Wesley College WINS Inaugural Debaters' Council Schools League

The Grand Final of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League 2009 was held on the 15th of December at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

Attorney General, President's Counsel Mr. Mohan Peiris, graced the occasion at the Chief Guest, while Ms. Nadi Dharmasiri, AGM - Marketing at Asian Alliance Insurance PLC (the title sponsor of the tournament) graced the occasion as Guest of Honor.

The Final, between Wesley College and Bishop's College turned out to be a hotly contested affair with the debate being of the highest quality. The motion for the final was "This House Believes that 'Responsibility to Protect' should be the base principle of the modern United Nations." Bishop's College proposed the motion while Wesley College opposed.

The adjudicators considering both sides, decided on a 4-1 split in favor of Wesley College. Hence Wesley College became the CHAMPIONS of the League.

The adjudicators at the grand final were Mr. Mohammed Adamaly, Mr. Thushara Hettihamu, Mr. Anisha Yasaratne, Mr. Kumaravadivel Guruparan & Ms. Shamalie Jayatunga.

The two finalist teams were represented by

Wesley College
Maleen Jayasuriya (Captain)
Sithira Gunasekera
Chrisjit Xavier

Bishop's College
Sandaruwani De Silva (Captain)
Charuni Pathmeswaran
Wanya Gunawardena.

The following were the top speakers at the League (In Descending order)

Sandaruwani De Silva, Bishop's College - Most outstanding speaker
Yohan Senarath, Colombo International School
Michael Mendis, St. Joseph's College
Maleen Jayasuriya, Wesley College
Sanjit Dias, S. Thomas' College.

The event, the 1st major public event organized by the Debaters' Council on account of its now flagship tournament saw an attendance of over 100 students, teachers & well wishers from all over the country.

8 long months, 57 debates later. Wesley College has been crowned, the champion of champions in school level debating.

From the final rankings, Wesley College, Bishop's College, St. Joseph's College and S. Thomas' College will gain automatic qualification for The DC Schools League 2010, while the remaining schools will be relegated to qualify again at the Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship 2010 to be held in February.

The Debaters' Council congratulates both finalists and all other participating teams for the high standard of debating displayed right throughout.

We wish to also thank Asian Alliance Insurance PLC for their support in this herculean effort

Preview to the Grand Final - Sunday Times article

Please click here

The Hindu - Colombo team victorious in debate hosted by National Law School

Please click here

AAIC DC Schools League Grand Final

The grand final of the AAIC DC Schools League 2009 will be held on the 15th of December at Committee Room E of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) from 3.30 p. onwards.

Wesley College and Bishop's College will battle it out for supreme honors on this day.

All well wishers are welcome to attend this final.

Faculty of Law Dominates National Law School Tournament

The teams representing the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo at the largest Parliamentary Style Debating Tournament in South Asia, the National Law School Tournament held annually in India did the country proud recently by singlehandedly dominating the same.

The A team comprising of Shamalie Jayatunga, Luwie Ganeshadhason and Sachintha Dias defeated RVCE 'A' of Bangalore in the finals and their arch rivals Ramjas College of the University of Delhi in the Semi finals to win the tournament after a lapse of 3 years.

Shamalie was ranked the 3rd best speaker and Luwie and Sachintha the 7th and 4th best respectively.

Damitha was adjudged the best adjudicator at the tournament.

The C team comprising of Galusha, Sanduni and Shanil won the NLS Novices debating champiosnhip with Shanil becoming the best debater in that tournament.

Other teams from Sri Lanka at the tournament were the Arts Faculty of the University of Colombo and the University of Moratuwa.

We wish to congratulate the Faculty of Law for their excellent performance at the tournament.

Sunday Times article on the AAIC DC Schools League 2009

Please click here

AAIC DC Schools League - Final Points Tally

After 56 grueling debates over a period of 7 months, the following is the final tally of the inaugural Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League.

We congratulate all the Debaters for a job well done in the first rounds.

Wesley College & Bishop's College will battle it out in the Grand Final Debate. Details of the same will be made available soon.

Chief Adjudicator rules on Controversial Debate

The controversial debate between St. Joseph's College & S. Thomas' College which ended in a non-event recently was referred to the CA by the Convenor.

After considering submissions from both teams, the CA has ruled the debate to be a NO RESULT.

As such, there will be no wins and losses awarded to the two teams. The points up for grabs will be split in half.

Colombo International School win Musaeus Debates

Colombo International School edged out S. Thomas' College in the grand final of the Musaeus College debates held recently.

The Debate was a culmination of 4 rounds of debate where over 10 teams participated.

We congratulate CIS on winning the championship and S. Thomas' College for reaching the finals.

The tournament was endorsed by the Debaters' Council

AAIC DC Schools League - Walkovers

Colombo International School provided walkovers to Methodist College and S. Thomas' College on their 2nd round debates recently.

St. Bridget's Convent provided a walkover to Colombo International School in their 2nd round debate against the latter.

AAIC DC Schools League - SJC vs STC

Both rounds of Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League between St. Joseph's College & S. Thomas' College were held on October 30th 2009.

The Impromptu debate was won comfortably S. Thomas' College on a 4 point margin.

However pandemonium prevailed in the prepared debate, with miscommunication about the timing of the debate resulting in a non-event. The Convenor has referred the verdict of this debate to the Chief Adjudicator, Mr. Nishantha De Silva, who is expected to rule on it shortly.

The detailed results of the Impromptu debate are as follows

St. Joseph's College vs S. Thomas' College - 0-3 (STC)

AAIC DC Schools League - Debates 41,42 & 43 - ...and then there were three

The three league debates held last week turned out to be crucial deciders for the teams at the higher end of the table.

In the first of the tussles, Bishop's College concluded their final debate of the season against Methodist College in their 2nd round debate at Kollupitiya. This win made Bishop's College the first qualifier for the Grand Final of the League to be held in early December, with an unsurpassable 9 wins against their name.

Both rounds of debate between St. Joseph's College & Wesley College were also held on the same day. Wesley College beat their hosts in the prepared round by a comfortable margin of 3 points on the topic "THBT China should ratify post Kyoto-Protocol." In the return debate, Wesley College again got the better of their opponents winning the debate by 2 points albeit on a split decision.

The commendable double by Wesley College now puts WC and SJC in close competition for the second spot at the Finale, while champions of the Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championships 2009, S. Thomas' College now find themselves competing for the fourth position (which guarantees automatic qualification for the 2010 edition of the DC Schools Leageu) on the table with Colombo International School, notably the runner up at the same tournament.

The remaining 5 debates would prove crucial to all the aforesaid teams as they battle to secure their respective positions in the competition.

The detailed results of the previous week's debates are as follows

Methodist College vs Bishop's College - 0-3 (BC)
St. Joseph's College vs Wesley College - 0-3 (WC)
Wesley College vs St. Joseph's College - 2-1 (WC)

Lilian Nixon Challenge Shield 2009 - S. Thomas' retain honors

The Lilian Nixon Challenge Shield 2009, organized by Ladies' College was worked off on the 17th of October 2009.

The tournament, which took place over 2 days saw the participation of 20 teams from DC member and non-member schools and exhibited keen competition amongst the participants.

After 5 rounds of debate, S. Thomas' College (the defending champions) and Wesley College were pitted against each other in the Grand Final debate on the 18th of October 2009. At the conclusion of a close debate, STC emerged victors yet again.

David Rajasingham from S. Thomas' College was recognized as the most outstanding speaker of the competition.

The other teams breaking into the Quarter Finals were as follows.

Colombo International School - Semi Finalist
Visakha Vidyalaya - Semi Finalist
Royal College
St. Joseph's College "B"
Ananda College
Methodist College

Ladies' College is a full member school of the Debaters' Council and the tournament was endorsed by the Council.

We wish to congratulate Ladies' College on a successfully organized competition

AAIC DC Schools League - Updated points table

With the inaugural Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League moving into its latter stages, the 40 debates thus far seen have yielded many keen tussles, upsets and vast improvements.

However, with the exit of Royal College from the tournament, only 8 more debates remain in the competition. Nonetheless, we are no closer to determining who the finalists will be with 4 of the remaining 7 teams in with the statistical chance of qualifying for the same.

Bishop's College remains at the top of the table with 8 wins out of 11 debates. St. Joseph's College and Wesley College have both enjoyed commendable winning streaks over the last 6 weeks and have moved up the rankings and now threaten to overtake Bishop's College.

It must be remembered that the 4 top teams will automatically qualify for next year's league while the others will be relegated to compete amongst other teams at next year's Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship to qualify yet again.

AAIC DC Schools League - Debates 39 & 40 - SJC have field day

St. Joseph's College ran through Colombo International School at two separate debates held on Saturday at Maradana.

The hosts, proposing in the 1st round debate, beat the visitors in an extremely hard fought contest. The 2nd round debate however yielded better results for St. Joseph's, with the team beating their opponents by a comfortable 6 point margin.

The detailed results of the debates are as follows:

St. Joseph's College vs Colombo International School - 3-0 (SJC)
Colombo International School vs St. Joseph's College - 0-3 (SJC)

AAIC DC Schools League - Royal bow out

The Convenor of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League hereby informs that Royal College has been disqualified from the tournament over providing more than the allowed 2 walkovers per team.

All other participating teams are advised that the points table will be adjusted to reflect the position that Royal College never took part in the tournament. As such all points earned (or lost) against the school at debates will be forefeited.

AAIC DC Schools League - Debate 38 - Wesley march on as S. Thomas' lose again

The concluded week saw Debate 38 of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League taking place between Wesley College and S. Thomas' College, hosted at the latter venue.

Wesley College continued their winning streak beating their hosts comfortably with a 4 point margin.

The debate was adjudicated by Chief Adjudicator Mr. Nishantha de Silva, Mr. Anisha Yasaratne and Ms. Suzie Beling.

The detailed results are as follows:

S. Thomas' College vs Wesley College - 0-3 (WC)

International World Schools Debate Tournament 2009 Deadline 1 October

I would just like to remind everybody who intends to participate at the Ljutomer WS international tournament
that the application deadline is October 1st. Please, send the application forms as soon as possible.
More details about the tournament follows.

INTERNATIONAL WORLDS SCHOOLS DEBATE TOURNAMENT
Ljutomer, Slovenia, 6th and 7th November 2009

ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, Slovenia and Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer kindly invite you to our traditional annual International high school debate tournament in Ljutomer.

TOURNAMENT BASICS
Debate format: Worlds School Debate Format, 8 minute speeches.
Number of speakers per team: 3. Everybody who comes needs to debate all the debate rounds. Important: we are not accepting 4 or 5 member teams!

Accompanying adults should be judges. The rule is one or two teams one judge, three teams two judges. In short: everybody who comes as an adult should be able to judge.

Team cap: 40 teams.
The registration will be closed when we reach team cap, so register as soon as possible.

Number of debate rounds:
6 - 3 on prepared motions, 3 on impromptu + semi finals (impromptu)+finals (prepared)

Pairings:
Computer programme TRPC by Rich Edwards
Power paired after 1st round

PREPARED DEBATE MOTIONS
This House has no confidence in capitalism.
The House favours military intervention in Somalia.
This House would forcefeed anorexics.
This House believes that heavy trucks should start paying for environmental damages.

ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE DAY
European countries: Wednesday or Thursday, 4th or 5th November
USA, South Korea and other oversee countries can come a few days earlier.
Departure: Sunday, the 8th of November

ACCOMODATION
Debaters will be offered home stays by Ljutomer debaters. Judges will be accomodated in the hotel.

REGISTRATION
Deadline: October 1st
Number of teams per country: 2 to 3 (if there are lots of countries registering we will limit to 2) Please, send a request for application form to debata©siol.net

Additional teams can enter the tournament in case there are some free spots left after the registration deadline. Several countries already expressed their intention to participate with the debaters which are selected for 2010 Worlds, so we do encourage national teams to participate.

In cases where more teams per country will register, the priority will be given to the teams endorsed by national debate organisation.

We are going to close the registration when we reach the team cup.



PARTICIPATION FEES
Debaters: 40 EUR
Judges: 80 EUR (covers 3 nights/breakfast and tournament meals)

PAYMENT
One payment for each travelling group.
Payment deadline: October, 31st
Special attention: The costs of the bank transfer should be paid by you – we should get the net sum.

Bank details:
Bank account holder: Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga, adress: Svetosavska 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Bank name: Nova ljubljanska banka
Bank adress: Trg republike 2, 1520 Ljubljana, Slovenia
IBAN is the bank account: IBAN SI56020560051711807
SWIFT CODE: LJBASI2X

Very important: Please, make sure that on the bank statement will be clearly stated the name of the group or individuals you are paying for.



SCHEDULE
Friday, 6th November 2009
.9.00 – 10.00 Judges meeting.
10.00 Opening of the tournament
10.30 Announcement of the impromptu motion
11.30 ROUND 1, impromptu
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 ROUND 2, prepared
16. 00 Announcement of the impromptu motion
17.00 ROUND 3, impromptu
18.30 Snacks
19.00 ROUND 4, prepared

Saturday, 7th November 2008
8.30 Announcement of impromptu motion
9.30 ROUND 5, impromptu
11.00 ROUND 6, prepared
12.30 Lunch
13.00 Announcement of the semi-finalists
14.00 SEMI FINALS, impromptu
16.00 FINALS, prepared
17.30 Closing ceremony

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
All the inquiries about the tournament and registration, please, adress to me at bojana.skrt@siol.net, all the questions about Ljutomer, school, home stays, travel to Liana Miholič, the coach of the Ljutomer English Debate Club at the liana.miholic@guest.arnes.si

The application form is in the other attachment. Please, fill the application form out and send it to bojana.skrt@siol.net as soon as possible, but no later than 1st of October.

Looking forward seeing you in Slovenia,

Bojana Skrt, ZIP
Liana Miholič and Martina Domajnko, Gimnazija Franca Miklošiča Ljutomer

--
Bojana Skrt
direktorica
Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga
Svetosavska 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija
www.zainproti.com
+386 (0)41 423377


Posted by Alfred Charles Snider (on globaldebateblog.blogspot.com)

AAIC DC Schools League - Wesley take home impressive double, SJC get their own back

The Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League saw another interesting week with 3 crucial debates concluding over the weekend.

Wesley College hosted Colombo International School for both scheduled rounds at Borella on Saturday. The prepared debate was taken by Wesley College by a fairly convincing margin. Wesley College also carried the Impromptu debate albeit on a split decision.

A 2nd round encounter between St. Joseph's College and Bishop's College concluded on Sunday with St. Joseph's College emerging victorious by a close margin of 1 point.

The successful double saw Wesley College move up the rankings this week but the loss faced by Bishop's College has opened up the tournament once again. This scenario makes for some more crucial debates in the last 6 weeks of the competition.

The detailed results of this week's debates are as follows

Wesley College vs Colombo International School - 3-0 (WC)
Colombo International School vs Wesley College - 1-2 (WC)
St. Joseph's College vs Bishop's College - 3-0 (SJC)

AAIC DC Schools League 2009 - Debate 34 - Metho shock Thora

Methodist College shocked S. Thomas' College to take a comfortable 3-0 victory at a 2nd round debate held at Mount Lavinia last Saturday.

Having done so, the victors keep themselves in the running to enter the top 4 in the competition which would earn them an automatic qualification for the 2010 edition of the League.

The detailed results of the debate are as follows.

S. Thomas' College vs Methodist College - 0-3 (MC)

Musaeus College Debating Tournament - Thora and CIS to face off

The first rounds of the Musaeus College Debating Tournament 2009 was held on Sunday 13th September with 18 registered schools.

S. Thomas' College and Colombo International School succeeded in entering the grand finals of the tournament, which is expected to be worked off in early October.

Musaeus College is a full member of the Debaters' Council, and the tournament was endorsed by the same.

Ladies College A break at ASDC

The Ladies' College A team, participating at the inaugural Asian Schools Debating Championships in Manila, Phillipines prevailed in breaking into the top 16. It was however unfortunate that they were knocked out soon after.

We congratulate the 3 teams that took part at the championships on their excellent performance.

Musaeus College Debating Tournament 2009

The first rounds of the 2009 edition of the Musaeus College Impromptu Debating Tournament will be held on Sunday, 13th September at Musaeus College. The tournament will be held in the Asian Universities' format of debate. 18 teams have thus far registered for the competition.

The tournament has been endorsed by the Debaters' Council

Ladies' College make good start at ASDC

The 3 teams representing Ladies' College at the Asian Schools Debating Championship in Manila, Phillipines have made a commendable start to their campaign.

In the first two days of debate, the A & B teams have won 3 out of 4 debates respectively while the C team have recorded a 50% success rate.

All 3 teams will face 3 more debates today, at the conclusion of which the best performing teams will 'break' into the knockout leg of the tournament.

AAIC DC Schools League - Debates 32 & 33

Debate 32 of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC schools league between Colombo International School and Methodist College was held last Saturday at Methodist College. Colombo International School continued their winning run at this debate, beating Methodist College on a unanimous decision.

The other scheduled debate for the day between Royal College and Wesley College was aborted with Royal College providing a walkover to their hosts.

The detailed results are as follows

Methodist College vs Colombo International School- 0-3 (CIS)
Wesley College vs Royal College - 3-0 (WC)

AAIC DC Schools League - Debates 29,30 & 31

Debates in the Asian Alliance DC Schools League commenced after a lapse for the school break last week with 3 scheduled debates occurring featuring Bishop's College, Wesley College, Colombo International School and S. Thomas' College.

Bishop's College hosting CIS for a 2nd round debate at Boyd Place ended their 8 debate winning streak, losing to their opponents on a unanimous but close margin.

However, Bishop's College regained their form to beat Wesley College at another 2nd round debate on the same day hosted by the latter school. The debate was awarded on a split decision.

At the 3rd debate of the day featuring Wesley College & S. Thomas' College hosted by the former, STC came away winners in a high scoring debate on a close margin.

The details of the debates are as follows

Colombo International School vs Bishop's College - 3-0 (CIS)
Wesley College vs Bishop's College - 1-2 (BC)
Wesley College vs S. Thomas' College - 0-3 (STC)

International Training Program 2009 - Workshop for Adjudicators

A workshop for Adjudicators conducted by the International Coaches was held on the 8th of August concurrently with a 1st round AAIC DC Schools League debate between S. Thomas' College and Colombo International School.

Adjudicators of all levels attended the workshop and were trained on basic as well as advanced judging skills

International Training Program 2009 - General Workshop for Schools

A large scale workshop conducted by Mr. Alex Campbell for school debaters mainly of the beginner to intermediate level was held on the 11th of August at the Law Faculty premises of the University of Colombo.

The workshop was attended by over 240 students from more than 35 schools across the country. The whole day workshop was organized in conjunction with the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka.

We wish to thank the Ministry of Education for supporting this venture of the Debaters' Council, the Moot Court & Debating Society of the Law Faculty for providing the logistics for the workshop and Asian Alliance Insurance PLC for sponsoring the certificates for the same

International Training Program 2009 - Advanced workshop for Schools' Debaters

An advanced workshop for school debaters well versed in debating was held on the 5th of August and conducted by the International Coaches. 30 approved students from 7 schools took part in the half day event. Advanced skills in further improving the already acquired art of debating were taught at the workshop.

The workshop was hosted by Ladies' College. We wish to thank the administration of the school for extending their support to our venture

International Training Program 2009 - Workshop for Universities

A two day workshop for University Debaters conducted by the Specialist International coaches Ms. Jessica Prince and Mr. Alex Campbell was held on the 3rd & 4th of August 2009. Approximately 30 participants from the Medical, Arts & Law Faculties of the University of Colombo, Royal Institute of Colombo & The University of Moratuwa participated at the event. The workshop was conducted in the British Parliamentary style of debate.

The coaches were also invited by the Dean of the Faculty of Law for a dinner on the 5th of August in recognition of their contribution.

AAIC DC Schools League Week 15 - CIS down STC

Colombo International School won their first debate of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League 2009, beating S. Thomas' College in a close debate on Saturday, 8th August 2009. The motion for debate was "TH Supports the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq", with STC proposing and CIS opposing.

The debate was held concurrently with an Adjudicators' workshop conducted by the Debaters' Council. It was adjudicated by the distinguished panel of Ms. Jessica Prince, Mr. Alex Campbell and Mr. Nishantha De Silva.

The details of the debate were as follows

Colombo International School vs S. Thomas' College - 3-0 (CIS)

Improving English debating - Sunday Times article

Please click here

International Training Program - Public Training Schedule

Ms. Jessica Prince and Mr. Alex Campbell (both alumni of Oxford University) will be on a coaching tour of the Island from the 1st to the 14th of August. Their mandate will be to train the Sri Lanka Schools Team for the World Schools Debating Championships 2010.

In addition to the training of the team, the following public workshops will also be held.

Workshop for Universities

A two day workshop in the WUDC format of Debate will be held on the 03rd & 04th of August at the Law Faculty Premises. Please contact Guruparan on 0773704178 or Hafeez on 0715104999 for further details

Advanced workshop for Schools Debaters

An advanced workshop for schools debaters will be held on the morning of the 5th of August. Participation at this workshop will be limited to 30 students, and applications will be scrutinized by the Debaters' Council prior to approval. Please contact Charana on 0714052012 for further details

General Workshop for Schools

A general workshop on the World Schools Style of Debate will be held on the 11th of August from 9 a.m to 5 p.m at the University of Colombo Premises. Please contact Charana on 0714052012 for further details.

Workshop for Adjudicators/Coaches

A workshop for all Adjudicators and Coaches will be held on the 8th of August at 10 a.m at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. Please contact Nishantha on 0777268164 for further details.

Workshop for Corporate Clients

Workshops on Effective Negotiation, Presentation and Argumentation are also offered to interested Companies. The workshops will be 4 hours in length with an option to extend and will be priced at Rs. 70,000/-. Please contact Deshan on 0772962549 for further details

Ladies' College to participate at the inaugural Asian Schools Debating Championship

Three teams from Ladies' College (a member school of the Debaters' Council) have been registered for the Asian Schools Debating Championships to be worked off in Manila in September. We wish the teams the very best in achieving success.

Jessica Prince and Alex Campbell to visit Sri Lanka

Jessica Prince, The world's no. 1 ranked debater in 2007 and Alex Campbell, the former Head Coach of the Oxford Union (both alumni of Oxford University, UK) will be in Sri Lanka on a coaching tour from the 1st to the 14th of August 2009.

The coaches will be here on a mandate to coach the Sri Lanka Schools Debating Team for WSDC 2010. They will also conduct workshops for all schools and universities debaters. Select inhouse corporate training workshops will also be conducted.

More details of scheduled events will be posted here shortly.

The profiles of the trainers are as below.

Jessica Prince

Jessica Prince was the world’s number one ranked debater in 2007, having won the coveted title of Best Speaker at the World Universities Debating Championship in 2007. She has extensive coaching experience, including working with the Canadian World Schools team for various years, training under-privileged children in London, coaching the 2008 Qatar World Schools team, running debate workshops at the Oxford Union and training young executives in the Corporate sector.
Jessica is a Canadian from Victoria, British Columbia. She has a BA (Hons) in Political Science from McGill University in Canada and a 2nd BA (Senior Status) in Law from Oxford University. Jessica has represented Canada at the World Schools Debatnig Championships, and was the President of CUSID (the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate), winner of the Canadian British Parliamentary Championships, top speaker at the one-time North American Women's Championships, and a two-time finalist of the Canadian Nationals while at McGill. During her time at Oxford, Jessica was also Grand Finalist in the Cambridge IV, which is the most prestigious Debating Competition in the UK.


Alex Campbell

Alex Campbell is a former Head Coach of the prestigious Oxford Union. An American from Boston, Massachusetts, he has an MPhil in Economics from Oxford University and a BA (Hons) in Economics from McGill University, Canada. Alex was one of the top 10 speakers at the 2007 World Universities Championships, as well as the only person to make the Grand Finals of both the Canadian and British National Championships. While functioning as Head Coach of one of the oldest and most revered debating institutions in the world, comprising over 1000 members, he has taught weekly workshops and created a comprehensive coaching curriculum.
In 2007, Alex traveled to Hong Kong as part of a three week teaching tour for the English Speaking Union. In 2008, he spent over a month in Qatar, giving workshops for over 20 schools and for over 500 students and faculty. After Oxford, Alex worked at Lehman Brothers as a proprietary equity derivatives trader, and will be attending Stanford University next spring in the pursuit of an MBA.

Rev Dr Don Stanley Abeysekara Challenge Shield - BC and STC take home honors

The grand final of the Rev Dr Don Stanley Abeysekara Challenge Shield organized by St. Joseph's College was worked off on the 10th of July at the school hall.

The senior final was between Bishop's College and Colombo International School on the motion "THBT China should lead the new world order." Bishop's College took the debate on a 4-1 split.

The Junior final was worked off between S. Thomas' College and Bishop's College. S. Thomas' College won the debate convincingly.

We congratulate St. Joseph's College on having organized this tournament, and especially for having arranged for the junior leg.

The tournament was ratified by the Debaters' Council.

01st Asian Schools Debating Championships

The 01st ever Asian Schools Debating Championships will be held from September 09-13 2009 in Manila, Philippines. The event is a school specific tournament while registration is capped at 80 teams.

All schools are encouraged to participate at this tournament to gain international exposure.

The formal letter of invitation is attached here

Find the tournament website here

AAIC DC Schools League - Updated points table

After 14 weeks of debating and 27 grueling debates, we have now come to the halfway stage of the tournament.

Bishop's College has taken a clear lead and now sit comfortably at 1st place. St. Bridget's Convent having completed 13 of their allotted 14 debates hold 2nd place, but are in danger of dropping below as other teams complete further debates.

Colombo International School are currently placed 8th but have 12 further debates to make amends for their disappointing start.

It must be remembered that the 4 top teams will automatically qualify for next year's league while the others will be relegated to compete amongst other teams at next year's Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship to qualify yet again.

In the coming weeks, a keen tussle should be seen not only to enter the grand final, but also to qualify within the top 4 teams in the competition.

AAIC DC Schools League 14 - BC takes command

Bishop's College, extended their lead on the points table and continued their winning streak by beating other serious tournament contenders S. Thomas' College and Colombo International School.

Bishop's College, hosting the 1st round debate against Colombo International School took the debate unanimously on a 5 point margin.

Hosting the return debate against S. Thomas' College in the afternoon, Bishop's went on to beat them by a whopping margin of 12 points to complete a double against their opponents.

Bishop's College have now won 7 debate in a row after their early loss against St. Bridget's Convent.

The detailed results are as follows

Bishop's College vs Colombo International School - 3-0 (BC)
Bishop's College vs S. Thomas' College - 3-0 (BC)

AAIC DC Schools League - Week 13 - Marathon weekend creates clear favorites

The 13th week of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League 2009, saw 5 debates featuring all 8 teams in the competition.

Colombo International School commenced their campaign on a disappointing note with a surprise loss to St. Bridget's Convent. The close debate was split 2-1.

Bishop's College beat Wesley College convincingly in their 2nd round debate at Boyd Place.

Bishop's College, in another debate, beat S. Thomas' College in a split debate at Mount Lavinia.

Methodist College had a mixed outing, losing to St. Joseph's College convincingly, whilst beating Royal College by a 10 point margin in another debate on the same date.

The detailed results are as follows

Colombo International School vs St. Bridget's Convent - 1-2 - St. Bridget's Convent
Bishop' College vs Wesley College - 3-0 - Bishop's College
Bishop's College vs S. Thomas' College - 2-1 - Bishop's College
Methodist College vs St. Joseph's College - 0-3 - St. Joseph's College
Methodist College vs Royal College - 3-0 - Methodist College

Bishop's College have now emerged as hot favorites for the title, having won 6 of their 7 debates and currently lie comfortably at the top of the table with 17 points to their name.

World Universities Debating Championships- 2009 - Grand Final Debate

WSDC 2008 - Grand Final Video

World Universities Debating Championships- 2010-Registration opens on June 22nd

Hello from Turkey!
We are writing with some final details concerning the registration process for Worlds which commences next week. Please read this carefully as we hope we have been as clear as possible. If you have any outstanding queries regarding registration, you can contact Hasan Sadik Arik ath.s.arik@kocworlds.com.

Exact day and time
The first stage of registration for the Vehbi Koc Worlds 2010 begins on 22nd June 2009 (this coming Monday). Registration will be on a first-come, first serve basis so you should note the exact time at which registration starts. We will turn on the system at 9am Turkish time (GMT + 3). For your ease, this means the time will be as follows in some cities around the world (though we advise strongly that you re-check this time as we cannot be held responsible if we have got this wrong!):

San Francisco- 23:00pm (21st June 2009)
Ottawa– 02:00am
New York– 02:00am
Dublin– 07:00am
London– 07:00am
Paris– 08:00am
Berlin– 08:00am
Gabarone - 08:00am
Baghdad– 09:00am
Moscow– 10:00am
Mumbai – 11:30am
Dhaka– 12:00pm
Bangkok– 13:00pm
Beijing– 14:00pm
Tokyo– 15:00pm
Sydney– 16:00pm

What you need to do in order to register
At 9am Turkish time on the 22nd June 2009, you can access the registration page by clicking the REGISTER NOW link atwww.kocworlds2010.com. This will redirect you to our registration page. You will only have registered when you enter your details and then press the Register button. Please ensure that your details are correct, particularly your e-mail address – if you write this wrongly, we cannot send you a confirmation mail and you will face a very stressful couple of days.

The details required at this stage are as follows:
Institution Name, Country, City, Representative Name, Representative Status (is the person who is filling in the form a debater, adjudicator or not attending Worlds), Phone Work/Home, Phone Mobile, E-mail, No. of teams, No. of Adjudicators, Password (that you choose)

Please, please only register as many teams and judges as you plan to send! We will be merciless in our adherence to the pre-payment system and will delete teams who do not pay their pre-payment as described in our previous mail and on our website (www.kocworlds2010.com). To make it clear, if you register 3 teams and 2 judges and pay only 500 EUR in pre-payment, we will only accept this as payment for 2 teams and 1 judge. If you send an amount that does not correspond to n-1 (i.e. you send 400 EUR), we will take this to mean 1 team and 1 judge and you will not receive your 100 EUR back.

We want to reiterate two important facts about the pre-payment system:
1) Once you pay the pre-payment, it absolutely non-refundable. We instigated this approach because last year, teams registered and then disappeared for months meaning that the teams that eventually took their slots had to pay exorbitant air-fares.
2) You cannot pay 800 EUR for three teams and two judges in the Second Phase, then reduce your contingent to five people and expect the 300 EUR back or to top up your outstanding balance. Please only register and then pre-pay for teams that you will actually send.

Our policy for nations with notoriously slow internet-access
We have put in place a policy this year that protects the international nature of the tournament and ensures that institutions from nations with slow internet access are not automatically stripped of the opportunity to compete at Worlds. We have set aside 24 team slots for the nations listed below and institutions from these nations will compete with one another for places at Worlds. If institutions from these nations register in the first 300 teams, this will not affect the 24 team slots – these are independent of the 300 team slots that are purely first-come, first serve. The nations we have listed are below but if you believe your nation should be included, please get in touch withh.s.arik@kocworlds2010.com before Sunday 21st June 2009:

China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, all of the African continent (except for South Africa), all of the South American continent, all of the Middle East (except Qatar and UAE).

We want to reiterate that this does not mean that only 24 teams can come from the above mentioned countries and regions. We are saying that in addition to any teams from these countries and regions who register in the first 300 team slots, we will also put aside 24 places for the next teams from these countries and regions.

One final note: you will have noticed that we have mentioned 300 teams which are purely first-come, first serve and 24 teams set aside for nations with slow internet access. The remaining 36 team slots are set aside to ensure that every nation that went to Worlds last year can go this year. These 36 slots will be held until the end of the first registration phase and if untaken will then be given to teams on the waiting list.

Our n-1 and adjudication registration policy
If you register with 3 teams, you are constitutionally required to send 2 judges. If you send 2 teams, you are constitutionally required to send 1 judge. If you send 1 team, you are allowed but not constitutionally required to send 1 judge. If you wish to send more judges than your n-1 allocation, you should get in contact with Can Okar atc.okar@kocworlds2010.com. He will then speak with the regional DCA and a decision will be made as to whether we can accommodate your request for extra judges.

Some institutions have stated that they wish to send less than the number of judges stipulated by the Worlds Constitution (i.e. less than n-1) either because air-fare is very expensive or because they do not feel they have sufficiently qualified adjudicators. In this situation, we will expect you to pay the full registration as required by the Constitution (i.e. if you want to send 3 teams, you will be expected to pay for 8 people) but you must get permission from the adjudication team first. At the first stage of registration, you should enter 3 teams and 2 judges or 2 teams and 1 judge but you will need to contact Can Okar as soon as possible to let us know that you won’t actually be sending a judge. We will then use the registration fee you pay to subsidise an independent adjudicator to take the place of the judge that you should have sent. This policy has been discussed with representatives of the Worlds Council Executive and we believe that it isthe most effective way of ensuring that we get the right balance of serving the interests of teams that want to compete at Worlds without undermining the quality of the adjudication pool.

If you are planning to register as an independent adjudicator, you can do this on the first day of registration. However, you must contact a member of the adjudication team first so that we can ensure that you are sufficiently qualified. We are able to offer limited subsidies to independent adjudicators who show financial need so please do get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Observers may also register from 22nd June onwards but must contact Hasan at h.s.arik@kocworlds2010.com and take a look at our website for further details.

Communication
We realize that you may need to get in touch with us on the day of registration. We have set up two Skype accounts for which you can add us from tomorrow onwards. These accounts will be live from 8am Turkish time on the 22nd June 2009 through to 5pm Turkish time on the 22nd June 2009. These accounts are kocworldshotline1 and kocworldshotline2.

You can also call us that day on +90 212 338 19 26. Before then, you can e-mail us at h.s.arik@kocworlds2010.com. We would be much obliged if you could try to limit your queries on this day and in the immediate following two days to issues surrounding Phase 1. Once we have ensured that the Phase has been completed, we will gladly entertain questions regarding payment.

That is a lot of information for you to digest but we hope that it is clear. Let us reiterate, if there are any areas of confusion, please do get in touch with any questions or concerns. We have tried to set up a registration that is fair for all involved, transparent and in the spirit of our guiding Constitution. We also believe that it is in the interests of both individual institutions and the tournament as a whole from the perspectives of international involvement and strength of the adjudication pool.

The 22nd awaits. We are ready – we hope you are too.

With our warmest regards,
Fatih Mehmet Inal and Suleyman Onay
Co-Convenors, Koc Worlds 2010

Hasan Sadik Arik
Registration Officer, Koc Worlds 2010

Can Okar
Chief Adjudicator, Koc Worlds 2010

AAIC DC Schools League Week 12 - STC complete 01st round win against Metho

Week 12 of the Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League saw S. Thomas' College take on Methodist College in a 01st round debate at Methodist College.

S. Thomas' College took the debate on a unanimous decision albeit with a close margin of 2 points.

The detailed results are as follows

Methodist College vs S. Thomas' College - 0-3 (S. Thomas' College)

(Motion:THW declare Azad (Freedom) for Kashmir)

Next week will see all 8 teams in action for the first time, with 5 debates scheduled for Saturday.

AAIC DC Schools League 2009 Week 11 - Metho takes close debate at Home

Week 11 of the League saw Methodist College taking on Royal College in a 1st round debate at home.

Methodist College took the debate in a close finish with the judges split 2-1.

The detailed results are as follows

Methodist College vs Royal College - 2-1 (Methodist College)

(Motion:THB in slave reparation)

Methodist College have thus far won 3 out of their 6 debates with 8 points to their name, while Royal College have won only 1 out of their 4 debates and are yet to get off the mark on the points column.

(P.S As of 17th June 2009, the blogger is yet to receive the results of the week 10 debates of the league)

AAIC DC Schools League 2009 Week 09 - Mixed results for SBC, Close finish for Wesley

The 09th week of the league saw 3 debates featuring 5 of the participating teams in the competition.

St. Bridget's Convent completed two more of their impromptu debates competing at home against Bishop's College and away against St. Joseph's College. Bishop's College had the better of their hosts by a convincing margin of 10 points, while St. Joseph's College went down in a close debate on a split decision.

Another close encounter transpired at Methodist College with the hosts losing to Wesley College on a split decision in the teams' 2nd round debate.

The detailed results are as follows:

St. Bridget's Convent vs Bishop's College - 0-3 (Bishop's College)

St. Joseph's College vs. St. Bridget's Convent - 1-2 (St. Bridget's Convent)

Methodist College vs Wesley College - 1-2 (Wesley College)

WSDC 2010 - Team Sri Lanka announced

The panel of selectors appointed by the Debaters' Council met recently to determine the Sri Lanka Schools Team that will represent the country at the World Schools Debating Championships of 2010, to be held in Doha, Qatar in early 2010.

After much consideration the following have been chosen as the final five to represent Sri Lanka at the Competition.

Sandaruwani De Silva (Captain) - Bishop's College

Sanjith Dias - S. Thomas' College

Pranjeewan Kulasingham - S. Thomas' College

Kithmina Hewage - Colombo International School

Maleen Jayasuriya - Wesley College

Congratulations to those who have been selected and commiserations to the rest of you.

 

The Council will be in touch with those who were selected to brief them on how things will proceed from hence

WSDC 2010 - Selection Workshops complete

The Selection workshops to select the 5 member team to represent Sri Lanka at the World Schools Debating Championships 2010 were completed on Sunday, 24th May 2009.

16 students from 9 schools participated at the same and were all provided with the opportunity to display their skills on atleast 5 different occasions. The candidates were also subjected to a rigorous training program with 8 workshops being conduct by eminent Debaters in the Country.

The candidates are vying to win a place to represent the Country in Qatar in February 2010 and emulate and/or better the performances of those before them.

The 5 member team will be announced by the selection panel shortly. We wish all the candidates the best of luck!

AAIC DC Schools League Week 08 - Royal drop a judge as SBC lose again

Royal College beat St. Bridget's Convent in their 2nd round debate on Saturday on a split decision. The details are as follows

St. Bridget's Convent vs Royal College - 1-2 (Royal College)

(Motion: THW not intervene in Corporate Bankruptcies - Impromptu)

The two other debates scheduled for the week featuring Royal College, Wesley College and St. Joseph's College were postponed due to unavoidable reasons.

Matchups for next week:

Methodist College vs Royal College (MC - 30th May 10.00 a.m)

Methodist College vs Wesley College (MC - 30th May 2.00 p.m)

St. Bridget's Convent vs Bishop's College (SBC - 30th May 09.00 a.m)

St. Joseph's College vs St. Bridget's Convent (SJC - 29th May 10.00 a.m)

AAIC DC Schools League - Week 07 - SBC with mixed bag

Week 07 of the AAIC DC Schools League saw two return debates being hosted by St. Bridget's Convent.

In the first of the two, the hosts beat Wesley College with a convincing margin of 8 points to avenge their first round defeat 3 weeks ago.

However in the second debate of the day, S. Thomas' College stamped their dominance over St. Bridget's Convent by completing a successful double over their hosts with a margin of 12 points.

The detailed results are as follows:

St. Bridget's Convent vs Wesley College - 3-0 (St. Bridget's Convent)

(Motion: THW make fines relative to wealth - Impromptu)

St. Bridget's Convent vs S. Thomas' College - 0-3 (S. Thomas' College)

(Motion: THB in protectionist measures in Economic Recession - Impromptu)

Having won only 3 of their 9 debates thus far, St. Bridget's Convent are now in need of as many wins as they have debates left in order to provide themselves with a chance to reach the Grand Finals of the tournament.

The next week will see the following debates:

St. Joseph's College vs Wesley College (SJC) - Rescheduled

Royal College vs St. Joseph's College (RC)

St. Bridget's Convent vs Royal College (SBC)

AAIC DC Schools League 2009 - Week 06 - SBC have disappointing outing in their own backyard

Week 06 saw SBC hosting Methodist College and St. Joseph's College at home.

Methodist College completed a successful double against SBC winning their 2nd round debate on a close split decision.

St. Joseph's College won the 2nd debate of the day on a low scoring unanimous decision.

The results were as follows

St. Bridget's Convent vs Methodist College - 1-2 (Methodist College)

(Motion : THW allow the regulated use of steroids in sport - Impromptu)

St. Bridget's Convent vs St. Joseph's College - 0-3 (St. Joseph's College)

(Motion : Impromptu)

Matchups for next week:

St. Bridget's Convent vs Wesley College (SBC)

St. Bridget's Convent vs S. Thomas' College (SBC)

Points Table - Bishop's College Tops the charts

After 10 gruelling debates over a period of 5 weeks. The points table stands as above. Bishop's College stands at the top of the table with 3 wins and 9 points while St. Bridget's Convent are 02nd with 2 wins and 7 points. It should be noted that Colombo International School are yet to commence their campaign.

AAIC DC Schools League 2009 - Week 05 - Tournament wide open

Week 05 of the AAIC DC Schools League saw 7 of the 8 competing teams in the league debating in 4 debates.

Bishop's College took double honors at home beating St. Joseph's College and Royal College on close margins and now stand at the top of the table.

Tournament favorites, S. Thomas' College commenced their campaign in fine style beating St. Bridget's Convent in their debate at Mount Lavinia.

Wesley College, continued their unbeaten streak beating Methodist College convincingly in their debate at Borella.

The results were as follows

Bishop's College vs St. Joseph's College - 3-0 (Bishop's College)

(Motion : THBT investing in renewable energy is the responsibility of industrialized nations )

Bishop's College vs Royal College - 3-0 (Bishop's College)

(Motion : THW divert donor funding away from NGO's to States)

S. Thomas' College vs St. Bridget's Convent - 3-0 (S. Thomas' College)

(Motion : THBT   dissent in a time of war is treason!)

Wesley College vs Methodist College - 3-0 (Wesley College)

(Motion : THBT the international community should intervene militarily to cease gross HR violations)

Matchups for next weekend:

St. Bridget's Convent vs St. Joseph's College (SBC)

St. Bridget's Convent vs Methodist College (SBC) - Impromptu

Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League 2009 - Week 04 - Humdinger at Borella

Week 04 of the League produced an exceptional debate between Wesley College and St. Bridget's Convent with the high scoring debate being decided on a split decision and with a margin of 01 point.

Wesley College vs St. Bridget's Convent - 2-1 (Wesley College)

(Motion : THW prosecute Holocaust Deniers)

The debate between Royal College and S. Thomas' College scheduled for the same day was postponed due to Royal College being used as a polling booth for the PC polls. A new date will be notified in due course

Matchups for next weekend

Bishop's College vs St. Joseph's College (BC)

Bishop's College vs Royal College (BC)

Wesley College vs Methodist College (WC)

S. Thomas' College vs St. Bridget's Convent (STC)

Scotland wins bid to host WSDC 2011

Kia ora everyone.

 

The postal ballot recently held among WSDC mermber nations has now closed.

 

36 of the 42 member nations voted.

Ballots were received from the following nations; Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Korean Republic, Kuwait, Lithuania, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Romania, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey

United States, Wales.

 

The resolution on which member nations voted was as follows:

That the Scottish Schools International Debating Council shall host the World Schools Debating Championships in Dundee, Scotland, from 16 to 26 August 2011.

 

I am pleased to announce that the resolution was passed 36-0, in other words unanimously. WSDC 2011 will be held in Scotland.

 

Congratulations to Irene McGrath and her organizing committee who have worked hard to present a professional bid, have accommodated our requests for changes and who are enthusiastic about hosting us.

 

Kind regards to  you all.

 

Claire Ryan

Chairperson

Executive Committee, WSDC Ltd 

The initial Scotland bid document can be found here

Rev Dr Don Stanley Abeysekara Challenge Shield 2008

The first rounds of the above tournament (Stanabs) were held in the month of February under the endorsement of the Debaters' Council.

In addition to the senior debates, as held in previous years, the unique concept of an U14 tournament was also added this year with the

 hope of culminating an interest in Debating at an early age amongst schools.

The Grand Finals of Stanabs will be held in the month of May. 

Junior Finals : Bishop's College vs S. Thomas' College

Senior Finals : Bishop's College vs Colombo International School

Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League - Week 03 - Metho takes honors at home

Methodist College beat St. Bridget's Convent in their 1st Round League encounter at Colombo 03 today. The result was as follows

Methodist College vs St. Bridget's Convent 3-0 - (Methodist College)

(Motion : This House believes that energy security is a legitimate reason for military action)

Matchups for next weekend:

Royal College vs S. Thomas' College (RC)

Wesley College vs St. Bridget's Convent (WC)

Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League - Week 03 - STC vs SJC debate postponed

The 1st round debate between S.Thomas' College and St. Joseph's College scheduled for 18th April has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. A new date will be scheduled shortly.

NMP's retained

S. Thomas' College retained the Dr. N. M Perera memorial challenge trophy beating Royal College in a closely contested Final on the 17th of April. The adjudicators split 3-2 in awarding the victory to S. Thomas'. Prawira Saldin was adjudged the best speaker at the competition.

The Dr. N. M Perera memorial challenge trophy was organized for the 19th time this year by a DC member school, Ananda College. The tournament is however,not endorsed by the Debaters' Council.

It is also noteworthy that the tournament has been won by S. Thomas' College 7 times over its 19 year history.

Dr. N.M Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy

The Grand Final of the Dr. N.M Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy (NMP's) organized by Ananda College will be held on Friday, 17th April commencing at 4.00 p.m at Ananda College. Traditional rivals S. Thomas' College and Royal College will battle it out for the prestigious trophy.

The NMP's is an annual event organized by Ananda College in the traditional 4 man Oxford Style format. All debates are on prepared motions. The Competition is the oldest remaining annual interschool tournament in the country. However, it is not a DC approved tournament.

S. Thomas' College will look to retain the trophy which they won last year while Royal College will attempt to gain the trophy for the first time in over a decade.

The Top Speakers for the year

The official speaker tab for the 04th Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship organized by the Moot Court & Debating Society of the University of Colombo is as above. The top 20 ranked Debaters qualifying under the age requirement will be eligible to take part at the selection workshops organized by the Debaters' Council to select the Sri Lanka Schools Team for WSDC 2010.

Please note that only the top 40 speakers have been ranked to avoid heartbreak for those who ended up closer to the end of the line

New additions to the DC Family

The Board of Directors met recently to approve the following institutions as Full members of the Debaters' Council.

Methodist College (upgraded from Associate membership)

Musaeus College

Holy Family Convent (subject to conditions)

We welcome the above instituitions to the Council and hope that they will add more color and competition to the Sri Lankan Debating fraternity

Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League - Week 02 - Royal Provide first walkover

Royal College provided a walkover to St. Bridget's Convent on account of last Saturday's debate due to unavoidable circumstances. St. Bridget's Convent receives the point by default while Royal College will now commence from -1 points.

The Debates for this weekend are as follows

S. Thomas' College vs St. Joseph's College (STC)

Methodist College vs St. Bridget's Convent (MC)

Workshop for Visakhians

The Debaters' Council conducted an introductory workshop on Debating for the girls of Visakha Vidyalaya on the 6th of April. The workshop was organized by the Old Girls Association of Visakha Vidyalaya. The session was conducted by Mr. Gehan Gunatilleke and Mr. Sachintha Dias. 

The event well attended and was received gratefully by those present. 

SJC vs WC 1st round debate postponed

The 1st round debate between St. Joseph's College and Wesley College scheduled for 11th April has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. A new date will be scheduled shortly.

The journey to WSDC 2010 commences

Selection workshops for WSDC 2010 commenced today at St. Joseph's College. 8 Workshops will be held over a period of 6 weeks before the final selections are made.

We are open to external applications to participate till the 10th of April 2009.

League off to a flier - mixed results at Boyd Place

The Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League got off to an eventful start with the first two debates yielding mixed results for hosts Bishop's College.

Bishop's College vs Methodist College - 3-0 (Bishop's College)

(Motion : THB in the secular state)

Bishop's College vs St. Bridget's Convent - 0-3 (St. Bridget's Convent)

(Motion : THW tour Pakistan "Impromptu")

The Adjudicators for the former were Mr. Gehan Gunatilleke, Mr. Nishantha De Silva & Ms. Shehani Gomes while the Adjudicators for the latter were Mr. Gehan Gunatilleke, Mr. Nishantha De Silva & Mr. Sachintha Dias.

Matchups for Next Weekend

St. Joseph's College vs Wesley College (SJC)

Royal College vs St. Bridget's Convent (RC)

Holy Land Open 2009

Dear friends,

We are happy to announce the dates for the Holy Land Open 2009!

The opening party will be the evening of Thursday, June 4th and the closing party will be the evening of Sunday, June 7th.

Thursday June 4th will also be a day of workshops. These workshops will be free for anyone registered as a participant (debater or adjudicator) of the Holy Land Open.

So... reserve the dates! Book your flights! And keep checking the group for further updates! We'll have the final registration fee and more details posted within the next week or so.

Make sure all your debating friends know and join this group to stay updated.

All the best and please be in touch if you have any questions,

Hadar Radzinski and Hayah Eichler
Co-Conveners
Holy Land Open 2009
info@holylandopen.org

More information on the tournament can be found here

International Debating Tournament Heart of Europe 2009

To whom it may concern
On behalf of The Debating Club Olomouc and as the chief organizer of the Heart of Europe 2009 I am delighted to invite teams from all countries to come to Olomouc, Czech Republic for Heart of Europe 2009 which is going to take place from 16^th-21^st August 2008 (provisional schedule below).
Heart of Europe is a world-style debating tournament opened for debaters of high schools, which on its previous occasions was extremely successful and very popular among its participants. Despite some difficulties in past years the tournament was not regularly organized but last year we returned to the tradition of hosting this fabulous event. Tournament has eight rounds. The motions are prepared and impromptu.
I believe that you will appreciate the value of debating and the many skills it develops in young people, the need to research sophisticated topics of politics, science or other important matters of current interest, to work together as a team to develop and prepare their case, and to understand both sides of an argument which helps students to understand that alternative points of view are one of the main parts and the greatest strengths of a democracy.
As for the prices we are yet in proceeding with sponsors but under any circumstances the fees should not exceed 100? per debater and 50? per judge (which includes six-day stay, most of the meals, transport all over the place and international friend ship night)
Please, let us know if you are interested in coming as a debater or an adjudicator, with a team (or more) BY 15^th April 2009 at E-mail address heartofeurope2009@gmail.com . There are other newsletters to be distributed soon, with information about events, registration and other important matters and updates.
 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Jakub Kadlec

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Chief organizer

Selection Workshops for World Schools Debating Championships 2010, Doha Qatar

The World Schools Debating Championships 2010 will be held in February 2010 in Doha, Qatar. 

Applications to participate at selection workshops will be accepted till the 10th of April 2009. Please apply with a CV outlining your Debating achievements along with your DOB and contact details before the above date to our email address at debaterscouncil@gmail.com. You will be notified by the selection panel on the 11th of April 2009 as to whether you will be allowed to attend the Workshops.

Selections by the panel are subject to approval by the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka

Follow your favorite school during the League right here

The League will be worked off with the first debate between Bishop's College and Methodist College on the 4th of April 2009.

This blog will be updated regularly with results and current standings within the league. 

Mr. Sachintha Dias will be the Convenor of the tournament and Mr. Gehan Gunatilleke will be the Chief Adjudicator.

Best of luck to the participating teams

Schedule for Asian Alliance Insurance DC Schools League 2009

The following is a tentative schedule for the Debates. Those highlighted in yellow are yet to be confirmed

Debating Workshop organized by Wesley College

A workshop for Schools on the World Schools Debating style was organized by Wesley College on the 25th of March 2009. More information can be found here

World Schools Debating Championships 2009

The 2009 edition of the World Schools Debating Championships was held in Athens, Greece from the 9th to 19th of February. Sri Lanka was represented at the tournament by the following

Prawira Saldin - Captain

David Rajasingham

Sandaruwani De Silva

Themal Ellawela

Vinura Ladduwahetty

Coach - Mr. Sachintha Dias

The Debaters performed beyond expectations at the Championships being ranked 17th out of a total of 40 teams. However since only the top 16 qualify for the Octo Finals, the team fell hearbreakingly close to breaking at the championships for the 1st time. The team of 5 beat countries in the likes of Slovenia, Mexico, India and Japan whilst losing creditably to Canada, Netherlands, Greece and Wales. 

Sri Lanka was also placed 4th on the tab of English as a Second Language (ESL) countries. 

Special commendation is due to David, Prawira and Sandaruwani who were ranked 54th, 56th and 62nd in the overall individual speaker tab and 10th, 11th and 13th in the ESL tab respectively.

Kudos to all concerned!