Unija will organise the RiOpen 2014 in Rijeka, Croatia. The tournament offers debaters heading for the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) in Zagreb another possibility to prepare and train. There will be five Chief Adjudicators (CAs) for the tournament: Viktor Prlja, best speaker at the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2013 in Manchester in the category English as a Second Language (ESL) and CA for the Cork EUDC 2016 bid; Tijana Mijalković, ESL quarter finalist at the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) 2013 in Berlin and Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) ...

The organisers of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), taking place in Kuala Lumpur from 27 December to 4 January, have opened the first application round for Independent Adjudicators. According to the hosts, there will be two application rounds, the first until late June and the second in September, in order to allocate fundings and judging spots as effectively as possible. On the 12th of May, the organisers published general information on the independent adjudicator application process on facebook. On the 24th, they posted another message including the application link and more detailled information about the first phase. Below, the two ...

The Adjudication team of the European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) 2015 in Vienna, Austria, is now complete as the hosts have released the names of the three deputy chief adjudicators. Gavin Illsley, Emilia Carlqvist and Amanda Moorghen will join the Chief Adjudicators (CAs) Christine Simpson and Michael Shapira. Together, the five will set the motions for the tournament, set up the judging panels and select independent adjudicator for Euros. Gavin Illsley has won Euros in 2006 and has judged two finals of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC). Emilia Carlqvist has won Euros 2013 in Manchester in the category English ...

From August 29th to August 31st, the third Athens Open will be hosted by the Deree College Debating Club. The tournament takes place merely one week after the European Universities Debating Championship in Zagreb and welcomes all debaters who want to extend their holiday stay in the South East of Europe. The Athens Open will be held in British Parliamentary Style and features 5 preliminary rounds with 7 minute speeches, Semi-Finals and a Final. Chief Adjudicators (CAs) will be Christine Simpson, CA of Zagreb EUDC 2014, and Michael Shapira, CA of Vienna EUDC 2015. Registration is open. Registration Fee is 60 Euros ...

From the 21st until the 25th of July, the Erasmus Debate Society (EDS) invites debaters from all over the World to join DAPDI 2014, the annual debate training camp held in Rotterdam. The training week is meant to give beginners as well as advanced debaters training for the European Debating Championship 2014 in Zagreb an opportunity to improve their skills. Like in the previous years, trainers from the Oxford Debating Union will offer trainings to participants according to their specific skill levels from beginners to advanced debaters. After a three day training period, there will be a two day tournament, ...

From June 21st to June 22nd the Durham Debating Society will host the Durham Open 2014. The tournament in the North of England features 5 rounds with 7 minute speeches, semi-finals and a finals. As a special feature, all motions debated will be open motions. The policy on motions will soon be announced. Chief adjudicators (CAs) will be Rosie Unwin, finals judge at the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) and CA of, amongst others, the Oxford Women's tournament, and Steven Rajavinothan, breaking speaker at the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) and the EUDC and finals judge of many tournaments, Sam Block, ...

Ashish Kumar and Michael Dunn Goekjian have won the Paris Open 2014. The final jury unanimously decided that the team from Cambridge prevailed as Opening Opposition to the following motion: This House supports the unlimited use of war-time propaganda which aims to dehumanise the enemy. The Top of the tab team Pascal A (Alon van Dam, Harish Natarajan) was in Opening Government, Belgrade A (Helena Ivanov, Stefan Siridžansky) spoke in Closing Government, and Matthew Willmore and Scott Ralston from the team Wigglypuf in Closing Opposition. [caption id="attachment_22946" align="alignright" width="400"] Michael Dunn Goekjian offers a POI while his team partner Ashish Kumar ...

From May 30th to June 1st, the SSE Riga Debate Society and the non-governmental organisation QUO tu domā? will host the third Debate Academy. The Debate Academy aims at debaters from different countries who want to learn more about debating and improve their skills. It consists of seven workshops given in four rooms simultaneously to account for different levels of debating proficiency of the participants. Afterwards, a tournament with four rounds and a final will be organsised so that the debaters can apply what they have learned. The trainers for the workshops will be Michael Shapira, Chief Adjudicator (CA) of the ...

The Berlin IV – European Debates Conference 2014 has its winners: Emilia Carlqvist and Peer Klüßendorf from Lund Debate Society won the final in a three-to-two split decision. Peer and Emilia debated in Opening Government as the team "Dixendorf". The motion of the final read: "This House believes that the EU should force member states to adopt socially progressive legislation (e. g. same-sex marriage, abortion rights, ethnic and religious minority rights)." [caption id="attachment_22737" align="alignright" width="400"] Participants during the public debate on Friday (c) Matthias Carcasona[/caption] "REC Truth Department", another team from Sweden consisting of Olivia Sundberg and Martin Devenney, spoke in Closing ...

Kai Dittmann began cautiously. “It often is not easy to argue for free trade,” said the 2014 World Champion in the category English as a Second Language (ESL). “But it is the marginal benefits that sum up.” Together with John Eltringham, who works at the American Academy in Berlin, he represented the government side in a public debate on the first evening of the Berlin Intervarsity. The question debated was: “Does Europe need the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)?” Speakers at the public debate (from left to right): John Eltringham, Kai Dittmann, Christoph Krakowiak, Rebecca Irvine and Philipp Stiel (c) ...

The University College Cork (UCC) in Irland has announced their bid to host the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2016. The College already hosted the EUDC 2005 as well as the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) in 1996 and 2009. The Euros are planned to be jointly organised by the two Debating Societies at the University College Cork, the Law Society and the Philosophical Society. According to the bid, Ciara Grant from UCC Phil will be the Convenor, Eoin Hickey from UCC Law the Deputy Convenor. The bid will be presented during the EUDC 2014 in Zagreb where the European Council ...

Christine Simpson und Michael Shapira, Chief Adjudicators (CA) of the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2015 in Vienna, have published a list of candidates for the post of Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) for the Vienna EUDC. After a phase where feedback can be given, three of them will be selected as DCAs of the Vienna EUDC. The CAs therefore call upon all debaters who know one or more of the following applicants, to submit detailed feedback about their qualifications. Christine und Michael write about the feedback: "What we would like to hear from you is anything that you think is related ...

On May 31st the Tilbury House Novice will take place in Cologne, Germany. After the Magdeburg Novice Tournament it is the second English Fresher's tournament in Germany this season. It aims to encourage all those who want to make their first experiences with English Debating without having to fly to a foreign country and compete with experienced native speakers. Accordingly, speakers should not have debated for more than 1 year and should not have broken at an international tournament. The tournament will be held in BP and features 4 preliminary rounds and a final. Chief Adjudicator (CA) is Leo Münstermann, Semi-Finalist ...

From May 2nd to May 3rd the first international tournament in the history of Danish Debating will take place in Copenhagen. The Copenhagen Open 2014 will be hosted by the CBS Debating Society, Convenors are Erik Thompson (Convenor) and Jeen Chun (Deputy Convenor). It features 5 preliminary rounds with 7 minute speeches, Semi-Finals and a Final. “The tournament is designed to help foster the small debate circuit in Scandinavia”, the convenor explains on facebook. Therefore at least one of the speakers in every team has to be in their first year of university debating. The Chief Adjudicators (CAs) of the Copenhagen Open ...

Update: Registration is open until April 19th, 4 am. The registration form can be found here. The organisation committee (Org-Com) of the World Universities Debating Championships 2015 in Malaysia announced that the Registration for Malaysia Words (WUDC or Worlds) will open on Wednesday April 16th 2014 at 10am (UTC/GMT + 8, which is 4am CET). The following e-mail was sent: “To the global debating community, Malaysia Worlds 2015 will officially open registration on 16 April 2014 (Wednesday) at 10am (UTC/GMT +8). Overview The Malaysia Worlds 2015 team is happy to affirm (as was promised at Chennai Worlds 2014) that our tournament team cap will be expanded to 440 teams in total. ...

From July 11th to July 13th the BBU Open will take place in Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania, Romania. To give a first taste of the city and the tournament, the Babes-Bolyai University (BBU) Debate Society published this video on their website: The tournament features 5 preliminary rounds, semi-finals and a final. The Chief Adjudication team comprises of Anser Aftab (WUDC grand finalist 2011 and EUDC champion 2013), Fred Cowell (best speaker at EUDC 2010 and twice WUDC grand final judge), Karin Merckens (ESL grand finalist at WUDC 2013), Michael Shapira (future CA of the EUDC 2015), Milan Vignjevic (future CA of the ...

On the 19th of April 2014, the society "Aberdeen University Debater" will host the "Debater: University of Aberdeen Open". The one-day tournament in the Scottish city of Aberdeen features 4 preliminary rounds and a direct break to the finale and will be CAed by Joe Dyer and Heather Whiteside. The organisers promise that the registration fee will be 20 pounds or less. It includes food, accomodation, and a social. Registration is possible until the 17th of April via this registration link or by emailing Finia Kuhlmann, who is from Hanover, at finia.kuhlmann@googlemail.com. Those who have any further questions or are interested in ...

The Debattierklub Wien (DKWien), host of the European Universities Debating Championships 2015, has looked back on their experiences with the Vienna IV 2014. Chief Organizer Stefan Zweiker published an article titled "Lessons Learnt: A Résumé on Vienna IV 2014" reflecting the experiences with the tournament and what the DKWien learned for Vienna EUDC 2015. Achte Minute publishes Stefan's text. The full article including all of the photos is available on the website of the European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2015. "Lessons Learnt: A Résumé on Vienna IV 2014 From 7th to 9th March 2014, DKWien hosted the largest IV that ever took place ...

From Augst 15th to August 17th 2014, the Splitska Debatna Unija will host the Split Open 2014 in Split, Croatia. The city, founded in 300 A.D., is the second biggest city in Croatia and is situated directly on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The hosts promise beach parties and historical venues for everyone not only interested in debating. 3,5 hours by car from Zagreb, the Split Open is also designed as a preparatory tournament in the run up to Zagreb EUDC 2014. With the Ljubljana IV taking place at the same time, debaters now have a choice of tournaments ...

The registration of Independent Adjudicators for the Zagreb EUDC 2014 is now open. Everyone who wants to be a judge and has not registered for an institution may now apply as an Independent Adjudicator. The registration is open until March 30th 11pm GMT. Independent Adjudicators may receive travel subsidies according to the costs they must bear and according to their proficiency in British Parliamentary Style (BPS) debating. In addition to basic information, the applicants will therefore have to give details about their debating and judging experience and answer a set of questions. These questions are designed to test the applicants' ability ...