Wesley down Joes convincingly

Wesley College downed St. Joseph's College convincingly at an Impromptu debate held at the latter venue on Saturday. The debate was awarded unanimously to Wesley College but was held to be a good one.

The motion for debate was "THBT tax defaulters should be disenfranchised"

Wesley College and Ladies' College to carry the Sri Lankan flag

Teams from Wesley College and Ladies' College will participate at the 2nd annual Asian Schools Debating Championships to be held in Manila, Philippines from the 05th to the 09th of September 2010. We wish the schools best of luck at the championships.

It must be noted that 3 teams from Ladies' College participated at last year's edition with the A team creditably reaching the quarter finals

DC Schools League 2010 - Results Update

S. Thomas' College vs Ladies' College

Motion: TH Supports an upper house in the Sri Lankan legislature
Venue: S. Thomas' College
Debate type: Prepared
Result: STC bt LC (2:1)

S. Thomas' College vs Ladies' College

Motion: THW require all fast food restaurants to meet a minimum nutritional standard
Venue: Ladies' College
Debate type: Impromptu
Result: STC bt LC (2:1)

Colombo International School vs Bishop's College

Motion: THW abolish inheritance
Venue: Bishop's College
Debate Type: Prepared
Result: CIS bt BC (3:0)

Ladies' College vs Colombo International School

Motion: THW ban the Burqa in public
Venue: Ladies' College
Debate Type: Impromptu
Result: CIS bt LC (3:0)

St. Joseph's College vs Bishop's College

Motion: THBT politicians should not be allowed to own media companies
Venue: St. Joseph's College
Debate Type: Impromptu
Result: SJC bt BC (3:0)

St. Joseph's College vs Ladies' College

Motion: THBT the charges against Goldman Sachs should be dropped due to the failures of the State as Regulator
Venue: St. Joseph's College
Debate Type: Prepared
Result: LC bt SJC (3:0)

Wesley College vs Ladies' College

Motion: THW place caps on election spending
Venue: Wesley College
Debate Type: Impromptu
Result: LC bt Wesley (3:0)

Colombo International School vs St. Joseph's College

Motion: THW use the education system to instill moral norms in children beyond mere obedience to the law
Venue: St. Joseph's College
Debate Type: Impromptu
Result: CIS bt SJC (3:0)

DC Schools League - Week 10 - LC falter for the first time

Week 10 of the 2nd annual DC Schools' League saw Ladies College losing their first debate of the season going down to St. Joseph's College in a hard fought close debate at Flower Road.

The hosts proposed the motion "THW financially incentivize both interfaith & interethnic marriages". The debate was awarded on a split decision.

DC Schools League - Week 09 - STC bounce back

S. Thomas' College bounced back from a double defeat at the hands of Colombo International School 2 weeks ago to beat St. Joseph's College on a convincing unanimous victory.

The debate was held at S. Thomas' with the hosts proposing the motion "THW ban depictions of cruelty to animals"

EurOpen 2010 Stuttgart Debating Tournament

Dear global debating community!

We hereby announce and invite you to our this year's EurOpen 2010 Open International Debating Championship in Stuttgart and Tubingen!

This tournament will take place in World Schools Format from

SAT 6th - SAT 13th NOVEMBER 2010.

We expect a mix of many international teams, as well as local school teams to spend six days of good debates, sightseeing and plain fun here in the southwest of Germany.

--Team size and composition--

Due to room restrictions at schools we need to cap the number of teams at 40. We're aiming at 15 local teams and 25 openings for teams who need accommodation.
If you are a local team, we'd like you to sign up only if it is possible for you to name two judges, so that you can provide at least one judge on each tournament day. If this is not in any way possible, please contact us prior to signup.
International teams (or German teams who need accommodation) need to bring at least one judge. This can also be the coach.
Number of speakers for both groups is a maximum of six.

--Accommodation and fees--

All international teams will be accommodated in one or two hostels, depending on the number of signups. If you team needs accommodation, we will need roughly 200EUR from each of your team members. Unfortunately, we cannot be more precise about that as of yet. These costs cover all transportation, as well as room and board. Part fee may vary with financial support and sponsoring but should not exceed this value.
If you are 'local' enough to spend the nights elsewhere, we'd like you to pay 25EUR administration fee per participant.

--Registration--

...is now open and ends on 30th SEPTEMBER 2010. This deadline will be final, we're afraid, since we'll publish the draw right afterwards. We have created a webpage through which you can register your team.

www.europen2010.com

--Schedule--

A tentative schedule can be found on our webpage as well.

www.europen2010.com

--Motions--

There will be eight preliminary rounds, from which FIVE will be prepared. All final rounds are impromptus. Prep time for the final is 2 hours.


This House...

1) would give foreigners domiciled in a country the right to vote in that country's general elections
2) would scrap the euro
3) would repatriate cultural artefacts
4) would abolish aid to Third World countries
5) would support measures to allow oil drilling in ecologically sensitive areas.

The motions can also be found here:

www.europen2010.com

--What else?--

That is up to you. If you have any questions whatsoever, do not hesitate to ask us:

David Whitehead (convenor) whitehead@schoolsdebate.de
Christopher Sanchez (convenor) chris.sanchez@gmx.de
Timo Schwander (registration and webpage) timo@schwander-online.de
Carmen Belafi (accommodation) carmen.belafi@web.de
Sabine Koole (registration) sabinekoole@web.de

There are many more to help us, but they'll have to wait for you to sign up and get the tournament started ;) So what are you waiting for?

Also visit our society's webpage here: www.schoolsdebate.de

We've used the WSDC contacts to create this e-mail list. If you want to be off our distribution list, please let us know.

Hoping to see you all soon here with us in Stuttgart and Tubingen!
David, Chris, Timo, Carmen and Sabine

DC Schools League - Schools penalized

Colombo International School and D. S Senanayake College have been penalized 1 point each for the offense of fielding a debater outside of the registered number. The Chief Adjudicator, having perused submissions made by both parties felt that this was a sufficient punishment for the offense concerned. However a stern warning has been issued to both schools regarding any future violations which could result in suspension of their teams from further participation in the tournament

DC Schools League - Points table - Metho lead, LC and CIS standout

20 debates of the DC Schools League 2010 have been completed thus far and the following are the standings at the end of the same.

Methodist College, having completed a majority of their debates lead the table with 4 wins and 14 points. However, with other teams completing further debates the chart toppers are expected to slide down the table in coming weeks. However the standouts have been Colombo International School whose recent double against S. Thomas' College puts them at 2nd place and Ladies' College who have enjoyed an unbeaten run thus far this year.

Defending champions Wesley College and last year's runner up Bishop's College have not had a good outing thus far. The 2 schools currently hold the 6th and 7 places on the table.

However, with 36 more debates to go, the tournament still remains very much open. All eyes will be on whether Ladies' College can further their unbeaten run and whether schools in the middle of the table can catch up to the leaders. The coming weeks promise to be an exciting time for the League.

DC Schools League 2010 - Week 08 - CIS deal double blow to STC

Colombo International School proved that they are serious contenders for the championships by beating S. Thomas' College twice over the weekend. Both debates were held in Mount Lavinia.

In the first of the two debates,CIS successfully opposed the motion "THW ban crossovers in parliament." The debate was carried unanimously on a 1 point margin.

The impromptu leg saw a closer tussle with the visitors taking the debate on a split decision. The motion for the same was "THBT all serious crimes should be trialled by jury."

Asian Schools Debating Championships - Letter of invitation

Dear Asian Debate Community,

Now in its 2nd year, the Asian Schools Debate Championship is once again inviting you to be a part of this prestigious competition.

What is ASDC, you may ask? (OMG. What rock have you been living under? Just kidding!) Here are 7 Reasons Why You Must Join ASDC:


1. It is the by far LARGEST and most PRESTIGIOUS Asian high school debate tournament, gathering more than 300 students from the region.



ASDC will invite and welcome 80 teams composed of high school debaters and college adjudicators alike. No other competition for high school students in Asia convenes as much as ASDC does. During last year’s ASDC, institutions from countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea and the Philippines came to grace the competition. This year, we’re expecting more countries and more teams to join the fastest growing tournament for the Asian high school circuit.



2. It is an avenue for CULTURAL EXCHANGE as it pools together young individuals with different traditions and diverse perspectives.



ASDC is not all tournament and debate. With 3 social events: The Opening Dinner, Break Night and Championship Dinner, the tournament gives all debaters and adjudicators a chance to interact with each other in a venue outside of debate. There will, in fact, be one occasion where we will enjoin everyone to come in their national costumes and get to know the different colors of Asia.



3. It fosters SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS and INTELLECTUAL DISCOURSE amongst the youth today.



ASDC will take on the Asian Parliamentary Format, a 3-on-3 debate where teams are given 30 minutes to prepare on motions that will be announced impromptu. Motions will be created by the Adjudication Core and will range from topics such as the Environment, to Economics, to Foreign Policy and Pop Culture. This meeting of the minds fosters social awareness and social transformation amongst the youth of Asia.



4. It prides itself with top-notch ADJUDICATION.



The 2010 ASDC Adjudication Core will be headed by Carlito Reyes II (DLSU, Philippines), a national semi-finalist and hailed one of the best speakers in Asia in the recently concluded Asians BP. Along with him are the following Deputy Chief Adjudicators:



Skanda Prasad (MSRIT, India)

Zheng Bo (China)

Meor Alif (IIU, Malaysia)

Sadhana Rai (NUS, Singapore)



In the spirit of a diverse adjudication pool, ASDC will be subsidizing 10 international adjudicators’ registration fee. Interested adjudicators may apply by submitting their Curriculum Vitae to the Adjudication Core through e-mail. CVs may be sent to asianschoolsdebatec hampionship@ yahoo.com, with the subject APPLICATION FOR ADJUDICATION SUBSIDY- , .



The adjudication rule for this competition is different from other tournaments. For every 3 teams that an institution wishes to send, the contingent is required 1 adjudicator. Any team in excess of 3 teams will require 1 additional adjudicator per team.

5. It is organized by a WORLD-CLASS ORGANIZATION adept in hosting both national and global tournaments and competitions.



ASDC is brought to you by the La Salle Debate Society (LSDS). LSDS has hosted various national tournaments in the past years, as well as earning rights to host international tournaments in the future. The National Asian Schools Debate Championship, a national Asian tournament for high schools, was the birthplace for the idea to host a larger tournament, thus giving birth to the first ever Asian Schools Debate Championship (ASDC). LSDS also won the right to host the 2011-2012 World Universities Debate Championship, winning the bid against Harthouse, from Canada.



6. It gives you a taste of Filipino culture and hospitality while getting your money’s worth.



Registration Fee is set at PHP 4,000 (USD 90) for Stay-out Delegates while PHP 9,000 (USD 200) for Stay-in Delegates. Your registration fee covers Lunch for all days, Food during Social events and tournament kits. If your institution is a Stay-in Delegation, you registration covers all of the above including Accommodations for 5 days in at least a 3-star hotel, Breakfast on all days of the competition and Dinner for days without Social events.



7. It gives you the voice to make this competition your own.



This is the last year De La Salle University and the La Salle Debate Society will be hosting ASDC because we’re putting the hosting of ASDC up for bids. This year, the Organizing Committee is hosting the first ever Asian Schools Council (ASC), where every institution is given a voice to air out their concerns on the various aspects of the competition and suggestions to improve the tournament in the future. Institutions interested to bid will also be invited to present their intentions for the tournament.



We’re excited about hosting you this September 7-11, 2010 in De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. So, what are you waiting for? Log on to www.asdc2010. com and register your institution now! REGISTRATION IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN! Slots are filling up fast so get on clicking!


Attached are the registration details and schedule the we will follow for the entire process.


WE HOPE TO SEE YOU IN MANILA SOON! Spread the word. ANIMO LA SALLE!

Crystal Anne J. Francisco
"Future President of the Philippines"
Convenor, 2nd Asian Schools Debate Championship
BS in Applied Economics, De La Salle University

DC Schools League - Week 07 - LC down CIS

Ladies' College continued their winning streak in DC Schools' League 2010 beating Colombo International School on a split decision. The motion for debate was "THBT the United States has a just case in international law to invade Pakistan". The debate was held at Flower Road

DC Schools League - Week 06 - A Marathon of debates

Week 06 of the DC Schools League saw 5 debates in all involving 7 of the 8 participating schools.

Ladies' College taking on Methodist College at a prepared debate in Colombo 03, beat their hosts in a very close debate on a split decision. The motion for the debate was "THBT a celibate priest is an unhappy priest"

In a separate 2nd round debate, Methodist College beat visitors Bishop's College convincingly proposing the motion "THW criminalise an extreme lack of hygiene"

Colombo International School and Wesley College completed both their rounds on the same day with both debates being held at the latter school. Both teams shared the pie with CIS beating their hosts in the prepared round on the motion "THBT net neutrality should be imposed on ISPs" and Wesley College returning the favor on the impromptu motion "THW criminalise an extreme lack of hygiene"

In the final debate of the week St. Joseph's College beat D. S Senanayake College convincingly opposing the motion "THB all professional sporting leagues should have wage caps for their athletes". The debate was held at D. S Senanayake College

DC Schools League - Week 05 - CIS, LC triumph

The concluded week saw two debates in the Debaters' Council Schools League 2010.

Ladies' College completed a comfortable double against traditional rivals Bishop's College at Boyd Place yesterday beating the latter by a 5 point margin. The girls from Colombo 07 opposed the motion 'THW ban the physical punishment of children by parents'.

Colombo International School entered the fray this week on a successful note by beating St. Joseph's College in a first round debate held at Maradana on the same day. SJC proposed the motion "THBT South American countries should nationalize their natural resources". The debate was decided on a 1 point margin but was held by the adjudicators as a poor one

DC Schools League - Week 04 - SJC, LC and Metho record wins

Week 04 of the DC Schools League 2010 saw 3 debates with 6 of the 8 teams taking part.

In the first debate, SJC taking on D. S Senanayake College at home, beat the visitors by a comfortable 5 point margin proposing the motion "THW scrap the National List when electing the legislature."

Ladies' College in their first debate of the season beat traditional rivals Bishop's College in a separate debate held at Flower Road. The hosts proposed the motion "THBT the ideal of indivisible human rights is not suited to developing nations"

Methodist College surprised tournament favorites Wesley College beating them at a very close debate. The debate was held to be generally poor. The motion for debate was "TH supports a ban on the use of runway models below a healthy BMI"

DC Schools' League - Week 03 - Metho slide further

S. Thomas' College avenged their first round defeat against Methodist College beating the latter in a prepared debate over the weekend. The hosts proposed the motion "TH supports a federal Sri Lanka" beating their opponents with a close margin.

In a separate debate Bishop's College opened their account beating the same opponents by a clearer margin. They proposed the motion "THBT EU-style regional economic integration is detrimental to the world economy"

Next week's debates will see Ladies' College and St. Joseph's College in action for the first time. The former will host traditional rivals Bishop's College in a prepared debate at home.

DC Schools League - Week 02 - Metho pegged back, STC DS & Wesley open accounts

Week 02 of the 2nd DC Schools League 2010 saw 3 debates involving 5 of the participating teams.

Methodist College, participating in two of the three debates lost their early advantage gained last week, losing both debates on rather clear margins.

In the first of the two debates, D. S Senanayake College avenged last week's defeat by beating the guests by a unanimous margin of 5 points. They proposed the motion "THW prosecute Robert Mugabe for crimes against humanity."

In the second debate, Wesley College beat their their guests on a split decision proposing the motion "THW abolish Sri Lanka's customary laws in favour of a uniform civil code". The debate was unanimously held to be a poor one.

In a separate debate at Mount Lavinia, S. Thomas' College opened their account beating last year's runner up Bishop's College by a 4 point margin. STC proposed the motion "THBT western liberal countries have a moral duty to spread democracy across the world using force where necessary"

DC Schools League 2010 - Metho off to a flier

The 2nd edition of the Debaters' Council Schools League got underway at Kollupitiya on Saturday with Methodist College taking on S. Thomas' College and D. S Senanayake College at home in impromptu debates.

At the first debate, Methodist College beat S. Thomas' College by a 2 point margin proposing the motion THBT Supreme Court Judges should be elected. At the second, the hosts beat D. S Senanayake College by a clearer 4 point margin proposing the motion THW compel priests to divulge the details of confessionals in criminal trials.

The successful double means that Methodist College has reaped first advantage at this year's league. All bodes well for a competitive tournament to come.

The detailed results are as follows

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

Follow your favorite team at the League right here

DC Schools League 2010 will be worked off on the 15th of May 2010 at Methodist College. The finalized schedule will be uploaded no sooner the teams iron out certain complications.

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

The details of the debates on the 15th are as follows

Methodist College vs S. Thomas' College (MC - 15th May 10 a.m)
Methodist College vs D. S Senanayake College (MC - 15th May 3 p.m)

Preview to the Debaters' Council Schools League 2010

The Debaters' Council Schools League is proud to announce the launch of the 2nd edition of DC Schools English Debating League. The tournament will commence on the 15th of May 2010 and run up till the 31st of October this year. A total of 56 first round debates will held with all 8 participating teams debating each other twice on a 'home and away' system.

The 8 participating teams at this year's competition are as follows:

Wesley College
Bishop's College
St. Joseph's College
S. Thomas' College
Ladies' College
Methodist College
D. S Senanayake College
Colombo International School

The Co-Convenors for the tournament will be Mr. David Rajasingham and Mr. Michael Mendis while the Chief Adjudicator will be Mr. Rehan Almeida


Defending Champions and reigning champs of the Sri Lanka Schools Debating circuit Wesley College enter the competition as hot favorites again this year. However 14 debates per school means that the tournament is wide open for all teams to make it their own.

Last year's runner-up and the leader at group stage, Bishop's College enter the tournament with a fairly new team this year. This element of surprise could prove vital in their chances at DC Schools League 2010.

3rd & 4th Place holders at DC Schools League 2009, St. Joseph's College and S. Thomas' College will also enter the tournament with much anticipation. Both teams retain some big names from last year with a good blend of new comers as well.

Methodist College and Colombo International School may be the dark horses this year. Both schools have exhibited much potential at recent tournaments and are capable of rolling out incredible performances.

New entrants this year, Ladies' College and D. S Senanayake College have also shown much potential and will be keen to make an impression in the tournament both having been out of the debating circuit for a while. Ladies' College bring international debating experience to the tournament, after having participated at last year's Asian Schools Debating Championship.

All in all, DC Schools League 2010 promises to be a nail biting affair. Best of luck to the 8 participating teams.

Let the debates begin!

Changing of the Guard

Subsequent to the retirement of Mr. Deshan Pushparajah from the Chairmanship of the Debaters' Council, the Board of Directors of the council met recently and unanimously resolved that Mr. Anisha Yasaratne be appointed the Chairman of the Council. This appointment will however be subject to confirmation at the Annual General Meeting of the Charity to be held shortly.

Mr. Yasaratne is a longstanding stalwart of the Debaters' Council having been part of its founding membership. He is a past president of the Moot Court and Debating Society of the University of Colombo and has taken part in many international tournaments including the World Universities Debating Championship.

We wish him well for the coming year