WSDC 1999: London, England
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11 December 1998
Dear Colleagues,
A few bits that I have forgotten in recent communications, plus some very important things indeed.
Final List of Countries - 32
Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, USA, Wales plus observers from Malaysia and Japan.
Notes
[1] The deadline for motions to amend the Rules at the World Schools Debating Council Meeting is one month before its next meeting, when motions must be given to 'members of the Council' - i.e. all 34 countries above. It is your responsibility to distribute motions to other countries by Wednesday, 6th January, although David Bussey will send copies with the Council Meeting agenda which he will send out the following week. If you need the contact details of other countries please ask me - although everyone is on the e-mail list with the exception of Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
The Council Meeting takes place on the morning of Saturday 6th February and all countries are invited to send one official delegate and one other person. The following countries have the right to vote at the meeting, having sent teams to two previous Championships: Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Scotland, Singapore, USA, Wales. Please let me know if I have missed anyone out.
[2] Visas are your responsibility! Make sure you have them if you need them. If we can be of any help in writing to embassies, please let us know.
[3] We will write to your country's Ambassador or representative in London and invite them to the Grand Final. We will also include your contact details so that they may get in touch if they would like to meet you at another time during the tournament.
[4] PLEASE make sure you have sent me all forms and other information before Christmas. This includes passport photos - without these, you will have to pay for your own travelcard I'm afraid.
[5] Adjudicators are asked to bring calculators as this greatly speeds up mark-totting-up and the debates in general.
[6] Timing - we will be using the British system of timing speeches with sounds - usually a knock, or a bell, at 1 minute, 7 minutes and 8 minutes during main speeches and 3 and 4 in reply speeches. Coaches may as usual make further time signals to speakers with their hands, as long as they are clearly visible to both teams and the adjudicators.
[7] It is worth mentioning that a tradition has developed of debaters swapping suitably national lapel pins or other souvenirs with their opponents. Don't feel obliged to bring any (only a few teams do) - but you might want to let your team now, as I have had debaters moan in the past that they weren't warned about this custom.
[8] After much deliberation at previous Council Meetings, it was confirmed last year that debaters are allowed to take written materials (e.g. dictionaries, almanacs etc.) into the preparation room for impromptu debates. Again, let your team know this. Warn them also of the perils of over-preparation - trying to digest encyclopaedias in an hour would probably be counter-productive.
[9] Judges: we are doing well on numbers thanks to considerable interest both abroad in the UK. This means we will not be using every adjudicator for every round. We trust you won't be disappointed with more free time.
[10] Any countries wishing videos of debates at previous Championships can order them from Mishael Zion in Israel, who is compiling a video library. At the moment he has 4 from Bermuda '97 and 6 from Israel '98 - if you have more please let him have copies. Contact him on zionsacs@netvision.net.il. He can bring copies of videos to London or, if you're quick, send them to you in advance.
[11] I will be away from 26th December until 6th or 7th January, at the World Universities Debating Championships - see some of you there, but for anyone else who needs urgent action you can reach Jonathan Hills here from the 4th January.
Timetable
Friday 29th January: All-day briefing for adjudicators.
Saturday 30th January: Briefing session for judges and coaches; activities for competitors (a.m.). Round One. Welcome Reception.
Sunday 31st January: Rounds Two and Three at London schools.
Monday 1st February: Rounds Four and Five at London schools. Government Reception hosted by Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons. Party.
Tuesday 2nd February: Rest Day / Opportunity to purchase theatre tickets.
Wednesday 3rd February: Rounds Six and Seven at the Oxford and Cambridge Unions. 'Show debates' for undergraduate audiences. Dinner in the Dining Halls of Jesus College, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge.
Thursday 4th February: Round Eight. "Break Lunch" at Dartmouth House. Octo-Finals. Championship Reception at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, hosted by Baroness Brigstocke (Chairman of the ESU) and attended by Princess Anne.
Friday 5th February: Quarter-Finals at the Inns of Court. Semi-Finals at the House of Commons.
Saturday 6th February: World Council Meeting. Grand Final at the Guildhall, chaired by Cherie Blair.
Tournament Sponsors: The English-Speaking Union, Cable & Wireless, Nortel, the British Government, BP, LCCI, Beachcroft Stanleys, Reuters, Highland Spring and the Hammersmith Novotel.
Motions
Round One: This House would legalise performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
Round Two: This House believes that the International Criminal Court won't work.
Round Four: This House would break the law to protect the rights of animals.
Round Six: This House believes that the Kyoto Summit didn't go far enough.
Grand Final: This House believes that the state has a duty to protect individuals from themselves. |
We reserve the right to change the order of the first four but are pretty confident they will stay as is. The other motions (Rounds Three, Five, Seven, Eight, Octo-Finals, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals) will be announced an hour before the debates; coaches will not be allowed to prepare with the teams although debaters not taking part in the round are.
If there are any major complaints about any of these motions, please let us know within one week - by Friday 18th December. Major complaints only please - minor mutterings are standard! They will be considered by Dan Neidle and Thomas Dixon, the Chief Adjudicators.
The draw will not be released until you arrive as countries may still drop out due to funding or visa problems. If the number stays at 32, however, we do guarantee that you will propose and oppose 4 times each in the preliminaries. (2 each in the prepared debates, and 2 each in the impromptus - although which impromptus will be determined by a coin toss on Saturday 30th January).
The very best of luck with your preparation for the World Championships, and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Good New Year, etc. etc.
Trevor Sather
Convenor
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