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1 January 2011

Some info from Worlds Council

Here is a brief summary of some of the main decisions at the World Debating Council meeting in Botswana.

Berlin won the right to host Worlds in 2013 defeating Zagreb 87-9 in the final vote.

Progress report from De La Salle shows Manilla Worlds 2012 on track and council ratified their hosting of the tournament.

The final financial report from Koc WUDC 2010 showed a 100,000 euro debt. All now paid. Warning to future tournaments to be careful of spending on hotel.
Lengthy and at times hostile discussion on the financial situation with Botswana WUDC 2011.  They were requested to provide a more detailed financial report than the one originally presented.  There were also complaints about the Visa situation, Socials, Security etc.

There was some discussion on the fact that 3 of the motions so far were also used in the Sydney Mini (R9 was from the final there) and Melbourne Mini tournaments (two motions were used there) earlier this year.  A motion was passed that at future Worlds the adjudication team should avoid setting motions that have already been used in one major competition in one region.

The proposal to expand the break to include all teams on 18 points was discussed and a decision postponed until a second meeting on 2nd January.

The discussion on reforming the registration process was shelved to next year

Council voted to support an initiative to hold an off shoot of WUDC in espanol in Caracas, Venezuela later in 2011.  I'm sure more details of this will be circulated.

Future adjudication teams are to disclose the criterial for awarding subsidy to judges to attent Worlds. This to be provided at the bid defense the year before and also reported on at council during the tournament.

Thanks to @jozefthenu for the updates from council.

20 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:14 pm

    So will the Spainish be excluded from ESL/EFL if they have their own category?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:16 pm

    Latest from twitter feed sums up my thoughts:
    "I think the break should be expanded to the number of teams at the tournament. it's about making ppl feel good right? #wudc"

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:25 pm

    More UK and Irish teams broke than Aussie teams. Did anyone accuse the UK DCA of leaking the motions to their teams? What happened at council today was a just sore losers who missed the break.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Colm just a minor correction:

    The round 9 motion was (apparently - I haven't seen it) similarly worded to one I set for the final of Sydney Mini (i.e. only 4 teams debated it). The other two motions in question were set for Melbourne Mini.

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  5. Hi Steve,
    Thanks for the clarification. I have corrected the post.

    Colm

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  6. We are to discuss the exact break expansion proposal tomorrow.

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  7. Anonymous11:58 pm

    Ah, yes, the UK DCA. So given James Dray was replaced, that'd be the Europe DCA, Anat Gelber of... er... Israel leaking to UK & Irish teams then? Well done, you've clearly sussed their cunning plan.

    No-one has publicly said who raised this issue at Council, but I imagine given it was the Sydney/Melbourne Minis it was probably someone from the region.

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  8. Anonymous12:03 am

    Anat Gelber. I'd forgotten about that. I guess there's a DCA as good as Masako this year after all.

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  9. Hi Anna,
    I have made that correction. Thanks for the clarification.

    Anonyous (all),
    Play nice with the Anonymous tool or it'll be taken away again.

    Colm

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous12:13 am

    Why was James Dray replaced?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:14 am

    I'm sorry, but wtf? Sam Block is gone as DCA now too? Right after he participated in the decisions on who gets to be DCA's? Does someone want to make a fist of explaining the timing of all this?

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  12. Can Okar7:20 am

    Must stay calm...

    Or: why is that whoever plays around with the Anonymous tool on this website starts writing like a complete idiot? If I was in prop on that anonymity motion, I would just read comments from here for seven minutes.

    Anat is one of the finest debaters and judges that Europe has ever produced. I'm talking DCA of Euros, CA of numerous competitions across Europe, best ESL speaker at numerous Worlds and Euros and above everything, just a brilliant person who runs things beautifully and gains the confidence of her peers.

    So go away, you little, untalented, never-going-to-amount-to-anything, backwards child.

    Or, if you're going to snipe, be an adult about it and post your name and reasons. Otherwise, you are about as valuable to the debating community as going mute.

    To the other Anonymous, I'm sure Sam is still CA next year. Other people are asking about James Dray. These are different people. I stand to be corrected of course if Sam has stepped aside for whatever reason.

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  13. Anonymous7:38 am

    People's names don't relate to the merit of their arguments. I could be Adolf Hitler, and it wouldn't matter. Somehow I've avoided making a personal attack though.

    I'm sure Anat is a great guy. Just to clarify though, he is one of the 'finest debaters Europe has ever produced'? And his results at IV's back this up of course, like, um, the fact he was best ESL speaker? That seems a very bold claim.

    Btw, I believe the Sam Block thing is from here:
    http://twitter.com/debating

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  14. Can Okar8:29 am

    Oh dear. You might have just given away more that you thought there - that you don't trust anyone who has a name that sounds foriegn perhaps?

    Anat is a woman. She's broken at Euros in the Open break and yes, has also gained every ESL title going. She was my DCA at Euros and she has CA'd me at other tournaments. The motions she sets are interesting and she is formidable in A-team discussions. She is one of the best debaters in all senses (speaking, adjudicating, organising, theorising) to come out of our region

    But look, I'm going to have to stop justifying these things to you because quite clearly you have no idea what you're talking about. I bet you you have no idea what I've done in debating and just sense that with my foreign name, I must be terrible. So be it - good luck with that approach...

    And again, you've proven your intelligence with that link which quite clearly states that Doug will "succeed" Sam. This means that Sam will be CA in 2012 and Doug will be CA in 2013. After a couple of years of Oxford judges on panels, Cambridge are unsurprisingly pleased about this!

    As for Anonymous posting - yes, yes, the argument not the man and all that. I agree with you that it may be that if your arguments (such as they are) had any merit, it would not matter who you are. Having said that, your arguments have no merit. Moreover, read some Weber. Sometimes having a name next to a view gives it authority. Even if that were not the case, seeing that a person has insufficient confidence in their views to attach those views in perpetuity to their name similarly undermines that authority. Given that you won't be shot by an oppressive regime for airing your views, I'm guessing this is because you are a coward and bitter little person.

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  15. "We're proud and delighted that Doug Cochran will succeed Sam Block - also a Cambridge debater - as a Chief Adjudicator of #WUDC in 2013"

    means that Sam and Lucy will be CA in 2012, Doug and Sharmilla in 2013

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous10:22 am

    I don't know Anat, I never claimed I did (I thought my remarks made that pretty clear, like saying I would take your word they were a great person). But their results at IV's do not support your claim, and that's what I looked up before posting. When I hear someone is one of the finest debaters to ever come out of Europe, I don't expect to see someone's tabbing 71st (06), 224th (04) & 156th (02) at Worlds, with team finishes of 92nd, 91st and 75th. Why don't her results support the claim she is one of the finest debaters to come out of Europe? (notice, I used the word debater, which is the key claim of yours I'm refuting). If how you actually do at tournaments is immaterial to whether you're a great debater, then why bother even pretending credentials matter?

    My bad on Sam though. Misread it, it's very late here.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:26 am

    I looked up other IV's too btw. I don't see anything which justifies your claim, but if you want to provide your expert opinion on her CV, I'm all ears.

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  18. I was one of the people who encouraged Anat to apply for the DCA position. She is very well qualified and capable for the role. Anonymous clearly has no knowledge of Anat or her record as a debater and judge. He is just trolling and I recommend people dont rise to the bait.

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  19. Anonymous2:42 pm

    i know there has been many comments going on, but just to ask you a simple question, how does the adj core i.e. along with CA and DCA,s determine which judges are to break.

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  20. You will find more info on the judge break process at http://worlddebating.blogspot.com/2008/01/comment-on-judge-break.html

    ReplyDelete

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