{"id":19933,"date":"2013-11-14T22:35:57","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T21:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.achteminute.de\/?p=19933"},"modified":"2013-11-14T22:38:38","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T21:38:38","slug":"vienna-freshers-2013-touchdown-to-debate-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.achteminute.de\/en\/20131114\/vienna-freshers-2013-touchdown-to-debate-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Vienna Freshers\u2019 2013 \u2013 Touchdown to Debate Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Vienna<\/a>Unless you were exiled to some sort of cave of Debateland, if you\u2019re an European novice debater you probably heard about the Vienna Freshers\u2019 that happened last week. True to the motto \u201cTake off to your debating life\u201d 32 teams from 9 countries were introduced to the debate tournament atmosphere, departing from Vienna, to\u2026 well, anywhere you want, or so I\u2019ve heard. I\u2019m looking forward to finding out how far the debating life can take someone.<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon we gathered at the WU campus, mentally thanking the one who came up with the great idea of getting free energy drinks for the whole competition. We had 25 minutes prep time for each of the two motions, THW not publically fund universities<\/em> and THBT individuals with bad personal lifestyles (that influence their health) should pay more for their health insurance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In the evening the first social of the competition took place on Donauinsel, where we had roasted chestnuts and beer around the fire, while we admired the Vienna\u2019s skylie, both the real one and its reflection on the Danube. The weather was surprisingly warm for this time of the year. It wasn\u2019t until after 1 a.m. that I noticed it was cold \u2013 not sure if the actual weather was the cause or the fire or the lovely company.<\/p>\n

The next morning I didn\u2019t seem to be the only one having some trouble waking up. Some teams were cut from the third round, as they appeared way too late.<\/p>\n

The last two rounds were just a little more serious: THBT the EU should divide up asylum seekers amongst its member states proportional to the member states\u2019 GDP per cap<\/em>. and THBT women activists in Saudi Arabia should not drive cars in their protest against the ban<\/em> (an info slide informed us that in Saudi Arabia women are banned from driving cars).<\/p>\n

Some more Red Bull later, the break was announced along with the semi final motion: THBT individuals should pass a parenting test before having children<\/em>. I watched a quite interesting (and just a bit funny) debate. BBU A, Warsaw B, Vienna Economists and RDU B made it to the final where the motion was TH supported the US continuing its surveillance practices on global political leaders<\/em>.<\/p>\n

After the mandatory Schnitzel Dinner (Austrians are quite proud of their awesome Schnitzel) the Owl of Wisdom aka the Freshers\u2019 Trophy found its new owners \u2013 BBU A. They did a really good job in convincing the judges that the nice \u201cUncle Sam\u201d wants what\u2019s best for world peace, I was actually impressed how they made up such convincing arguments as closing government in the final.<\/p>\n

I probably don\u2019t need to say much about the rest of the evening \u2013 after the schnitzel party we went to the actual party. Though no one showed up (too) hung over at the hangover breakfast the next morning (yes, that\u2019s actually a thing \u2013 how cool is that?!), everyone looked quite tired.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d say it was a nice experience that made me so much excited for the Vienna IV, which will be coming up in early March.<\/p>\n

In the course of the tournament we received a lot of useful hints on how to improve our speeches. I will try to keep the feedback I got in mind. Most importantly, I can promise though that I\u2019ll remember the fun I had and the great people I met.<\/p>\n

Break<\/strong><\/p>\n

Semi Final 1<\/strong>
\nJudges: Stefan Zweiker, Kira Shymanska, Sara Tamindzic, Miriam Baghdady, Julia Mikic
\nWarsaw Economics A
\nAFAmilia Vienna Beta
\nWarsaw B (advanced to final)
\nBBU A (advanced to final)<\/p>\n

Semi Final 2<\/strong>
\nJudges: Melanie Sindelar,T\u00edmea Klebercz, Agnieszka Bibro, Callum Davidson, Lio Kaufman
\nRDU B (advanced to final)
\nZagreb A
\nVienna Economists (advanced to final)
\nELTE C<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Final<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judges: Melanie Sindelar, Senna Maatoug, Julia Mikic, Callum Davidson, Madlen Stottmeyer, Christoph J\u00e4ger, Stefan Zweiker
\nOpening Government: RDU B
\nOpening Opposition: Warsaw B
\nClosing Government: BBU A (champion)
\nClosing Opposition: Vienna Economists<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Motions<\/strong><\/p>\n