Debate heats up as the WODC moves into the quarter-finals

The second round results are in, and pressure mounts for those teams moving on in the World Online Debate Championships, hosted by IDEA and Debatewise. Out of the 25 teams initially in this tournament, eight teams remain. Congratulations to the winning teams who overtook their opponents in the second round: Mexico, Estonia, Latvia, South Korea, England, Venezuela, South Africa, and Lithuania. The closest debate in this round was between Pakistan and Estonia, tallying a 50-50 vote total on the issue, “Leaders of countries that use extra-territorial rendition should be tried for war crimes.”

The quarter finals began on Thursday September 10th and will last until Sunday, September 13th. The semi-final rounds will be held on September 21st – 22nd, and the final round will be held Monday, September 28th. Here is the line-up for the quarter-finals:

Thursday September 10th
(Proposition) Mexico v Estonia (Opposition)
Friday September 11th
(P) Latvia v South Korea (O)
Saturday September 12th
(P) England v Venezuela (O)
Sunday September 13th
(P) South Africa v Lithuania (O)

This debate championship is taking debate to a new level, utilizing new technology as forms of connecting debaters from around the world to discuss today’s controversial issues. Each team is given 24 hours after their topic is announced to deliver their argument, which provides enough time for participants to perfect their debates- which in turn leads to difficult judging.

For more information on the World Online Debate Championship, visit the website or their Facebook page.