WSDC 1999: London, England
Overview

February 1999 saw London and the English-Speaking Union play host to the XI World Schools Debating Championships, the largest event ever organised by the ESU Centre for International Debate and Communication Training. The tournament attracted 250 participants from 31 different countries and the Grand Final at Guildhall, chaired by Cherie Booth QC, was the culmination of over two years’ planning.

The World Schools Debating Championships were first held in Australia in 1988, since when venues have included Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Bermuda and Scotland. Teams of teenagers, representing their countries, participate in a week-long programme of competitive debates on a variety of controversial topics. Panels of trained international adjudicators cast votes at the end of the debates, and after a series of preliminary rounds the most successful teams progress to the knock-out stage of the tournament.

The Championships in 1999 set a new record with 31 countries and every effort was made to give them memorable experiences of Britain and its speaking traditions. Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, attended a reception at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and was able to meet many of the teams personally, while Betty Boothroyd MP, the Speaker of the House of Commons, hosted a tea at Lancaster House on behalf of the Government. Other events included a welcome reception at Dartmouth House, parties at the Hammersmith Novotel where the participants stayed, and a day-trip to Oxford and Cambridge.

Debates were held at schools all across the London area and in the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, where speakers were thrown in front of crowds of baying university students. Some of the topics for debate were released to the teams some weeks in advance, allowing them to research tough issues thoroughly – e.g. the banning of performance-enhancing drugs, the Kyoto Summit and the International Criminal Court. Other debates were more straightforward but with the motions announced one hour before the debate, testing the ability to think quickly and demonstrate general knowledge – justifying the bombing of Iraq, or the cultural influence of America, for example. All of the schools gave more than warm welcomes to their visitors, providing refreshments, chairmen and timekeepers, and in one case a band playing Beatles hits and a cheering throng of hundreds.

The Quarter-Finals, held simultaneously at Lincoln’s Inn, the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple and the Law Society, saw a relevant debate on the introduction of cameras to the courtroom. The maintenance of the nuclear deterrent was the subject of the Semi-Finals, held in Committee Rooms at the House of Commons and chaired by Sir Patrick Cormack MP and Tony McNulty MP – and after which participants were given a private tour of the Commons and its chamber by Sir Patrick. The Grand Final at Guildhall saw a more philosophical issue argued: "This House believes that the state has a duty to protect individuals from themselves".

An audience of 800 filled the Guildhall to watch the Final, made up largely of competitors and parties from schools from the London area. Throughout the week hundreds of schoolchildren had attended the preliminary debates where they were also the beneficiaries of debating workshops, run by the international coaches and judges.

Although the draw included teams from all six major continents and as far away as Peru, Singapore and South Africa, 1999 would prove to have an all-British final, as Scotland defeated England in the Final – by a majority of 6 judges to 1.

PHOTOS

Here, the debaters, coaches and judges assemble together at the beginning of the week, before the first round of debates. The defending champions, Australia, wear the broadest smiles at the front centre of the group. (click on the image to see full size version)

Most of the 143 debates were held in classrooms of schools across the London area. Pupils were let out of lessons to watch the Championships while many of them assisted by acting as chairpeople or timekeepers.

The Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon Betty Boothroyd MP, spoke at a Government reception at Lancaster House. Here she is seen chatting with the team from Brunei Darussalam, one of seven first-time entrants in 1999.

Mid-week, a trip was organised to the Oxford and Cambridge Unions to allow competitors a chance to debate in these historic debating chambers. Here a judge announces the Australian victory over Scotland in a preliminary round at the Oxford Union Society.

Between the preliminary rounds and the knock-out stages of the tournament, its Patron, Princess Anne, attended a reception at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to meet the debaters. She is shown here with the England Team, who would go on to defeat New Zealand in the Quarter-Finals and Australia in the Semi-Finals the next day.

The victorious Scottish Team, having just defeated England in the Grand Final, seen here with Cherie Booth QC who chaired the debate. She praised their skill to the 800-strong audience and remembered her own experiences of public speaking as a schoolgirl. Prizes were also awarded to individual speakers and to Argentina, the best team with English as a Second Language (5th).

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