Good evening dear debaters,
Last Tuesday was the kick-off of the Dutch Debating League (DDL). For those who are not familiar with the DDL, eight institutions send two delegates to represent themselves and debate the other institutions. Every society hosts one night, which means there are eight nights. The debates will be held in the British Parliamentary format. When a team wins, it gets 4 points, second means 3 points, third means 2 points, fourth means 1 point, not showing up gives you 0 points.
The first night was in Delft. When I walked in, I noticed that the atmosphere was a little competitive, but still very nice. I interviewed some people to get to know their opinions and expectations.
Leiden (Gigi and Roel) gave the impression that they were going to bring their A-game. Roel used this opportunity as an excuse to wear his blazer and his tie. When I asked about it, he said “Jasje dasje, lul!”, which can’t really be translated. Everyone knows that Roel and Gigi would have been shamed if they did not take eight points. Marike already texted Roel “eight points or we’re done”. It was very clear that Leiden was not going to take it easy on anyone.
But neither was UDS, consisting of Pieter and Florine. “We are very excited for tonight,” is what Pieter told me. Florine agreed and said “I’m very happy to represent UDS for once”. When I asked her how the UDS/UCU construction worked, she pointed at her sweater and showed that she was the only one wearing a UDS sweater.
Trivium, represented by Ellen and Simone, hid in the corner, but I wanted to make sure I had spoken with my own society as well. When I asked them how the felt about tonight, the keyword was ‘nervous’. Simone: “I’m looking forward to the first round, but the nerves are coming right now.” I asked Ellen if she had faith in tonight, but she replied that she had faith in Simone, which is good enough.
Bjorn spoke on behalf of GDS. “Yes, of course, I think it’s going to be fun. I just hope that Joris is going to show up as soon as possible, otherwise, I have a problem.” I was surprised that GDS matriarch Linsey wasn’t coming, but she had other duties.
The last society I managed to interview before round one, was Cicero, represented by Euros team Cicero A, Jos and Lotte. Jos gave me a very inspiring analysis on the first DDL night: “We’re standing at the beginning of something beautiful, Daan. The beginning of a competition that is going to form a new generation of debaters. They will look back on this very day, as the beginning of a new debating world.” Wise words if you ask me. Lotte said that I can’t interview her after she did not do so well, so I left her with a compliment on her outfit.
Fun fact: Emma van der Horst, who was CA with Niels Buijssen, had made cupcakes. They were delicious, so here is an extra moment of appreciation for Emma’s cupcakes.
After round one, the results were announced. The two teams that took a first were LDU and Bona, UDS and Trivium second, Delft and Cicero third, and unfortunately a fourth to GDS and EDS.
I went to Zeno and Lana, who represented Bonaparte. The DAPDI winners seemed rather cool about their win. Zeno: “Such a pity that not everyone can take a fourth.” Lana agreed and said: “This was dramatic. We are happy that the panel bought our case.” I replied that I thought their case was quite solid. Steven from EDS: 80 speaks anyway! (He wasn’t judging.) Zeno added to this: “Please note that Ajax beat Feyenoord with 4-1!”
EDS, represented by Joeri and Jelle, wasn’t really in for a short interview. Joeri: “No comments at all.” Jelle: “Shut the fuck up with your SevenTwenty, it was way better when Jelte did it (Thanks Jelle, red.).” Even Sterre had no comments for me. (L)
Hosting society Delft was represented by Fons and Tanya. I asked: “When I say first DDL night, what do you say?” Tanya: “Yay, it’s awesomeeee! I’m super excited!” After that, she started laughing about the Febo stains in Roel’s shirt. Fons, as founder of TUDDC seemed very proud of his society, and rightly so!
Round two started quite quick. This debate was about redistributing donations for charity. The draws were made randomly, but it turned out that the teams that took a first or a second met each other and the teams that took a third or a fourth met each other. LDU and EDS took a first, UDS and GDS a second, Bona and Delft a third and Trivium and Cicero, unfortunately, a fourth.
This means two things. Firstly, these are the results after the first DDL night:
- Leiden, 8 points
- UDS, 6 points
- Bonaparte, 6 points
- EDS, 5 points
- Trivium, 4 points
- GDS, 4 points
- Delft, 4 points
- Cicero, 3 points
Secondly, Roel and Marike stay together! <3. I think the whole debating community is happy with this.
It was a nice start of the Dutch Debating League. I think Emma and Niels did splendid jobs by setting two awesome motions and judging the debates very good. I also want to give a big compliment to the organization of Delft and the DDL committee. Until next time!
By: Daan Spackler
Over de auteur