We're sorry: This article is not available in English. Please read the German version of this to learn the details about the regional championships, this on in Jena.

"Ein guter Jurist muss deutsch sprechen, nicht juristendeutsch!" - Roughly speaking, good legal practitioners need to know a language everybody understands. This is a claim by Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Wulf who works at the ministery of law in the German state of Baden Wurttemberg, he also is an honorary professor at the University of Tubingen. Some years ago, he established soft skill courses dealing with law debates, something which is neglected in German jurisprudence curricula. Philipp Stiel, editor of the VDCH newsletter for a culture of debate in Germany, talked to Prof. Wulf. Currently the interview is not available in ...

Please read the German version of this.

The German language ZEIT DEBATTEN series is taking on again in the (not so) new year - this time with a stop in Hamburg. Please read the German version of this to read more on the convenors, the chief adjudication core and the socials. To get current news from ZEIT DEBATTE Hamburg please follow Achte Minute on Twitter and look out for the hashtag #ZDhh.

The Association of Debating Societies at Universities (VDCH) has announced the details on the first adjudication workshop in the current season 2011/2012. From February 4 to 5, judges with basic experience can deepen their analytical and feedback skill in the Rhineland-Palatinate capital Mainz. Trainers will be Andrea Gau (Mainz), Torsten Rössing (Halle), Pauline Leopold (Tübingen) and Lukas Haffert (Cologne). Both BPS and Open Parliamentary Debate (OPD)will be covered. Reg fee is 15 Euros and registration is opened until January 15. To registrate, please contact VDCH vice-president Simeon Reusch via simeon.reusch@vdch.de. The number of spots is limited to 25. xzy / tr ...

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Nicolas Eberle, member of the executive board of Deutsche Debattiergeselschaft (DDG), prepped Austrian debaters in Vienna. Please read more on this in the German version of this article. ...

Great start into the ZEIT DEBATTEN season 2011/2012 for Berlin Debating Union. Their speakers Georg Sommerfeld, Patrick Ehmann and Johannes Häger won the ZEIT DEBATTE's final against Marco Niedermaier, Lukas Windhager and Almut Graebsch who were competing for Debattierclub München. Georg Sommerfeld was the best speaker of the final. The motion was: Do we need the United Staates of Europe? The final was completed by the free speakers Willy Witthaut (Mainz), Sven Hirschfeld (Heidelberg) and Irene Adamski (Halle). The finals' adjudicators: Pauline Leopold (Tübingen), Yin Cai (Heidelberg), Christoph Krakowiak (SK Berlin), Mario Dießner (SK Berlin), Leonid Vogel (Karlsruhe) and ...

The second ZEIT DEBATTE is on. Read more about the tournament in Hamburg in the German version.

Please read the very, very entertaining report that Sven Hirschfeld has written for Achte Minute on the Gutenberg Cup, the expertise on carnival in Mainz and an obviously superb tournament. Please got the German version to do so. Pleeeeease!

The final break at the Gutenberg Cup in Mainz: Mainz (prop) vs. Freiburg (opp), Free Speakers are Robert Epple (Frankfurt), Michael Powala (Mannheim) and Victoria Reuter (Heidelberg). On the panel are CAs Sarah Kempf and Torsten Rössing, by their sides Marion Seiche (president), Pauline Leopold (chair), Ruben Brandhofer, Sven Hirschfeld and Daniel Jurjew. The final motion: God is a woman.

Debating is starting in VDCH country!Gutenberg Cup is welcoming those who love to do fun debates. Sarah Kempf and Torsten Rössing are going to present a set of joke motions. And teams from 14 societies are going to compete for the title "Master of the Jokes". Follow @achteminute on Twitter for the motions (in German). Read the German version of this to learn more about the Gutenberg Cup in Mainz.

Debattierclub Johannes Gutenberg Mainz (DCJG) is looking for the “Jokes Champion”. The annual Gutenberg-Cup in Mainz is a tournament with exclusively funny motions. This year it is held on November 12 and 13, debating style is Offene Parlamentarische Debatte (OPD; teams consist of tree speakers and one adjudicator), language is German. Registration is open now via e-mail to andrea_gau@yahoo.de. Fee is 15 Euros per person, crash is available.

This is going to be the first in a row of three tournaments to be staged in Austria: The Austrian Open, a first-time competition in Graz open to teams who can master a debate in German language. Read more on this in the German version of this piece. ...

Tübingen made it: A new world record in non-stop debating! The brave debaters are Pauline Leopold, Steffen Jenner (runner-ups to this year's German Debating Championship), Peter Croonenbroeck (German champion 2010), Sebastian Frankenberger (chair of the German party ÖPD), Boris Konrad (world record in competitive memory) and Roman Kremer (candidate for Die Piraten in the German Federal State of Baden-Württemberg). They have been debating 44 hours without a break. Please read the German version of this to learn about the motions and other details.

You may now follow the world record attempt of Streitkultur Tübingen in long time debating. They are going to debate 44 debates in a row in OPD style. A livestream is online. You may also follow their twitter account @ZwoelfteMinute to get live informations. Finally: There is a Facebook Site online, too.

Learn about what the media in Germany and beyond have to say about the German Debating Championship, or Deutsche Debattiermeisterschaft (DDM) 2011. Please read the German version of this bit. Find the tabs of DDM online: The one after prelims and the final tab. ...

Severin Weingarten, Moritz Niehaus and Clemens Lechner of Debattiergesellschaft Jena won the 11th German Debating Championship. More informations to follow soon. Please read the German version meanwhile.

We’re sorry, this article is not available in English. Please read the German version of this article on the adjudication workshop held in Darmstadt from 7 to 8 May hosted by the Association of Debating Societies at Universities (VDCH).

We are very sorry, this article is not yet available in English. Please read the German version to learn more about käsespätzle, org comm wearing dirndl and how Florian Prischl got sun burnt during a debate tournament. ...

We're sorry, this article is not available in English. Please read the German version to learn about the judge workshop VDCH is offering to its members on May 7 and 8.

Please read the German version of this article to learn more about the Southern German Championship in Bayreuth.

This article is not available in English, please browse the German version of this bit to see some of the photos taken at ZEIT DEBATTE Mainz 2011. ...

Leipzig won the final of ZEIT DEBATTE Mainz 2011! Please read more on this in the German version of this article. ...

Please read the German version of this article to find out who broke to semi-finals at ZEIT DEBATTE Mainz!

Read more on Tübingen's Streitkultur Cup in the German version of this article and find out how Marcus Ewald won the audience, how Natalie Wieseotte won a version of "Who wants to be a millionaire" on OPD (the German format of open parliamentary debate) and how Pauline Leopold won in a competition on the rules of OPD but still felt ashamed. ...

In early November, Pauline Leopold and Peter Croonenbroeck from Streitkultur Tübingen talked to the radio broadcaster SWR4. The complete interview is available on the internet. apf / glx

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Pauline Leopold, Peter Croonenbroeck and Christoph Krakowiak from Streitkultur Tübingen scored the title “Master of Jokes”. Second time in a row, they won the Gutenberg Cup, the annual tournament of Debattierclub Johannes Gutenberg Mainz (DCJG). The motion of the final round reads “Do we need a new Robin Hood?”, where the debaters from Tübingen defeated a home team from Mainz. Best speaker of the final was Hauke Blume who fought in the final round as free speaker, i.e. a speaker with no beforehand appointed position in the debate, a characteristic of the German format OPD (Open Parliamentary Debate) in addition ...