Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Training & Tournament in Wuhan, China

Last weekend in Wuhan, IDEA visited the Hubei University of Economics to help train and judge at its Cang Long Cup. In addition to helping with training in the English language and its 64-team English tournament, IDEA made a first attempt at working with Chinese-language debate. The training session attracted over 100 participants and fused the Western format of British Parliamentary debate with a Chinese-language medium.

Led by Eric Barnes, philosophy professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, with interpretation help from Helen McCabe, also an HWS professor, and Anna Martin, the team introduced participants to debate generally and the norms of BP debate specifically. Beginning with how to structure speeches and arguments and progressing to a demonstration debate as well as practice in public speaking and debate, the workshop began Friday evening and ended Saturday evening.

The demonstration debate by students from the host university and Beijing Foreign Studies University centered on the motion "Western Media Influence does more harm than good in China." Important issues of media bias were discussed in front of the 115-strong audience. The English language demonstration focused on the topic of Genetically-modified foods in China.

On Sunday, the English language track, which had several hundred participants, held a 64-team BP mini-tournament with 4 rounds. Each team was able to debate in each BP position one time. Because there was no final round, participants were given Gold, Silver or Bronze IDEA certificates based on their performance in the 4 rounds. Topics debated ranged from providing condoms on college campuses to intellectual property rights for musicians.

There are many people to thank, but I'd like to specifically mention Isabel from HBUE, Eric Barnes, Helen McCabe, Anna Martin, Gary Rybold, all the student volunteers and judges, and the administration of HBUE for supporting debate.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

US Universities Tournament Results

The US Universities National Tournament, hosted by Portland State University and co-Sponsored by IDEA, took place April 11th-13th at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Tournament results are:

Quarterfinalists:
University of Alaska - Jim Stinson and Michaela Hernandez
Claremont Colleges - Joseph Clifton and Jesse Katz-Blumenthal
Colgate University - Stephen West and Andrew Eldridge
Loyola Marymount University MC - James Mollison and Matt Contreras
Loyola Marymount University CA - Courtney Crooks and Michael Aguilera
Seattle University - Michael Flores and Nicholas Henderson
Seattle University - Alana Bellwood and Sophia Sanders
Willamette University - Megan Kowalski and Edward McGlone

Semifinalists:
University of Alaska - Ben Ferguson and Severin Randal
Hobart William Smith College - Dan Thorson and David Hernandez
Portland State University - Josh Gross and Kelly Welch
Regis University - Dennis Sapranov and Braden Smith

Finalists
Claremont Colleges - Charles Sprague and Kari (last name omitted)
Seattle University - Michael Imeson and James Kilcup
University of LaVerne - Rob Ruiz and Thomas Allison

First Place:
Loyola Marymount University - Alexander Schwab and Kevin Kiley

Congratulations, Debaters!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

IDEA-NFL Korea Qualifying Tournament Results

The IDEA-NFL Qualifier in Korea at Indianhead International School successfully concluded on Saturday evening. After 6 debate rounds, 4 oratory rounds, and 3 duo and dramatic rounds all packed into Friday evening and Saturday, the qualifiers for the NFL National Tournament in Las Vegas have been determined. There are 10 people and they come from 5 different schools, indicating the level and balance of competition in speech and debate in Korea. Without further ado, the results:


Duo Interpretation:

3rd place (2nd alternate for Las Vegas): Haeun Park and Amy Byun from Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS).

2nd place (1st alternate for Las Vegas): Joyce Lee and Michelle Kim from Korea International School (KIS)

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Kristin Chung and Hanna Kim from KIS



Dramatic Interpretation:

4th place (finalist): Julia Shin from Seoul International School (SIS)

3rd place (2nd alternate): Megan Song from KIS

2nd place (1st alternate): Soomin Kim from Cheongshim International Academy

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Sukyeon Won from SIS

Original Oratory:

5th place (2nd alternate): Minjoo Kim from Daewon Foreign Language High School

4th place (1st alternate): Sung Woo Yang from SIS

3rd place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Sejin Park from KIS

2nd place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Suyeon Kim from Cheongshim International Academy

1st place (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Ashley Shin from Taejeon Christian International School

Public Forum Debate:

4th place (2nd alternate): Jeewon Yoo and Do Hyeong Kwon from Daewon FLHS

3rd place (1st alternate): Jun-bin Yun and Ku-ri Park from Daeil FLHS

2nd place, 5-1 record (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Janice Yoon and Stephanie Char from SIS

1st place, 6-0 record (Qualifier for Las Vegas): Youjin Song and Jongmin Lee from Daewon FLHS

Congratulations to all! Thank you everyone for all of your hard work to make this year's tournament a success. I want to especially recognize Tammi Wenzig from Indianhead International School for hosting this tournament. The facilities were beautiful and IDEA owes a debt of gratitude to Tammi and IIS for hosting the tournament this year. Thanks, Tammi!

Monday, April 07, 2008

HWS/IDEA Round Robin: Results are In!

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Round Robin BP Tournament this year. The competition was intense, and every speaker did a wonderful job. For full tab of tournament rankings, please visit: http://people.hws.edu/barnes/debate/Round-Robin-Tab-2008.pdf. A short list below:
1. Hart House (U. of Toronto)
2. Harvard
3. Oxford
4. Claremont
5. Swarthmore
6. Queen's
7. LaVerne
8. Rochester Institute of Technology
9. Seattle University
10. Vassar
11. University of Alaska-Anchorage
12. Portland State University
13. Yale
14. Amherst
15. Cornell
16. University of Vermont

IDEA is looking forward to partnering with HWS again for this event next year!

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Reporting from the HWS/IDEA Round Robin





Debate Enthusiasts,
The competition at the 2008 HWS/IDEA Round Robin BP Tournament is outstanding. The sixteen teams here have demonstrated impressive skills, and tournament organizers, Eric Barnes, Kate Bardsley, and the HWS team have been gracious hosts. What a wonderful event!


Rounds 1 and 2 were held yesterday, and debaters attended a reception at the home of HWS President Mark Gearan. Today, we begin rounds 3,4,and 5, followed by the final round to take place in the historic St. John's Chapel on the HWS campus.

Current standings up to Round 3 are:
1: Oxford University
2: Queen's University
3: Harvard University
4: Rochester Institute of Technology
5: Hart House (U. of Toronto)
6: Claremont Colleges
7: Swarthmore College
8: University of LaVerne
9: University of Alaska-Anchorage
10: Portland State University
11: Seattle University
12: Vassar College
13: Cornell University
14: Amherst College
15: University of Vermont
16: Yale University

Stay tuned for final results!