Author: Trevor Sather

Former debater, judge, coach, Convenor, CA, Exec member, Director.

Learning Materials Working Group

JJ Rodriguez writes:

The Learning Materials Working Group is in the process of compiling learning materials in order to create a handbook for coaching schools debate. The handbook will include basic information on the format, activities to be used by coaches to teach a variety of skills, an appendix of gathered materials and resources, and other useful information. We would like you to submit anything you have that might be helpful. The sections of the text include:

  • The Basics
  • Definitions
  • Style
  • Content and Research
  • Strategy
  • Appendix including online resources, WSDC rules, WSDC adjudication guide, and other relevant materials that you submit.

If you have anything in one of these categories that could be useful, please send it to:

[email protected]

We are looking for activities, lesson plans, films, and anything else that has been useful to you. If you have already submitted something there is no need to send it again. We have it. We are also looking to answers to a few questions. If you have time please send me a brief response to the following:

(1) What would you like to see in a handbook for world schools debate?
(2) What are the coaching / resource needs in your country / region?
(3) What would you like to see on the WSDC website?
(4) What is the best way for you to access resources (e.g. the Internet, print materials, DVDs)? This is rather simple, I need to know if posting materials online will cut anyone off from our resources.

Thank you for your time and energy. Your participation is a vital part of developing resources that are useful to the community.

ESU Debate Tours 2007

The ESU Speech and Debate Squad consists of outstanding debaters at British universities selected through competitive interview for their skill in teaching, demonstrating and judging public speaking and debating. Each year members of the squad take part in tours to support the activities of overseas ESUs, working with school children, university students, ESU members and professionals. In 2007 Squad members will visit Argentina, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia and the United States.

If you’d like to know more about applying for future tours or getting involved in hosting a tour in your country, please contact James Probert or see BritishDebate.com.

This year’s teams have just been chosen and WSDC alumni involved include: Andrew Marshall (Australia), going to Hong Kong); Lewis Iwu (England) and George Molyneaux (Scotland), going to Japan; Bilal Mahmood (England), going to Mauritius; and Sam Block and Andrew Goodman (both England), going to Mongolia.

Invitation to International High School Tournament in Slovenia

Bojana Skrt writes:

On behalf of Slovenian national debate organisation ZIP, Za in proti, zavod za kulturo dialoga I kindly invite you to the International Highschool Debate Tournament, which will be held in Ormož from 13th to 15th of April 2007. This event is one in the series of tournaments sponsored by Slovenian governmental Office of information and EU.

We will be running two parallel tournaments:
– Worlds School Debate Tournament, we strongly encourage the teams which are going to participate at the Worlds School Debate Championship in Seul to come to the Ormož tournament to practice for Worlds, however other teams are welcome as well.
– Karl Popper Debate Tournament.

Both tournaments are going to have 6 rounds, 3 of them will be on prepared motions, 3 of them on impromptu, semi finals on impromptu motions, finals on prepared one. The language of the tournament will be English, the topic area the EU enlargement.The motions will be announced in two weeks, after the voting of the topics in the Slovenian debate clubs is finished.

Ormož debaters are offering home stays and everybody is welcomed to come a few days prior to the tournament being guests of Ormož debaters, who will be announcing the events planned for you in the next weeks. The participation fee per a debater is 15 EUR and it covers accomodation in home stay, food and of course the tournament. The participation fee for judges is also 15 EUR, however they will stay in the Hotel Ormož.

Ormož is a small town at the Croatian border 140 km from Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia and 70 km from Maribor, easy accessible by train. For the ones who need to fly there are lots of low far airlines flights to Ljubljana, but check also Graz in Austria, Trieste or Venice in Italy, Zagreb in Croatia, if you combine it with trains you are all set. More about Ormož www.ormoz.si

Teams need to be accompanied by a judge, the rule is one or two teams one judge, three teams two judges, of course nothing wrong if you bring more judges. The number of teams from other countries is limited to 25, 2 or maximum 3 three member teams per country for both tournaments. We are going to close the registration when we reach the number, so please do apply as soon as possible.

All the inquiries about the tournament please address to me, all the questions about Ormož, school, home stays … to Nina Cerkvenik, the coach of the Ormož English Debate Club at [email protected]. Please find attached the tentative schedule and the application form. Please fill in the application form and send it to [email protected] not later than 15th of March.

Handbooks from 1991, 1992 & 1993


Old Championship handbooks are now available from 1991, 1992 and 1993. Thanks to Chris Bishop from NZ for sending them in.

If anyone can send us any other documents or memories from past tournaments – programmes, stories, photos etc. – we’d be very grateful. If you have any photos at all please try and include the names of people shown. Thanks!

Comments & The Answer

‘Derek Sloan’ is the answer, as I’m sure hundreds of you would have guessed but were defeated by the comments registration system. We’ve now opened it up so you don’t have to register.

Derek won WUDC in 1997 and coached the victorious Scottish team at WSDC 1999 (winning a medal). He also spoke in the WSDC Final in 1992.

Sydney wins WUDC

Well, no ex-schoolie winner this year, although Evan and Ranald made the final (for Queensland and Cambridge respectively); and individual performances of note included Jess Prince (ex-Canada Team, 1st) Sam Block (ex-England, 2nd) and Patrick Meaher (ex-Australia, 4th). Congratulations to all of you, and to Sydney (Julia Bowes & Anna Garsia) for their victory. Oh and not to forget the competition convenor Teddy Harrison (ex-Canada)!

Trivia question: only one person, to my knowledge, has winners’ medals at both WSDC and WUDC. Who is it?

Alumni in battle at WUDC

We’re keeping an eye on the performances of WSDC alumni at the World Universities Debating Championships currently underway in Vancouver, Canada. Special congratulations to Sam Greenland (Hong Kong coach and Executive member), Evan Goldman (Australia coach and alumnus) and Ranald Clouston (NZ alumnus), all of whom have reached the semi-finals, to be held later today. We’re crossing our fingers for you!