Blog & news

Review into the future of WSDC Ltd

Dear friends and members of WSDC,

As you may know, the structure of WSDC Ltd. was discussed in the charity e-AGM in November, 2014. At that time the Directors started to solicit volunteers from the WSDC community who could review the current structure and propose next steps. We had some interest for which we are very grateful. To continue, here is where we are now:

  • Back in 2008, as WSDC grew ever larger and more professional, the community thought that having a formal body to oversee hosts and develop the alumni network would be a good idea.
  • It hasn’t worked out. WSDC is run on a volunteer model, and while this is working better when it comes to actually running the tournament, the model falls short of our needs in administration. A case in point would be the Development Committee, which was supposed to carry out the charity’s aims as guided by the Board, but did not fulfill this role and was disbanded. We have also had volunteers elected to our administrative bodies who find they are unable to give the role the time it deserves, overburdening those who are working. 
  • The question is, do we just shut it down or would something else work better?
  • If we shut it down, then do we go back to the previous (Exec-only) model?
  • If we shut it down, do we really want a series of million dollar tournaments in future with no quality control?  Do you think we shouldn’t bother connecting with alumni in any way?  Who will pay for the website, or should we shut it down too? 
  • In the event that money remains in the charity after covering the costs of winding up, what should be done with that money?
  • If we don’t shut the charity down, then what do we do? Can we evolve the structure? Should we introduce incentives for volunteers, as well as checks and balances to ensure responsibilities are fulfilled post-election?

The first step in this discussion is to include EVERYONE who is or has been part of the WSDC community. So we ask you to please circulate this email to anyone you used to debate with, and ask them to sign up to the alumni mailing list at https://v2.schoolsdebate.com/contact/mailing. 

The next step is to get an understanding of why the community voted for this structure. We have summarized the evolution of WSDC at https://v2.schoolsdebate.com/organisation/wsdc-ltd/ in a clear and succinct (and as short as possible) way. Please take a few minutes to read it. 

We will follow up with another call for discussion in a week, and then set up a forum if there is demand. If not, we will propose winding up the charity. 

For any questions or suggestions, please email us at [email protected]. 

Best regards,

The Board of Directors. 

P.S. PLEASE NOTE: While this review process is underway, the Board of Directors has decided to freeze membership applications and renewals.  If you are an active member, you will not be rebilled automatically when your current membership expires.  Your membership will be extended until the next AGM where you will be allowed to vote on the future of WSDC Ltd. New membership applications will be temporarily disabled but we will allow one round of new applications before the next AGM.

Registration opens for Singapore 2015

Mark Gabriel, Co-Convenor, writes:

Stage 1 of registration for the 2015 World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) in Singapore opens today (21st January) and will run through to 11th February. This is the initial phase of the registration process in which each nation which wants to send a team to the championship is be able register their team and delegation online.

The attached PDF document contains a guide to this phase of registration. The guide document explains the process and contains links to the online registration forms. Please read through the guide carefully before your nation begins registration of your team and delegation.

If, for any reason, your nation has difficulty opening the guide document or accessing the online registration forms, please e-mail [email protected] to let us know. We look forward to receiving the registrations of each nation which wishes to send a team to WSDC 2015 between now and 11th February.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the registration process, please e-mail the WSDC 2015 organising committee at [email protected].

Regards,

Mark Gabriel
Co-Convenor
WSDC 2015, Singapore

Motions Committee for 2015

A postal ballot to select the 5 elected members of the Motions
Committee for the 2015 World Schools Debating Championships opens
today and will close in 3 weeks’ time on 26th January.

There are 6 candidates for 5 elected positions on the Motions
Committee. The candidates are:

– Charlie Morris (England)
– Hayah Eichler (Israel)
– Zaynab Al Nasser (Kuwait)
– Branislav Fečko-Čegiň (Slovakia)
– Daniel de Kadt (South Africa)
– Cindi Timmons (United States)

(One further candidate – Crash Wigley from Wales – was also nominated
but has now withdrawn from the election.)

Information about each of the candidates can be found in the document
attached to this e-mail. The information in the attached document
includes the candidates’ personal statements and their responses to
the Exec’s request for them to submit 3 sample motions they have set
during the past 3 years.

VOTING PROCEDURE

Under the WSDC Rules, a nation is allowed to vote in a postal ballot
if the nation has participated in at least 2 of the past 3 WSDC
tournaments. Each nation may cast one ballot, and the ballot must be
submitted by the nation’s official delegate to the WSDC Tournament
Committee.

According to information given to me by the Tournament Committee
Executive, the nations which are eligible to vote in this postal
ballot and their official voting delegates are as follows:

1. ARGENTINA – Nicolas Gimenez
2. AUSTRALIA – Christopher Bisset
3. BANGLADESH – Rishad Sharif
4. BARBADOS – Carl Applewhaite
5. BERMUDA – Marisa Sharpe
6. CANADA – Tracey Lee
7. CHILE – Ana Tomassini
8. CHINA – Loke Wing Fatt
9. CZECH REPUBLIC – Matěj Pilát
10. DENMARK – Charlotte Ib
11. ENGLAND – Janine Ryan
12. ESTONIA – Kaspar Kelder
13. GERMANY – Christopher Sanchez
14. GREECE – Kallina Basli
15. HONG KONG – Emmanuel Reed
16. INDIA – Krishna Kumar Santhanagopalan
17. INDONESIA – Rachmat Nurcahyo
18. IRELAND – Ross McGuire
19. ISRAEL – Yoni Cohen-Idov
20. JAPAN – Masako Takahashi
21. KOREA – Roger Hatridge
22. KUWAIT – Abigail Bartholomew
23. LITHUANIA – Rokas Atkociunas
24. MALAYSIA – Iqbal Bazari
25. MEXICO – Mark Webber
26. MONGOLIA – delegate to be confirmed
27. NETHERLANDS – Menno Schellekens
28. NEW ZEALAND – Udayan Mukherjee
29. NIGERIA – Dare Oritu
30. PAKISTAN – Aisha Ahmad
31. PERU – Cristina Loayza
32. PHILIPPINES – Kip Oebanda
33. QATAR – Maja Cimerman
34. ROMANIA – Simona Mazilu
35. SCOTLAND – Irene McGrath
36. SINGAPORE – Mark Gabriel
37. SLOVAKIA – Andrej Schulcz
38. SLOVENIA – Bojana Skrt
39. SOUTH AFRICA – Luke Churchyard
40. SRI LANKA – Sanjit Dias
41. SWAZILAND – Mlungisi Dlamini
42. SWEDEN – Wissam Chalabi
43. THAILAND – Bird Joz
44. TURKEY – Miha Andric
45. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Grant Smith
46. UNITED STATES – Jeffrey Wunn
47. WALES – Martin Pollard

This list of voting delegates may not be fully up to date. If your
nation wishes to change your voting delegate for this postal ballot,
please e-mail me at [email protected] BEFORE your nation casts its
ballot to let me know of the new voting delegate. (Please also cc any
e-mails about changes in voting delegates to the Chair of the
Tournament Committee Executive, Beth James, at [email protected].)

Your nation’s voting delegate can cast their ballot online.

If your nation’s delegate has any problems accessing or casting their
votes at this webpage, please e-mail me at [email protected].

There are 6 candidates running for 5 elected positions on the Motions
Committee. Each nation’s delegate may vote for a MAXIMUM OF 5
CANDIDATES. (Voting for fewer than 5 candidates is permitted.)

The 5 elected candidates will work with the 2 appointed members of the
committee from Singapore (Vernie Oliveiro and Samuel Myat San) to
select the motions which will be debated at WSDC 2015.

If your nation wishes to vote in this election, please ensure that
your voting delegate casts their ballot by 26th January.

If you have any questions about the ballot, please e-mail me at
[email protected].

Regards,

Mark Gabriel
Returning Officer

Motions Committee 2015 candidates [PDF]

WSDC 2014: Round 1 and Round 2 Results

The provisional results for Rounds 1 and 2 have been can now be downloaded at:

Results of Round 1: /wp-content/uploads/years/2014/results/ResultsSummaryRound1.pdf
Aggregates after Round 1: /wp-content/uploads/years/2014/results/ResultsAggregatesRound1.pdf

Results of Round 2: /wp-content/uploads/years/2014/results/ResultsSummaryRound2.pdf
Aggregates after Round 2: /wp-content/uploads/years/2014/results/ResultsAggregatesRound2.pdf

For those wishing for more immediate updates, these links will be tweeted by @schoolsdebate after every round in a more timely fashion.

Australia win their ninth World Schools Debating Championships

There could, in the end, be only one winner in the tournament’s 25th year:  Australia, 14 times in the Grand Final and now nine times the champions.  For many years they exerted a stranglehold on the trophy;  it seems almost strange that this is their first victory in seven years.  Congratulations to Bo Seo (also best speaker of the tournament), Zoe Brown, Nick Salmon, James Stratton and Tyrone Connell for their victory – unanimous from the nine judges – over Swaziland. The motion was “This House believes that Turkey is better off outside the EU”.    If you’d like to skim the arguments made in the final, please see the Twitter feed of India coach Sayeqa Islam.

Swaziland still go home with a medal most other participating countries have never won and a fairy-tale story:  a Grand Final appearance in only their second year at the competition, after winning Best New Team last year.  Congratulations to Fanele Mashwama, Sandile Mndzebele, Lindelani Mabuza, Oliver Havelock Mills and Wabantu Hlophe on their amazing achievement.

Congratulations also to Peru, Best ESL Team, and Indonesia, Best EFL Team.

And well done to all of you who participated in the 25th WSDC in Antalya, Turkey, and those who made it happen!

Follow: Team Australia on Twitter / Team Swaziland on Twitter / WSDC on Twitter

 

WSDC 2013: octo-final results

The results of the octo-finals, on the motion “THW cut welfare benefits to compulsive gamblers”, were as follows:

  • Canada bt New Zealand 4-1
  • Swaziland bt Greece 5-0
  • Singapore bt Slovenia 5-0
  • South Africa bt UAE 3-2
  • Australia bt Netherlands 4-1
  • England bt Hong Kong 5-0
  • Mexico bt India 4-1
  • Ireland bt Peru 4-1

The quarter-finals will therefore be:  Canada v Ireland, Swaziland v Mexico, Singapore v England and Australia v South Africa.  Good luck to all of you!

WSDC 2013: the break

The break has been announced in Antalya and you can now download the official team standings after all preliminary rounds.  The top 16 teams will go on to the knock-out octo-finals, as follows:

  • New Zealand v Canada
  • Swaziland v Greece
  • Singapore v Slovenia
  • South Africa v UAE
  • Australia v Netherlands
  • England v Hong Kong
  • Mexico v India
  • Peru v Ireland

Congratulations to all those teams and to all who have taken part in the debates so far; and commiserations to those who visas or illness kept from competing in all their debates.