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| University Parliamentary Debating |
|---|
| World Universities Debating Championship |
| Regional Championships |
| All-Asian Intervarsity · Asian Universities · Australasia · Europe · John Smith Memorial Mace · North America |
| National Championships |
| Australia · Canada · Ireland |
| Organizations |
| APDA · CUSID · English-Speaking Union · IONA Debating Circuit · NPDA |
| Styles |
| Australasian · British Parliamentary |
| Societies |
| Auckland · Birmingham · Brown · Cambridge · Cork · Durham · Galway · Glasgow · Limerick · Manchester · Maynooth · Monash · Otago · Ottawa · Oxford · Princeton · St Andrews · Sydney · TCD-Hist · TCD-Phil · Tilbury · Toronto · UBC · UCD-L&H · Victoria · Virginia · Western Ontario · Yale |
The European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC, colloquially known as "Europeans" or "Euros") is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Europe. The competition uses the British Parliamentary Debate format (the same debate format used at the World Universities Debating Championship).
Origins of the championships
The championship's origins are murky, with an attempt to mirror Worlds for Europe in the hope of promoting debating in Central Europe in particular having had several false starts.
The championships as they are known today were first held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands at Erasmus University from 8-11 April 1999. Subsequent tournaments have been held at a similar time of year, although the competition has become slightly longer to accommodate the growth of the event.
The competition in 1999 involved 32 teams of two speakers, but has now grown to involve over 100 teams each year. Institutions can enter more than one team based on the ability of the organisers to accommodate them. Some institutions also enter teams from more than one separate debating societies within their institution, which has proved controversial at times.
The competition's supporters description of the tournament as "Europe's equivalent of Worlds" has proved controversial among those who consider the John Smith Memorial Mace to be the gold standard for debating teams in the region, despite the fact that that only teams from universities in the British Isles are eligible to participate in the Mace.
Participants
Participating teams are drawn principally from European tertiary education institutions, although teams from the Middle East and central Asian institutions are eligible pending the formation of similar competitions in their regions. Students at the Inns of Court are also eligible subject to some conditions.
The competition
The competition has a main section of several rounds of debating, after which the top 16 teams proceed to the elimination rounds (the "break"). There is also a separate break of 16 teams for English-as-Second-Language (ESL) teams. ESL teams may also simultaneously break into the main tournament knock-out rounds.
List of Championships
Past championships
* The tournament was actually held in Portorož, on the Adriatic coast of Slovenia.
Future championships
2010 - to be hosted by Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
English-as-Second-Language (ESL) Competition Winners
| Year | ESL Competition Winner |
| 2009 | Leiden University (Netherlands) |
| 2008 | Babeş-Bolyai University (Romania) |
| 2007 | Tallinn University (Estonia) |
| 2006 | University of Bonn (Germany) |
| 2005 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2004 | Interdisciplinary Center (Israel) |
| 2003 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2002 | Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) |
| 2001 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2000 | University of Tartu (Estonia) |
| 1999 | Deree College (Greece) |
Best Speakers of the Tournament
| Year | Speaker | University |
| 2009 | Jonathan Leader Maynard | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2008 | James Dray Simon Quinn |
University of Oxford (England) University of Oxford (England) |
| 2007 | Sam Block | University of Cambridge (England) |
| 2006 | Will Jones | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2005 | Niall Kennedy | University of Glasgow (Scotland) |
| 2004 | Derek Lande | University College Cork (Ireland) |
| 2003 | David Penny | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2002 | Matt Spence | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2001 | Mila Turajlic | Yugo Deb Net (Yugoslavia) |
| 2000 | Fergal Davis | Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) |
| 1999 | Michael Birshan | University of Oxford (England) |
Grand Finalist & ESL Champion Team Members
2009 (University of Newcastle, England)
Champions:
- University of Oxford A Team - Jonathan Leader Maynard & Shengwu Li
Finalists:
- University of Oxford C Team - Neil Dewar & Max Kasriel
- University of Oxford E Team - Joanna Farmer & Thomas Hosking
- Tel Aviv University - Yoni Cohen & Uri Merhav
ESL Champions:
- Leiden University - Ali al Khatib & Rob Honig
2008 (Tallinn University, Estonia)
Champions:
- University of Oxford A Team - James Dray & Will Jones
Finalists:
- King's College London - Jonathan Leader Maynard & Louis Palombo
- University of Oxford B Team - Simon Quinn & Alex Worsnip
- University of Oxford D Team - Benjamin Jasper & Shengwu Li
ESL Champions:
- Babeş-Bolyai University - Dan Cristea & Nico Lupea
2007 (Koç University, Turkey)
Champions:
- University of Cambridge B Team - Sam Block & Giles Robertson
Finalists:
- University of Cambridge A Team - David Tite & Daniel Warents
- University College Cork - Daniel Patrick McCarthy & Stephen Nolan
- University of St Andrews - Doug Cochran & Connie Grieve
ESL Champions:
- Tallinn University - Allan-Hermann Pool & Uve Poom
2006 (Berlin Debating Union, Germany)
Champions:
- University of Oxford - Alexander Betts & Gavin Illsley
Finalists:
- University College Cork - Derek Doyle & Tony Murphy
- Durham University - Ian Chapman & Siddharth Khajuria
- University of Glasgow - Niall Kennedy & Niall Rowantree
ESL Champions:
- University of Bonn - Isabelle Loewe & Matthias Lux
2005 (University College Cork, Ireland)
Champions:
- Durham University - Bob Nimmo & Erin O'Brien
Finalists:
- Inner Temple - Greg O'Ceallaigh & Charlie Sparling
- University of Oxford - Alexandra Hill & Timothy Saunders
- University College Dublin - Eoghan Casey & Ciarán Lawlor
ESL Champions:
- Erasmus University - Lars Duursma & Sharon Kroes
2004 (Durham University, England)
Champions:
- Utrecht University - Jan Rosing & Klaas van Schelven
Finalists:
- University of Oxford - Jonathan Bailey & Nicholas Sloboda
- University College Cork - Conor Buckley & Derek Lande
- University of London - Maddy Carey & Frederick Cowell
ESL Champions:
- Interdisciplinary Center - Yaron Chayat & Jacob Shwergold
2003 (Zagreb University, Croatia)
Champions:
- University of Bristol - Aneurin Brewer & Can Okar
Finalists:
- Durham University - Tom Hamilton & Jon Simons
- University of Oxford B Team - Alexander Betts & David Penny
- University of Oxford D Team - Bob Cuffe & Peggy Pei Yu Pao
ESL Champions:
- Erasmus University - Lars Duursma & Marc Roels
2002 (Haifa University, Israel)
Champions:
- University of Oxford C Team - Fraser Campbell & Tara Mounce
Finalists:
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Neomi Kreiger & Eli Noverstern
- Interdisciplinary Center - Gour Braslavi & Noga Issachson
- University of Oxford A Team - Nicholas Pacheco & Matt Spence
ESL Champions:
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Neomi Kreiger & Eli Noverstern
2001 (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Champions:
- Inner Temple - Elliott Gold & Matthew Snarr
Second-Place:
- Erasmus University - Alexander Eedemans & Edvard van Geuns
Other Finalists:
- University of Aberdeen - Rami Okasha & Chris Peggie
- Yugo Deb Net - Sonja Stojanevic & Mila Turaljic
ESL Champions:
- Erasmus University - Alexander Eedemans & Edvard van Geuns
2000 (University of Aberdeen, Scotland)
Champions:
- University of Oxford A Team - Aaron Maniam & Melanie Marshall
Finalists:
- University of Oxford D Team - Niall Kennedy & Ewan Smith
- Trinity College Dublin A Team - Fergal Davis & Paul Geaney
- Trinity College Dublin B Team - Conor Byrne & Jim McElroy
ESL Champions:
- University of Tartu - Kristi Hakkaja & Enn Metsar
1999 (Erasmus University, Netherlands)
Champions:
- University of Oxford A Team - Michael Birshan & Muireann O'Cinneide
Finalists:
- University of Oxford B Team - Aaron Maniam & Ewan Smith
- Royal Holloway - Mark Gabriel & André Walker
- Utrecht University - Benjamin Bolger & Bibilotte Duyvesteyn
ESL Champions:
- Deree College - Irini Kamba & Manolis Polychronidis
The Council and the Committee
The Europeans tournament of 1999 formed a Council from the countries represented at the tournament and drafted a Constitution to govern the tournament. Unlike Worlds' tiered voting structures, Europeans Council opted for a one member one vote system of governance, electing to choose equality of representation despite the limited exposure of some countries to British Parliamentary debating at that time for the purpose of encouraging their participation. The Council governs the Constitution and Rules of the tournament, as well as deciding on bids to host subsequent tournaments. At least three bids have been contested - in 2001, Haifa University defeated the University of Limerick, in 2005, Berlin Debating Union defeated Koç University, and in 2007, Tallinn University defeated the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
The Committee is formed of a President (who also chairs Council), a Registrar and regional representation from Central & Eastern Europe, Northern & Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the Islands of the North Atlantic and the convener of the current championship and that for the following year. This committee discusses issues which arise during the time between annual Councils, although the distances involved mandate e-mail rather than in person discussions.
The current president is Jens Fischer from the Berlin Debating Union.
See also
External links
- Official Site of the 2009 Championship in Newcastle
- Official Site of the 2008 Championship in Tallinn
- Official Site of the 2007 championship in Istanbul
- Official Site of the 2006 championship in Berlin
- World Debating Website (including information about the championship)
- World Debating Website page summarising past Euros results
- Debate website with past results and motions from EUDC and future announcements
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