The Inaugural DC Maverick - Open Singles!!

The Debaters' Council of Sri Lanka wishes to invite you for the Inaugural DC Maverick (Open Singles) - The DC's newest and most innovative venture yet- held on the 06th and 07th of February 2010 at the Law Faculty premises of the University of Colombo.

This tournament defers greatly from all past open tournaments organized and we assure you that things just keep getting spicier.

Ever wondered how it would be to judge a debate? Ever wondered how it would be to be judged by a school debater? Ever wonder how it would be if debaters started to judging adjudicators? Ever wonder how it would be to debate with a novice/guru? Well here's your chance to find answers to all your questions in a matter of a mere 2 days.

The DC Maverick will defer from standard tournaments in the following ways.

· Forget teams. All entries are on an individual basis. [Rule 1]
· Its all random. Positions in teams of 2 or as adjudicators are assigned randomly for BP style debates (4 teams per debate). Based on the draw you could either end up debating or judging. [Rules 3, 9]
· Everybody scores everybody. Even the debaters mark the judges based on their adjudication speech. [Rules 11]
· The best break and pick their partner. After 3 prelim rounds, the top 14 scorers break and may choose to pick a partner from outside the top 8 and debate, or to adjudicate. Teams are fixed from this point and go on to the Semi Finals and Grand Final. [Rules 13, 14, 16, 20]

The goals of the tournament are:

· opportunity for older debaters to debate instead of just judging
· opportunity for school debaters to debate with past gurus
· opportunity for school debaters to gain adjudication experience and also to get a chance to judge people who are constantly judging them
· a chance for experienced debaters to debate in teams/judge with newer debaters and possibly pass on some practical training
· to break the monotony of the same teams going around in the same tournament forma

Another spicy twist will be that the format of debate will be of the purest British Parliamentary style. Wondering what that is? It's a 4 team debate. Two proposition teams, two opposition teams. Don't know what that is? We'll teach you on opening day.

We encourage all member schools, universities and other past debaters to participate at this event as it will be a one of a kind experience to all participants concerned. Past debaters can have a great time reliving the 'old days', whilst School Debaters will gain much in the form of adjudication experience as well as debating with some of the best debaters in the country.

So please do join us this weekend for an opportunity to meet and debate with past and present debaters in an informal atmosphere. No hassle of finding team mates, just come along and we'll do the needful. If you wish to just come and watch, you're more than welcome. Even if you only want to heckle and make a nuisance of yourself, we'll be there to encourage you further.

There is however something slightly tedious you must do. You must register! We already have high demand for participation from debaters both past and present, but due to resource constraints we may not be able to accommodate all registrations. Hence please be kind enough to send in your registrations to Anisha at anishay@gmail.com by the 30th of January 2010 to avoid disappointment. Registrations need to include your name, age, institution (if applicable) and a short writeup detailing your past debating experience. You can also contact Anisha on 0777 268789 for further details about the tournament.

Please be there to support debating in Sri Lanka!