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)