NZ Impromptu Debating Champs results

The New Zealand Universities' Impromptu Debating Champs were held recently in Wellington.

Officers' Cup Winners: Victoria University of Wellington A (Asher Emanuel & Udayan Mukherjee)

Runners-Up: University of Auckland A (Stephanie Thompson & Ben Milsom)

Dame Cath Tizard Cup for Best Speaker: Stephanie Thompson (Auckland)

NZU Debating Team: Stephanie Thompson (Auckland) and Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria)

Reserves to the NZU Debating Team: Asher Emanuel (Victoria) and Ben Milsom (Auckland)

Highly Commended awards: Nick Gavey (Otago), Jodie O'Neill (Victoria)

Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Lucy Harrison (Auckland)

Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Seb Templeton (Victoria)

Opening of applications for Australs 2012 DCAs

[On behalf of the Victoria University Debating Society]
Dear all

The Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society is pleased to open the selection process for up to three Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs) for Australs 2012. The reason for the increase from two to three further additions to the Adjudication Team is because Steve Hind has unfortunately had to pull out.

Applications for DCA positions are now being accepted, and will be open until midnight on Sunday 15 April.

If you are interested in becoming a DCA, please complete an application form and email the CA, Stephen Whittington, at whittington.stephen@gmail.com. If there are any questions about the form, please get in touch with Steve.

The application form is available at: http://www.australs2012.com/dca_application_form.doc.

On Monday 16 April, a list of the applicants will be circulated via the Australs, All-Asians and AUDC mailing lists for feedback.

At this point people should feel free to email the CA with their feedback on any or all of the candidates. All communication will be treated in the strictest confidence, and all feedback provided by the Austral-Asian community will be considered. The successful applicant(s) will be announced on Friday 27 April.

Please note that we have no fixed views on whether two or three additional DCAs will be appointed.

Kind regards,
Johanna McDavitt
Co-convener

Victoria University of Wellington win WUPID 2011

Sebastian Templeton and Richard D'Ath of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, became the World Universities Peace Invitational Debate 2011 champions in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, a few days ago. They won the championship with a 5-4 split decision.

The runners up were Ateneo De Manila University, Bank Rakyat Oxford Union and Cambridge Union.

The motion of the Grand Final was: This House Believes That Unfettered Capitalism Is The Greatest Obstacle To World Peace. Opening Government was Bank Rakyat Oxford Union, Opening Opposition was Ateneo De Manila University, Closing Government was Cambridge Union and Closing Opposition was Victoria University of Wellington.

Top 16 teams in break order:

Bank Rakyat Oxford Union
Victoria University of Wellington
University of New South Wales
Yale University
Ateneo De Manila University B
Ateneo De Manila University A
Monash University A
Cambridge Union
Monash University B
University of Queensland
Cornell University
University of Melbourne B
Nanyang Technological University
National University of Singapore
University of Melbourne A
Universiti Teknologi MARA

Top 10 speakers:

1. Ben Woolgar - Bank Rakyat Oxford A - 411
2= Sebastian Templeton - Victoria University of Wellington - 410
2= Hugh Burns - Bank Rakyat Oxford A - 410
4. Collete Mintz - Monash A - 407
5. Richard D'Ath - Victoria University of Wellington - 406
6. Meredith Prior - Monash A - 404
7= David Trinh - Yale A - 400
7= Ely Zosa - ADMU B - 400
9. Ben Kornfeld - Yale A - 399
10. Ashish Kumar - Cambridge A - 397


Full Team Tab

Position	Name	Total rank	Total speaker
1	BANK RAKYAT OXFORD A	14	821
2	VICTORIA A	12	816
3	UNSW A	12	786
4	YALE A	11	799
5	ADMU B	11	794
6	ADMU A	11	787
7	MONASH A	10	811
8	CAMBRIDGE A	10	790
9	MONASH B	10	773
10	UQ A	10	773
11	CORNELL A	9	790
12	MELBOURNE B	9	788
13	NTU B	9	785
14	NUS A	9	780
15	MELBOURNE A	9	771
16	MARA B	9	768
17	LSE A	9	768
18	BIPEDS A	9	766
19	IIUM A	9	757
20	ANU A	8	769
21	NUS B	8	758
22	UCTI A	8	752
23	UNSW B	7	763
24	IIUM B	7	762
25	NTU A	7	760
26	MARA A	7	756
27	UI A	7	752
28	UM B	7	750
29	ANU B	7	749
30	KDU A	7	748
31	CHULA A	7	746
32	UM A	7	738
33	HKU B	6	746
34	UCTI B	6	746
35	MACAU A	6	738
36	HKU A	6	737
37	CHULA B	6	733
38	MMU A	6	731
39	WWU A	5	730
40	PUTRA A	5	729
41	CUHK A	5	722
42	MACAU B	4	723
43	KDU B	4	721
44	WWU B	4	720
45	REC B	4	712
46	CUHK B	3	701
47	IUB A	2	707
48	REC A	2	684
49	SWING A	0	0
49	SMU A	0	0
49	UPD A	0	0
49	UPD B	0	0
49	XAVIER A	0	0

Full Speaker tab

Pos	Name	Team	Total points
1	BEN WOOLGAR	BANK RAKYAT OXFORD A	411
2	HUGH BURNS	BANK RAKYAT OXFORD A	410
2	SEBASTIAN TEMPLETON	VICTORIA A	410
4	COLETTE MINTZ	MONASH A	407
5	RICHARD D ATH	VICTORIA A	406
6	MEREDITH PRIOR	MONASH A	404
7	DAVID TRINH	YALE A	400
7	ELY ZOSA	ADMU B	400
9	BEN KORNFELD	YALE A	399
10	ASHISH KUMAR	CAMBRIDGE A	397
11	MONIQUE HARDINGE	MELBOURNE B	396
12	ALLAN ARTHUR CABRERA	ADMU A	395
12	JESSE KLINGER	CORNELL A	395
12	JOHN DILLON	CORNELL A	395
15	DAVID ONG	UNSW A	394
15	WALTER WONG	ADMU B	394
15	ROHIT GADRE	NTU B	394
18	LUCAS LI	CAMBRIDGE A	393
19	STEPHEN GAROFANO	UNSW A	392
19	PETERSON UY	ADMU A	392
19	TIM BLAIR	MELBOURNE B	392
19	FOO JUN SHENG	NUS A	392
23	SWETHA BALACHANDRAN	NTU B	391
24	MARVIN LOH	NUS A	388
25	SHYAAM RAIVADERA	UQ A	387
25	ASHLEIGH FEURTADO	MONASH B	387
25	JACQUELINE YATES	ANU A	387
25	NATHAN ADDLER	UNSW B	387
29	HELENA OBERMAIR	UQ A	386
29	KATIE HEADING	MONASH B	386
29	NICHOLAS LIAU	MELBOURNE A	386
32	MICHAEL CIESIELSKI	MELBOURNE A	385
32	SHAFIQ BAZARI	MARA B	385
32	JOSIAH LIANG	LSE A	385
35	AIN AISSA	MARA B	383
35	ABEL LAM	LSE A	383
35	ASTRIO FELIGENT	BIPEDS A	383
35	CHRISTIAN LEONARDO	BIPEDS A	383
35	AHMAD HAZIM	IIUM B	383
40	TOM CHEN	ANU A	382
41	SYED SADDIQ	IIUM A	381
41	KENNETH KANG	NUS B	381
41	ROHAN JAIN	NTU A	381
44	ABDULLAH FAKHRY	IIUM B	379
44	UDIT BATRA	NTU A	379
44	MAIZURAH MOKHSEIN	MARA A	379
44	AHDIAT PERMANA	UI A	379
44	SAIFUL ISLAM AHMADON	UM B	379
49	BRYAN CHAN	NUS B	377
49	MARK DARREN SAVURIAR	UCTI A	377
49	AERIE RASHMOND RAHMAN	MARA A	377
52	SHEIKH MUHAMMAD FAIZAL	IIUM A	376
52	EMILY HANLON	UNSW B	376
52	HANNAH ALBARCE	ANU B	376
52	RANJANI DHANABALAKRISHNAN	KDU A	376
56	LESEGO BARONA OTLHABANYE	UCTI A	375
56	BENJAMIN SO	HKU B	375
56	MOUSTAFA ELBADWIHI	UCTI B	375
59	DIMAS HOKKA	UI A	373
59	PARTHIVI GULATI	ANU B	373
59	TIDARAT YINGCHAROEN	CHULA A	373
59	NUANPAN KETUMARN	CHULA A	373
63	ADRIAN CHEONG	KDU A	372
64	AVINASH SAGRAN	UM B	371
64	LAVANIA JEEVABALA	UM A	371
64	KEVIN LAU	HKU B	371
64	BEHRAD TADOULI	UCTI B	371
68	MARIA REBECA AQUINO PANGAN	MACAU A	370
68	MENDTUVSHIN ENKHTAIVAN	HKU A	370
70	HELEN LAO IAN IEONG	MACAU A	368
71	JIRADEVI VEERASIMAN	UM A	367
71	JEFFREY WONG	HKU A	367
71	NATTAYA KUSUWAN	CHULA B	367
74	MOTOKI LUXMIWATTANA	CHULA B	366
74	NUR CAPLIN	MMU A	366
74	RACHELLE HARRIS	WWU A	366
74	SIM KWAN YU	PUTRA A	366
78	RWEHAMBE BANUGIRE	MMU A	365
79	MISA HARING	WWU A	364
80	PAULA ESTAFANIA	PUTRA A	363
80	VICTOR KWOK HOI KIT	CUHK A	363
80	ALEX LAM CHI UN	MACAU B	363
80	JACOB ZERBY	WWU B	363
84	JOHN CHAI	KDU B	362
85	XU MENG LIN	MACAU B	360
86	MICHAEL NG LAM KWAN	CUHK A	359
86	QAMILLA AIDA	KDU B	359
88	WYATT JARVIS	WWU B	357
89	JANANI HARIHARAN	REC B	356
89	SACHIN SOLOMON	REC B	356
91	NAFIUR RAHMAN	IUB A	355
92	NG ZOE WAI YING	CUHK B	353
93	SARFARAZ KHAN	IUB A	352
94	STEPHANIE CHUNG YU POON	CUHK B	348
95	VIGNESH VISWANATHAN	REC A	347
96	ARANYA SETHU	REC A	337
97	RAZZAQ FAZAIL	SWING A	0
97	AARON LUKE	SWING A	0
97	URMILA MANDAPAKA	SMU A	0
97	PRATEEK RAI	SMU A	0
97	PEARL SIMBULAN	UPD A	0
97	CANDICE CHUNG	UPD A	0
97	ALISTAIR ZOSA	UPD B	0
97	CARLO BORROMEO	UPD B	0
97	RENE GANDEZA	XAVIER A	0
97	GIAN LIBOT	XAVIER A	0

Sydney Mini 2011 results

The largest ever Australian British Parliamentary Debating Champs (Sydney Mini) finished yesterday.

Winners: Dominic Bowes & Sriram Srikumar (Sydney)
Runners-Up: Amit Golder & Kiran Iyer (Monash), Elle Jones & Daniel Swain (Sydney), Dave Stephens & Anthony Smith (Queensland)

Top 10 speakers:
1. Amit Golder (Monash)
2. Patrick Caldwell (Sydney)
3. Daniel Swain (Sydney)
4= Stephen Whittington (Victoria)
4= Chris Bisset (Monash)
6. Rob Chiarella (Sydney)
7. Bronwyn Cowell (Sydney)
8. Kiran Iyer (Monash)
9= Elle Jones (Sydney)
9= Paul Karp (Sydney)

Breaking teams were, in order:

1. Pat Caldwell & Paul Karp (Sydney)
2. Elle Jones & Daniel Swain (Sydney)
3. Chris Bisset & Madeleine Schultz (Monash)
4. Amit Golder & Kiran Iyer (Monash)
5. Udayan Mukherjee & Stephen Whittington (Victoria)
6. Rob Chiarella & Bec Barrett (Sydney)
7. Dominic Bowes & Sriram Srikumar (Sydney)
8. Kelly Butler & Steph D'Souza (Melbourne)
9. Steph Thompson & Ben Milsom (Auckland)
10. Jeremy Rich & Kristen Price (Composite)
11. Bronwyn Cowell & Meredith Prior (Composite)
12. Dave Stephens & Anthony Smith (Queensland)
13. Drew Cason & Sarah Carpenter (Alaska)
14. Seb Templeton & Richard D'Ath (Victoria)
15. Tim Blair & Monique Hardinge (Monash)
16. Alec Dawson & Paul Hunt (Otago)

Monash wins the Victoria IV

Monash University has won the Victoria IV (New Zealand British Parliamentary Debating Champs) held in Wellington from November 18-20, defeating two teams from Victoria University and Auckland University in the Grand Final.

Chief Adjudicators: Christopher Bishop & Tim Mooney

Winners: Monash (Amit Golder & Kiran Iyer)

Runners-Up: Victoria University (Richard D'Ath & Seb Templeton), Auckland University (Josh Baxter & Nupur Upadhyay), Victoria University (Udayan Mukherjee & Ella Edginton).

Semi-finalists: Composite (Kieran Bunn & Aric Shakur), Auckland University (Steph Thompson & Ben Milsom), UNSWA (David Ong & Matthew Cobb Clark), Veterans (Joe Connell & Kevin Moar)

Top 10 speakers:
1. Amit Golder (Monash) 511
2. Richard D'Ath (Victoria) 498
3. Ella Edginton (Victoria) 492
4= Kiran Iyer (Monash) 488
4= Akif Mallick (Auckland) 488
4= Kevin Moar 488
4= Joe Connell 488
8= Stephanie Thompson (Auckland) 487
8=Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria) 487
10= Matthew Cobb Clark (UNSW A) 482
10= Ben Milsom (Auckland) 482
10= Polly Higbee 482
10= Seb Templeton (Victoria) 482

Motions:
1. This House would ban child beauty pageants
2. This House believes Israel should unilaterally preemptively strike Iran
3. This House believes that individuals should be required by governments to invest a defined portion of their salary for their retirement
4. This House would forcibly remove the homeless from the streets and place them in mental institutions or rehabilitation
5. This House would consign the European Union to the dustbin of history
6. This house supports comprehensive parental leave paid for by employers
Semi: This House would camp out in solidarity with the "Occupy" protestors
Final: This House believes newly democratised Arab nations should not allow religious parties to run for office

Victoria IV 2011 Details

Here are the details of the Victoria IV 2011 (the NZ British Parliamentary Open Debating Champs)

From the 18th to 20th November Victoria University of Wellington will be hosting its annual IV, the New Zealand Open British Parliamentary Championships. A highlight of the debating year, the Vic IV features some of the best debating New Zealand has to offer, along with classic Vic hospitality and a great chance to dust off those cobwebs before Worlds.

Chief Adjudicators: Christopher Bishop (WUDC Grand Final judge, Cambridge IV Winner) and Tim Mooney (WUDC runner-up, 2nd best speaker at WUDC 2011, DCA Worlds 2012)

The tournament is open entry, which means that anyone can come, regardless of experience or skill level; all you will require is a partner (although, that can also be arranged!). This makes it a great opportunity for less experienced debaters to practice against some of the best in the World, as well as giving the best a chance to prove themselves in what is typically a very high quality tournament.

As usual, we would love for teams from across the Tasman (or further) to come, so if any of our overseas friends need any extra information or assistance (or have a certain cup hidden in one of their flats…) please get in touch either by leaving a message on Facebook, or by emailing vicdebating@gmail.com

Registration will open Monday 3 October. Registration will be $90 NZD per individual, and will cover room hire, lunches on Saturday and Sunday, and a bar tab and nibbles on Friday and Sunday nights. There will also be the traditional BYO Saturday night dinner.

For judges, registration is free and the dinner will be subsidised.

We encourage NZ teams to register through their campus. There will be a n/4 judges' requirement for NZ campuses. Please note that judges must be approved by the CAs.

Joynt Scroll (NZ Universities' Prepared Champs) Results

Here are the results from the 109th Joynt Scroll tournament in New Zealand (the NZ Universities' Prepared Debating Champs), hosted by the University of Canterbury from 26-29 August.

Winners: Victoria University of Wellington 2 (Nick Cross, Holly Jenkins, Duncan McLachlan)

Runners-Up: Victoria University of Wellington 1 (Asher Emanuel, Richard D'Ath, Paul Smith)

Semi-finalists: University of Canterbury 1 and University of Otago 1

President's Cup for Best Speaker: Paul Smith (Victoria)

Members of the NZ Universities Team: Paul Smith (Victoria), Richard D'Ath (Victoria), William Cheyne (Otago)

Reserves to the NZ Universities Team: Asher Emanuel (Victoria), Louis Chambers (Otago)

Highly Commended: Josh Baxter (Auckland), Stephanie Thompson (Auckland), Aria Newfield (Auckland), Duncan McLachlan (Victoria)

Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Kieran Bunn (Otago)

Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Seb Templeton (Victoria)

Victoria wins NZ Universities' Impromptu Champs

The NZ Universities' Impromptu Debating Champs (Easters) was held a few weeks ago in Auckland, New Zealand.

Winners: Victoria University of Wellington 2 (Paul Smith & Asher Emanuel)

Runners-Up: Auckland University 3 (Ben Milsom & Gretta Schumacher)

Best Speaker: Asher Emanuel

Members of the NZU Impromptu Team: Asher Emanuel & Paul Smith

Reserves to the NZU Impromptu Team: Ella Edginton & Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria University of Wellington)

Most Promising Speaker: Hamish Saunders (Auckland University)

Best Adjudicator: Stephen Whittington (Victoria University of Wellington)

Sydney win Vic Wellington IV 2010

The University of Sydney Union (Paul Karp & Pat Caldwell) has won the Victoria University of Wellington IV 2010.

In the final they defeated Monash University (Kiran Iyer & Ravi Dutta), Victoria University (Christopher Bishop & Stephen Whittington) and Victoria University (Jenna Raeburn & Ella Edginton).

THE BREAK
1. Victoria University of Wellington (Bishop/Whittington) - 14 points, 839 speaker points
2. Monash University (Iyer/Dutta) - 13 points, 819 speaker points
3. University of Auckland (Baxter/Malik) - 12 points, 809 speaker points
4. Victoria University of Wellington (Raeburn/Edginton) - 10 points, 808 speaker points
5. Victoria/Auckland (Templeton/Upadhyay) - 10 points, 807 speaker points
6. University of Sydney Union (Karp/Caldwell) - 9 points, 831 speaker points
7. Victoria University of Wellington (Mukherjee/Smith) - 9 points, 827 speaker points
8. Victoria University of Wellington (O'Connor-McKenna/McCaffrey) - 9 points, 822 speaks

TOP TEN SPEAKERS

8= Hugh McCaffrey, 410
8= Ravi Dutta, 410
8= Akif Malik, 410
7. Joe Connell 411
6. Clodagh O'Connor-McKenna, 412
5. Paul Karp, 413
2= Pat Caldwell, 418
2= Udayan Mukherjee, 418
2= Christopher Bishop, 418
1. Stephen Whittington, 421

NZ Universities Prepared Debating Champs Results

Here are the results from the NZ Universities' Prepared Debating Champs (Joynt Scroll) which finished yesterday in Wellington, New Zealand.

Winners: Victoria University of Wellington Two (Asher Emanuel, Richard D'Ath, Nick Cross)
Runners-Up: Victoria University of Wellington One (Jenna Raeburn, Udayan Mukherjee, Paul Smith)
President's Cup for Best Speaker: Richard D'Ath
NZU Prepared Debating Team: Richard D'Ath, Udayan Mukherjee, Aria Newfield (University of Auckland Two)
Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Tom O'Brien (University of Canterbury)
Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Will Chisholm (University of Otago)
Bledisloe Award for Oratory: Simon Connell (University of Otago)

New Zealand Impromptu Debating Champs Results

Results of the New Zealand Universities' Impromptu Debating Champs, just finished in Invercargill in New Zealand.

Winners: Victoria Two (Seb Templeton and Richard D'Ath)

Runners-Up: Auckland Two (Stephanie Thompson and Akif Malik)

Dame Cath Tizard Cup for Best Speaker: Richard D'Ath

NZ Universities Impromptu Team: Richard D'Ath and Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria One)

Reserves to the NZU Team: Seb Templeton, Max Harris (Auckland One)

Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Paul Smith (Victoria One)

Highly Commended speakers: Ben Milsom (Auckland Three), Louis Chambers (Otago One)

Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Yogesh Patel (Victoria)

Sir David Beattie Cup for Public Speaking: Daniel Wilson (Victoria)

Victoria IV 2009 Results

The New Zealand British Parliamentary Debating Champs (the Victoria IV) finished yesterday in Wellington. The Chief Adjudicator was Gareth Richards.

Winners: Victoria University of Wellington (Udayan Mukherjee and Paul Smith)

Runners-Up: University of Sydney (Pat Caldwell and Eliza Forsyth), Victoria University of Wellington (Stephen Whittington and Polly Higbee), "Steam" (Matt Cuthell and Ryan Orange)

Semi-finalists: Victoria University of Wellington (Kathy Scott-Dowell and Richard D'Ath), Jonathan Orpin and Ellen Thomson, Holly Jenkins and Josh Cameron, "Yogaskaran" (Max Harris and Akif Malik)

Top 10 Speakers:

1. Jonathan Orpin
2. Stephen Whittington (Victoria University of Wellington)
3. Polly Higbee (Victoria University of Wellington)
4= Clodagh O'Connor-McKenna (Victoria University of Wellington)
5= Sam Greenland (University of Sydney)
5= Richard D'Ath (Victoria University of Wellington)
5= Josh Cameron
5= Pat Caldwell (University of Sydney)
9= Hugh McCaffrey (Victoria University of Wellington)
9= Kathy Errington (University of Auckland)

Best Novice: Ellen Thomson

Topics:

R1 - This House would destroy the results of unethical research
R2 - This House believes the European Union should be an economic union, not a political union
R3 - This House would ban cosmetic surgery
R4 - This house would pay for the return of hostages
R5 - This House believes groups should have to give up their weapons in order to stand for political office
R6 – This House would end all censorship apart from age restrictions
Semi - This House would legalise the baby trade
Grand Final – This House would prevent criminals from publishing accounts of their crimes

Results from NZ Universities' Prepared Debating Champs

Here are the results from the 107th annual New Zealand Universities' Prepared Debating Champs for the Joynt Scroll, held over the weekend of 28-31 August and hosted by Otago University.

Winners of the Joynt Scroll: Victoria University of Wellington One (Seb Templeton, Stephen Whittington, Ella Edginton)

Runners-Up: Auckland University One (Akif Malik, Max Harris, Glenn Riddell)

President's Cup for Best Speaker: Stephen Whittington (Victoria One)

NZ Universities' Prepared Debating Team: Stephen Whittington, Kathy Scott Dowell (Victoria University Two), Max Harris (Captain)

Reserves to the NZ Universities' Prepared Debating Team: Ella Edginton, Richard D'Ath (Victoria University Two)

Highly Commended speakers: Seb Templeton, Stephanie Thompson (Auckland University Two), Glenn Riddell

Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria University Four)

Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Simon Connell (Otago University)

Bledisloe Prize for Oratory: Briony Bennett (Auckland University)

Victoria wins NZ Impromptu Debating Champs

The New Zealand Universities' Impromptu Debating Champs (Officers Cup) recently concluded in Hawera, New Zealand.

Chief Adjudicator: Polly Higbee

Winners of the Officers Cup: Victoria University of Wellington A (Seb Templeton & Richard D'Ath)
Runners-Up: Victoria University of Wellington B (Yogesh Patel & Ella Edginton)
Dame Cath Tizard Cup for Best Speaker: Richard D'Ath (Victoria University)
Russell McVeagh Cup for Most Promising Speaker: Kathy Errington (University of Auckland)
Centennial Cup for Best Adjudicator: Desley Horton (University of Auckland)
Sir David Beattie Cup for Impromptu Speaking: Richard D'Ath (Victoria University)

Canterbury University A and Auckland University B were the beaten semi-finalists.

Victoria IV Results

The New Zealand British Parliamentary Debating Champs (the Victoria IV) has just concluded. 44 teams from around NZ and Australia competed.

The winners are:

Victoria University of Wellington 8 (Stephen Whittington and Polly Higbee)

The runners-up are Sydney University (Julia Fetherston and Tim Mooney), Victoria University 6 (Richard D'Ath and Kathy Errington) and Victoria 7 (Paul Smith and Udayan Mukherjee).

Beaten semi-finalists were Sydney University 2, Auckland University 5, Victoria University 4 and Victoria University 5.

Top Ten speakers:

1. Tim Mooney (Sydney)
2. Polly Higbee (Victoria)
3. Julia Fetherston (Sydney)
4. Stephen Whittington (Victoria)
5. Hugh McCaffrey (Victoria)
6=Jordan Ward (Auckland)
6=Yogesh Patel (Victoria)
8. Clodagh O'Connor-McKenna (Victoria)
9. Richard D'Ath (Victoria)
10. Felicity Wilson (Macquarie)

The best novice speaker was Ella Edginton (19th).

Topics:

1. This House believes the gay community should "out" gay celebrities
2. This House believes the military should overthrow governments which have lost popular legitimacy
3. This House would criminalise individuals and organisations who do not recycle
4. This House would abolish all forms of affirmative action
5. This House would allow parents to cast proxy votes on behalf of their children
6. This House believes the Palestinians should give up the Right of Return
Semis: This House would make insulting religion a crime
Final: This House believes freer markets, rather than more government intervention, are the solution to the current economic crisis

Victoria IV 2008 confirmed details

The Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society is pleased to announce the confirmed details of the 2008 Victoria IV, aka as the NZ Business Roundtable Parliamentary Debating Championships.

Our tournament sponsors are the New Zealand Business Roundtable, an organisation comprising major business firms committed to contributing to the development of sound public policy for New Zealand. Their significant financial contribution to the tournament means we'll be able to provide an extremely high quality tournament this year with superb judges and great socials.

Now in its fifth year, the Victoria IV is one of the best Worlds warm-up tournaments on the circuit. Last year's final featured three Worlds quarter-finalists and two octo-finalists. This year we're sure will be even better.

Dates: Friday November 28-Sunday 30 November
Venue: Kelburn campus of Victoria University of Wellington
The Grand Final will be held on Sunday afternoon in the New Zealand Parliament's historic and beautiful Legislative Council Chamber, hosted by the Patron of the Debating Society, Christopher Finlayson MP.

Adjudication Core
We're particularly pleased with the quality of adjudicators confirmed for this year's tournament: The Chief Adjudicators are Christopher Bishop (2 x Worlds octo-finalist, Australs runner-up, Cambridge IV winner) and Gareth Richards (2 x Worlds octo-finalist, Australs quarter-finalist, 3 x winner of Victoria IV).

They'll be joined by:
Ivan Ah Sam (DCA for Worlds 2009 in Cork, Worlds semi-finalist and top ten speaker, Australs winner and best speaker)
Erin O'Brien (DCA for Worlds 2009 in Cork, Worlds Grand Finalist, Euros winner)
Joe Connell (2 x Worlds octo-finalist, Australs quarter-finalist and top ten speaker)
Jonathan Orpin (Worlds semi-finalist and quarter-finalist)

Plus other top judges from around NZ.

Other key details:
- Worlds rules will be in force and topics will not be New Zealand-specific
- There is no team cap.
- Six preliminary rounds, with a break to semi-finals

Registration: $55 NZD per person for the weekend.
This will get you subsidised drinks on Friday night, lunch on Saturday, dinner on Saturday night (incl BYO corkage), a catered brunch on Sunday, and free drinks and food at the post-final function. Payment can be made upon arrival in Wellington.

Accommodation: For teams coming from outside Wellington we are happy to help arrange accommodation. Just get in touch on the address below.

How to register
Email victoriaintervarsity@gmail.com with the name of you and your partner, your team name, your email address, mobile number, and dietary requirements.

Registration closes Monday 24 November.

For more information, or any questions, please email victoriaintervarsity@gmail.com.
See the Facebook event at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33142291501

We look forward to seeing many of you in November!

Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society
www.debsoc.co.nz
victoriaintervarsity@gmail.com