Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships

The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships (known colloquially as "Australs") is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in the Australasian region. It is one of the world's largest debating tournaments, second only in size to the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC), and one of the largest annual student events in the world. Australs follows the Australia-Asian Debating format (three speakers plus replies), rather than the British Parliamentary Style used at WUDC. It is held every year in early-July under the auspices of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association (AIDA). The host university is selected a year before at a meeting of the AIDA Council.

Since the inaugural tournament at the University of Sydney in 1975, Australs has continually expanded the scope of its participants, now attracting around 300 competitors each year from around the Asia-Pacific region. Australs was significantly modernised in 1993 when a new constitution was introduced by then AIDA President. The Constitution provided for standard rules of debate and adjudication, and provided for extended voting rights for non-Australian and New Zealand participants. Currently teams come from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.^[1]

Prior to the inception of the AIDA in 1990, there were occasional problems with the administration and rule-format for Australs, as the running of the tournament was left to the host university, with a meeting of all Universities at the end of the competition. There was little ongoing supervision of the hosts, and adjudication standards varied widely.

In 1992 an affirmative action requirement was introduced to ensure that at least one third of each University's contingent must be female, unless the circumstances could be justified. This was prompted by the poor representation of female debaters at Australs. In 1990 only 8% of all speakers eligible to make the finals at Australasian championships were female, although women were over-represented as adjudicators. In 1991, the year before the introduction of the affirmative action reauirement, the first women's meeting was held to discuss ways to combat the problem. At that time the participation rate had risen to 21%, with the introduction of a number of universities as first-time participants. Few women were represented in the finals, however. The intention behind the introduction of the rule was that it would encourage universities to promote debating to a large number of potential members and train their debaters before they attended Australs. It was also thought that this would encourage a greater diversity of speaking styles, rather than what was seen as a very aggressive style by a number of very successful and talented Australian male debaters, and this would benefit all debaters and universities.

The best speaker of the tournament is awarded the "Martin Sorensen Trophy", and the best speaker of the Grand Final is awarded the "Jock Fanselow Cup".

The current Australasian Champions are Monash University, from Melbourne, Australia.

Past Champions and Hosts

Future Championships

• The University of Auckland Debating Society will be hosting the 2010 Australasian Championships. Information on this tournament is available from their bid website. [1]

The Martin Sorensen Trophy

The 'Martin Sorensen Trophy' is awarded to the best speaker of the tournament.

A prize recognising the tournament's best speaker was first awarded in 1989, however in 1994, it was renamed the Martin Sorensen Trophy in honour of the outstanding Monash University debater who died in July 1993 - only days after winning the award for the second time in a row.

Sorensen was considered to be the finest debater of his generation. In addition to being awarded the Best Speaker prize twice, he won the tournament twice, was a runner-up once, and was selected in the Australian Test team 3 years in a row. After his death, it was decided that the Best Speaker award would be named in Sorensen's honour in order to preserve his memory, and it is common for Australs debaters to be educated about his legacy even now, nearly 15 years after his passing. Further information about Sorensen can be found here. [2]

The Trophy is awarded to the debater with the highest total sum of speaker scores in the preliminary rounds of competition. It is considered to be the most prestigious individual award in Australasian debating.

Jock Fanselow Cup for Best Speaker in the Grand Final

The best speaker in the Grand Final is awarded the 'Jock Fanselow Cup.'

Jock Fanselow was a debating legend in New Zealand and Australasia. Representing Victoria University, he won Australs in 1980, and 1982 - the first person to win Australs twice. He was best speaker in the Grand Final of both years. Unfortunately, ill health plagued Jock since birth and a suppressed immune system saw him contract a virus which led to his death in January 2006 at the age of 48. Jock's debating team mates, friends, and family donated a cup in his name and it was first presented at Australs 2006, held at Jock's home university, Victoria University of Wellington.

Detailed history of recent past championships

2009 - Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)

The 2009 tournament began in controversy as a number of teams chose to withdraw because of the perceived risk of contracting H1/N1 influenza in Melbourne, which had one of the highest rates of infection in the world at the time of the tournament. Despite this setback, the large majority of teams attended as planned. The Chief Adjudicator of the tournament was Jacob Clifton (Monash), with the DCAs being Lisandro 'Leloy' Claudio (South-East Asia), Sayeqa Islam (Oceania) and Jason Jarvis (North-East Asia). The tournament was won by the hosts, Monash University (Tim Jeffrie, Amit Golder, Fiona Prowse) who won the Grand Final in a 5-4 split over Victoria University of Wellington (Polly Higbee, Stephen Whittington, Ella Edginton). Amit Golder was the recipient of the Martin Sorensen Trophy for Best Speaker of the tournament and the Jock Fanselow Cup for Best Speaker of the Grand Final. Monash was the highest ranked team after the preliminary rounds and were undefeated throughout the tournament. The University of Indonesia were the winners of the ESL competition, and the University of Auckland bid unopposed for the right to host in 2010.

2008 - Ateneo de Manila University (Manila, the Philippines)

Ateneo Australs 2008 will be remembered for the most efficient tabbing in recent IV history, with day two running one hour ahead of schedule. The social functions were also well regarded. Most notable among them was Women's Night, which featured the controversial topic 'That pre and post-opt transsexuals should be allowed into women-only groups' and included guest speeches from the President of the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines and the Director of the Women's Studies program at the University of the Philippines. The adjudication team was composed of Chief Adjudicator Bobby Benedicto (Ateneo) and Deputy Chief Adjudicators Rob Leeds (University of Queensland), Liz Sheargold (University of Melbourne), and Tate Thomas (Multimedia University). The tournament was won by the University of Sydney (Julia Bowes, Naomi Oreb and Steve Hind) in a 6-1 split decision over Monash University (Victor Finkel, Sashi Balaraman and Kiran Iyer). Sydney 2 (Bronwyn Cowell, Tim Mooney, and Jack Wright) and Ateneo 1 (Charisse Borromeo, Kip Oebanda, and Sharmila Parmanand) were the beaten semi-finalists. Sydney 1 went through the tournament undefeated, with Naomi Oreb the deserving winner of the Martin Sorensen Trophy for Best Speaker. Oreb also won the Jock Fanselow Cup for Best Speaker in the Grand Final. Remarkably, and for the first time in recent memory, all six of Sydney's teams qualified for the octo-finals, although only teams 1-3 were eligible to take part due to the cap on more than three teams from one institution taking part in the break. International Islamic University Malaysia won the ESL competition. Monash University won the bid to host the tournament in 2009, defeating a rival bid from Keio University (Japan) by a 30-16 margin.

2007 - Universiti Teknologi Mara (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

UT Mara hosted the largest Australs ever, with 108 teams taking part, including a large number from Malaysia. The organisation of the tournament was often problematic. Most tabs were several hours late, and there were few social events, as on several days debates did not finish until late at night. The Chief Adjudicator was Iqbal Hafiedz from UT Mara, assisted by Eleanor Uy (Philippines), Lucia Pietrapaoli (Australia) and Tim Sonnreich (Australia) as DCAs. The University of Queensland B (Andrew Hodge, Kristen Price, and Mitchell Grady) team beat Victoria University of Wellington A (Christopher Bishop, Stephen Whittington, and Sayeqa Islam) in the final, the first win for Queensland. Sayeqa Islam from Victoria University of Wellington was the best speaker on the tab - only the second speaker outside of Australia to win the prize, and the first New Zealander. Islam was also the best speaker in the Grand Final. Monash University 1 (Tim Jeffrie, Amit Golder and Fiona Prowse) and the University of Queensland 3 (Alice Heathcoate, Oliver Badenhorst and Nihal Shekhar Kumta) were the beaten semi-finalists. University of Malaya 1 won the ESL competition. Ateneo de Manila and Monash University fought a fierce battle for the right to host Australs 2008; with Ateneo eventually prevailing.

2006 - Victoria University of Wellington (Wellington, New Zealand)

Victoria hosted what was at the time the largest Australs ever (78 teams). The tournament is widely recognised as being the best ever held, a title which was bestowed on the tournament by a group of old and experienced Australs participants at the Championship Dinner. The tournament was notable for its excellent social events, including a traditional Maori opening ceremony, cocktail functions, a Women's Night function at the New Zealand Parliament, a test debate at a local bar involving a transgender ex-prostitute Member of Parliament, and a glittering Grand Final. The Chief Adjudicator was Kevin Moar from Victoria, with Rajesh Krishnan (Singapore) and Kylie Lane (Australia) as DCAs. The tournament was won by Monash University 1 (Tom Chapman, Roland Dillon, and Jacob Clifton) who defeated the University of Melbourne 1 (Jess Moir, Lucia Pietrapaoli, and Elizabeth Sheargold) in the final. Ateneo de Manila University 1 (Charisse Borromeo, Leloy Claudio, Sharmila Parmanand) and Multimedia University 1 (Sumithra Rajendra, Balloons, Big Boy) were the beaten semi-finalists. Elizabeth Sheargold from Melbourne 1 won the best speaker prize. Australs 2006 saw the introduction of the Jock Fanselow Cup for the best speaker of the Grand Final. The inaugural winner was Roland Dillon from Monash, who was also 2nd on the tab. Universiti Teknologi Mara won the ESL competition, and bid unopposed for the right to host Australs 2007.

2005 - University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia)

Queensland hosted the second successive Australs to be held in Australia. The Chief Adjudicator was Rob Leeds from Queensland, assisted by Sumithra Rajendra (Malaysia), Andrew Fitch (Australia), and Bobby Benedicto (Philippines) as DCAs. The tournament was most notable for a series of very unusual topics chosen by the adjudication team throughout the preliminary rounds, and for its excellent social events. The tournament was won by the University of Sydney Union 2 (Patrick Meagher, Ivan ah Sam, and Brad Lancken) who defeated Ateneo de Manila University 1 (Leloy Claudio, Charisse Borromeo, and Sharmila Parmanand) in the final. Ivan ah Sam topped the tab.

2004 - University of Technology, Sydney (Sydney, Australia)

UTS 2004 saw the introduction of DCAs for Australs. Ani Satchithananda from the University of Sydney was the CA, assisted by Latif from International Islamic University as the DCA. The tournament was won by Monash University 1 (Kylie Lane, Tim Sonnreich, and Roland Dillon) who beat Multimedia University 1 in the final (Suthen Thomas, Prasanth Sreesanth, and Logandran Balavijendran), the first team from Asia to make the final. University of Sydney (Dominic Thurbon, Brad Lancken and Ivan Ah Sam) and Australian National University (Mat Kenneally, Patrick Delaney and Kirsty McLaren) were semi finalists, It was Sonnreich's third Australs win. The best speaker was Mat Kenneally from the Australian National University, whose team broke 1st.

2003 - Multimedia University (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

An outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and ongoing concerns over security in South East Asia discouraged some institutions from sending teams to Kuala Lumpur. The tournament was won by the University of Sydney 1 (Ani Satchithananda, Alex Croft and Hamish White) who defeated Monash University 2 (Andrew Fitch, Kylie Lane and Simin Kocdag) in the final. Ateneo de Manila University 1 finished the preliminary rounds as the top ranked team, the first Asian institution to achieve this. Tim Sonnreich was the best speaker of the tournament for the second consecutive year. Singapore Management University had originally been the only applicant for 2004 Australs, but were beaten by a last minute bid from the University of Technology, Sydney.

2002 - The University of Melbourne (Melbourne, Australia)

University of Melbourne 1 (Perry Herzfeld, Sarah Kennedy and Alice Muhlebach) defeated the Australian National University 1 (Mat Kenneally, Paul Barnsley and Rose Driscoll) in a 3-2 split in the final. Tim Sonnreich from Monash University won the Martin Sorenson trophy for best speaker of the tournament. Multimedia University won the right to host 2003 Australs over the University of Adelaide.

2001 - Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

With over 70 teams participating NTU Australs was considered unusually large at the time. The tournament was won by Monash University 1 (Tim Sonnreich, Amanda Wolthuizen and Luke Oliver) who defeated the University of Melbourne 1 (Perry Herzfeld, Steve Bell and Tess Fitzgerald) in the final. The University of Melbourne won the right to host the next Australs over the Australian National University.

See also

• World Universities Debating Championship
• European Universities Debating Championship
• North American Debating Championship
• Asian Universities Debating Championship
• All-Asian Intervarsity Debating Championships
• Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships
• Royal Malaysian Intervarsity Debating Championship

References

External links

• 2007 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships website
• World Debate Website page on the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships