The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) 2019 in Cape Town, which took place 28.12.18-03.01.19, has ended with victories for teams from Sydney, Hebrew Jerusalem and Keio A. The holding of the Open final was accompanied by protests of the Black-African debate community. Open [caption id="attachment_34947" align="alignright" width="400"] Kevin Lee and Bostan Nurlanov - © private[/caption] The Open final was won by Sydney D (Kevin Lee, Bostan Nurlanov) out of Closing Government. Their victory marked the third world championship triumph in the last five years for their debating union. Other participants in the final were Cornell B (Denny Lee, Aniroodh Ravikumar) in Opening Government ...

During this year's WUDC in Mexico the council met once again, discussing a series of changes. Editor Jan-Gunther Gosselke was live at the meeting and summarised the most relevant results. ...

The World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) 2018 in Mexico, which took place 28.12.17-04.01.18, are concluded and the champions for the three language categories have emerged. Open Champion is Harvard, ESL-Champion is Oxford and EFL-Champion is Comillas. The finals were hosted in the historical Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris in the centre of Mexico-City. [caption id="attachment_33275" align="alignright" width="400"] The Open Final - © Jacky Hsinghsien Chang Chow[/caption] The team Harvard A (Danny DeBois, Archie Hall) won the Open Final as Opening Government on the motion "This house would rather save the life of a single child, over extending the life of 5 ...

Once again the anglophone World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) took place during the turn of the year. This year's location was Mexico City. The tournament started the 27.12.17 and ended the 04.01.18. After nine preliminary rounds the teams breaking to the outrounds were announced on New Year's Eve. At the WUDC, teams participate classified as one of three language categories: EPL (English as a Proficient Language), ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language). EPL-classified teams can only participate in the Open Break, ESL-teams depending on their ranking either in the Open Break oder the ...

A few days ago, we interviewed the magnificient Owen Mooney, current EUDC champion. We asked him some questions about his debating development and which advice he would give to novices and debaters who seek to become better. Enjoy some funny stories, expert suggestions and clever comments! ...

In this article, I’d like to argue for more knives in BPS debating. Not because I’m the owner of a knife shop – which I’m not – but because there are certain cases where the current rules are unfair towards certain teams and this could be easily corrected. ...

Five days ago the WUDC council announced that Cape Town won the vote to be WUDC host for 2019. We took the opportunity to ask the conveners about everything you might want to know. Have fun! Who are you and what's your role at Cape Town WUDC? [caption id="attachment_31168" align="alignleft" width="400"] Matthew Barry: External relations, debating and operations - © private[/caption] Matthew Barry: I'm one of the two co-conveners and I'm going to be hitting up the logistical side of things. I'm communicating with the tab team and doing the more debate-related stuff. That's what I'm handling. I study mechanical engineering and ...

With debaters from all around the world recovering on their travels back home, it's time to look back at the ups and downs of the tournament. Helena Hecke commented on the Dutch WUDC experience. The debating world has once more crowned the best debaters in the world. This year it's USU A from Sydney in the Open category, Tel Aviv A in the ESL category and Belgrade C in the EFL category. But celebrating the new world champions is not all that has happened at this year’s Worlds. The debating: Of course debating is the most important aspect at WUDC. This year, the Adjudication ...

The second day of the World Universities Debating Championship in The Hague is coming to an end and of course the Achte Minute was there once again and has interviewed some of the participants from all around the world. Today six people from three continents were interviewed and there will be more coming the following days. The interviews were conducted by Helena Hecke. In this part you can find the interviews with: Ngozi Sibulele and Inga Macingwano – South Africa Charles Lewis and Alan Chan – Canada Minji Kim and Do Hyung Shin – South Korea   Ngozi Sibulele and Inga Macingwano – South Africa [caption id="attachment_30797" align="alignleft" ...

Is it your first time at the World University Debating Championship? Don't worry - Melanie Sindelar has written down what experiences might await you. [caption id="attachment_28791" align="alignright" width="400"] WUDC in Malysia 2014 - © Matthias Carcasona[/caption] Attending Worlds is an experience like no other. There is so much to learn from each debate, so much excitement from travelling to a new place, and above all: so many new friends to meet. I myself have made many friends from different corners of the world despite not being the most forthcoming person in a competitive setting. Jokes aside: even as you pace back and ...

From December 27th to January 4th the WUDC, the world's largest debating tournament, takes place in The Hague in the Netherlands. As with most international tournaments, debates will be held in British Parliamentary Style and in English. The CA team consists of Syed Saddiq, Karin Merckens, Hyewon Rho, Michael Dunn Goekjian, Omer Nevo, Jodie O'Neill, Veenu Goswami, Yashodhan Nair and Ingrid Rodríguez. Bionda Merckens is the equity officer; Andrea Bos is in charge of language-related topics. Any questions can be directed to info@dutchwudc.nl. Overview: Date: December 27th - January 4th Conveners: Bionda Merckens, Andrea Bos Accommodation: Holiday houses Registration: Closed Registration ...

The WUDC - World Universities Debating Championship - are hosted annually around New Year and decide, who will become the english speaking university debating champions in one of three language categories. [caption id="attachment_28793" align="alignleft" width="400"] An Komfort völlig ausreichend? Jugendherberge in Tübingen // Sufficient comfort? Youth hostel in Tübingen // © Lennart Lokstein[/caption] In the German (in this article meaning: German speaking language region - primarily Germany, Austria and Switzerland) debate szene international tournaments aren't really important. The WUDC 2013 in Berlin and the EUDC 2015 in Vienna may have risen attention and as far as I'm informed the number of VDCH ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

Shafiq Bazari and Jonathan Leader Maynard (Chief Adjudicators, Malaysia Worlds 2015) are pleased to announce that fourteen people have applied to be considered for the position of Deputy Chief Adjudicator at Malaysia Worlds 2015. Among the candidates is our very own Dessislava Kirova from Berlin (ESL-Finalist at Manila Worlds, DCA at Manchester Euros and senior member of the OrgComm of Berlin Worlds). The Americas: Sarah Balakrishnan, Brett Frazer, Paul Gross, Buzz Klinger, Romeo Maione, Arlán A. Narváez-Vaz R. Middle East/Africa: Engin Arikan, Ngcwele Khumalo , Paidamwoyo Mangondo Australasis: Paul Karp, Madeline Jennifer Schultz, Sebastian Templeton Continental Europe: Dessislava Kirova, Danique van Koppenhagen The Chief Adjudicators are now asking the world debating community to submit feedback, regarding the suitability ...

Shafiq Bazari and Jonathan Leader Maynard (Chief Adjudicators, Malaysia Worlds 2015)  are pleased to inform the World Debating Community that applications for the positions of Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) at Malaysia Worlds 2015 is now open. The submission Deadline is 31st October 2013. They hope to select the DCAs from a large pool of applications, and therefore strongly encourage applications from all who believe they would be able to fill the role of a Worlds DCA with excellence. In general, candidates should: Be able to commit to being at the tournament, and to travel to Malaysia shortly before its formal start date. Have excellent ...

[caption id="attachment_15088" align="alignleft" width="280"] Patrick Ehmann (Photo: Henrik Mädler)[/caption] Achte Minute was able to catch up with Patrick Ehmann, convener of the WUDC Berlin 2013, to talk about the challenges faced in hosting WUDC Berlin 2013, the legacy of the tournament, the general perspective of world debating and his personal evaluation. Achte Minute: Patrick, now that two months have passed after the WUDC Berlin 2013, how do you feel? Patrick Ehmann: Well, immediately after the tournament I wanted to have nothing to do with the WUDC Berlin 2013 ever again. I was physically and emotionally drained. Now, from a distance I can see ...

The Vienna debaters from Debattierklub Wien (Stefan Zweiker, Rosie Halmi, Andreas Prischl, Jakob Reiter, Melanie Sindelar, Anna Nessmann and Andreas Villareal) release a case for overthinking the new reg reform which was discussed at this year's WUDC council. You can read their thoughts now exclusively on Achte Minute. Stances on the WUDC Reg Reform from an evolving society: How preferring societies in WUDC registration on basis of a break legacy puts back the debaters that train the hardest Executive summary The Reg Reform drives a painful thorn into the flesh of those debating societies who are working hard to reach their first break ...

For a few years now, it has been a loved and honoured tradition of the South African Delegation to host a Yakka-Party. Until Worlds 2013, the party was organized separately from the official part of the tournament. Money was collected and the ingredients for the Yakka (lemons, wodka and sugar) were bought in a private context. For the first time in 2013, the organizers of Berlin Worlds decided to integrate the Yakka-Party into the official schedule. This led to discussions within the OrgCom prior to the event and to discussions between the participants during and afterwards it. Marcus Ewald, member ...

Things were going fast during the second to last day at the World Universities Debating Championship 2013 in Berlin. So many Knockout rounds took place that we had difficulties following all announcements and breaks. But now we tried to sort everything a bit and present you here the break into the day of WUDC Finals. In the Open Break, we have a break into Semi-Finals. They will take place at 10:15 on today's Thursday. In the Open Semi Final 1 there will compete Monash B, Otago A, Sydney A, St Andrews A. In the Open Semi Final 2 we have Sydney ...

After debates, food is probably the second to most important thing here at Worlds - making sure that no participant goes hungry. This is not an easy task, in the face of the diverse dietary requirements that participants have due to cultural, religious, personal or health reasons. [caption id="attachment_14040" align="alignleft" width="294"] Reuben Thomas is a catering volunteer at the WUDC.[/caption] With a tight budget and no dining hall available, the catering team has had to find creative solutions. “First of all, we try to handle questions, problems and crises with care as soon as they arise”, says Christian Zimpelmann, head of the ...

It took until after midnight that the WUDC 2013 break coul be announced in Berlin. The CA-team took its time to sort out which 100 (!) judges broke into the break knockout rounds. Especially, they had to handel the new 48-team break for the first time which lets 16 teams break into octo-finals directly and sends 32 more teams into mock-octos (read here what that is). In the following we provide you the breaks and tab positions at WUDC 2012 after the nine preliminary rounds. Note that due to the WUDC constitution, unlike as at Euros, there is no double break. ...

[caption id="attachment_14010" align="alignright" width="400"] Where do they hide among  Announcement Hall der WUDC 2013[/caption] "I was really eager to be part of the largest debating tournament on earth," says Lucas Danco. The 20-year old experiences his first Worlds and is enthusiastic. "It's totally fascinating to see so many different people from so many different cultures come together and compete by the same rules. " Lucas is one of 28 speakers from VDCH clubs that compete at the Worlds in Berlin. The umbrella association VDCH (Verband der Debattierclubs an Hochschulen, engl. Association of Debating Societies at Universities) represents more than 70 debating societies ...

A tab insight: Berlin Worlds' tabmaster Jens Fischer gives some information we used to collect and tweet in the past - and usually we only had them in parts. You may find here a table that shows you the team results after the six open preliminaries. Of course: The details about the individual speaker points are still under wraps. All teams that have accumulated the same number of team points are simply listed alphabetically. And the tension remains: there are three preliminary rounds to go today - and the judges will not give feedback nor team points. The break will be announced ...

Chelesile Ndlovu, Michael Mhlanga, Thabo Arthur Dube and Tatenda Muzamindo from the Lupane State University in Zimbabwe are debating for tree years. After participation at the Zimbabwe National Debating Championships (ZNDC) last summer they applied for the scholarship program and succeeded. Martin Funck, Chief Editor of WUDCwatch, the WUDC newspaper, spoke with them: [caption id="attachment_13991" align="alignright" width="400"] Martin Funck talking to participants of the scholarship program[/caption] Achte Minute: How did it feel to be admitted? Thabo: I feel privileged. That was an inspiring moment. Hopefully this leads to the establishment of scholarship programs in years to come. Achte Minute: It’s your first time ...

Last minute, indeed “no minute” preparation and no team partner by your side – that’s what Emy Finch had to go through when she was called upon as a swing speaker. In round one of WUDC, several teams were discovered missing only when debates were scheduled to begin. So more swing teams than planned were needed instantly - and the runners' team took every WUDC volunteer they found. That's how Emy became an iron swing and had to run to debate in the first round. Emy is a debater from King’s College in London who’s volunteering in documentation at the ...

This morning, WUDC starting with round 1 - a tiny wee little bit late due to missing teams, but with goose bumbs on our arms when the first motion was announced (which read "Round 1: This house would create public housing for the poor in wealthy areas." - see our Facebook page for all three motions of today.) On twitter, you could also feel the emotions: Due to a delay of more than an hour, some debaters poured out their emotions on twitter, while other defended the tab team for doing a great job in a 100 rooms tournament. We then ...