[Astana EUDC 2020] The European Debating Championships

Day 1

By: Harmen de Jong (Utrecht Debating Society)

Today (August 2, 2020) was the first day of the Astana EUDC, the European Championships in debating. Because of the coronavirus, the tournament takes place on Discord and Zoom, so a trip to Kazakhstan is unfortunately not possible. Partially because everyone can join from their living room, the judge panels are very strong this year; every room has 3 to 5 judges and many rooms even have two judges that I would put in the chair, without a doubt. Do expect a competitive judge break and strong calls, even though Leiden A did actually earn the first place in round 3.

The Dutch teams all look to be very strong: all teams have won at least one debate and Leiden B even won all three rounds!

Now that the debates are over, there is a Scribbl social. I am personally to tired to join. It is the summer; I am no longer used to getting up at 7:30.

Day 2

By: Harmen de Jong (Utrecht Debating Society)

This is starting to look like a fantastic EUDC for the Netherlands. Today, the Dutch teams were again really strong and for many of them a place in the final rounds is getting close. Moreover, Linsey was the second Dutch judge who chaired a debate, after Daan Welling (who was a chair judge in all rounds so far).

Our teams first had to debate about the interest rate of central banks and about using fake news to make dictators look bad. In round 6, the following motion came along:

Informatiedia: 10 Minute School is a large educational start-up operating in Bangladesh. It produces very popular online content including lessons on school subjects, as well as basic life skills such as writing a CV. Recently, in response to several videos about consent, LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality, extremists in Bangladesh have come out against the organization and its founders, calling the organization anti-Muslim and openly threatening them.

Stelling: THBT 10 Minute School should remove the videos.

Round 6 – Astana EUDC 2020

This motion was my favorite of today. The comparative that the teams need to make seems clear from the get-go but the clash allows for a lot of depth and variation, leading to a nice debate in my room.

Day 3

By: Mike Weltevrede (Nederlandse Debatbond)

The last day has arrived. The teams will engage in three more debates today. To raise the tension, the teams do not get to hear the results of the debates. It was also exciting for our judges: Daan Spackler and Daan Welling got to chair a debate in rounds 7 and 8/ The same occurred to Harmen de Jong in round 8 and Lucy McManus in round 9. Linsey Keur even got to chair all rounds today!

At the end of the day, the so-called break was announced: which teams are through to the final rounds. Leiden A, B, and C broke in both the Open and ESL category. Amsterdam A only broke in the ESL category. Of our judges, Daan Spackler, Harmen de Jong, and Linsey Keur also are invited to judge the final rounds.

Day 4

By: Mike Weltevrede (Nederlandse Debatbond)

Here is an overview of what happened on day 4 of Astana EUDC 2020. Linsey judged an ESL quarterfinal and Harmen judged one of the Partial Double Quarters. Daan Spackler was called upon as a judge in the quarterfinals. Leiden A, B, and C are through to the ESL semifinals; unfortunately, Amsterdam A did not. In one ESL semifinal, Leiden C (Opening Opposition) and Leiden B (Closing Opposition) battled it out. Leiden A found their match in the other ESL semifinal. At the end of the round, it was announced that Leiden C made it to the ESL finals! Unfortunately, Leiden A and B did not make it.

Moreover, Leiden C made it through the Partial Double Quarterfinals to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, none of the Leiden teams was in the same room, luckily enough. Eventually, it was announced that all Leiden teams made it to the open semifinals! These take place the next day.

Day 5

By: Mike Weltevrede (Nederlandse Debatbond)

Today, the open semifinals and both finals take place. As said, Leiden C is already through to the ESL finals. After an amazing semifinals, it was announced that Leiden A and C were through to the open finals! The adventure stopped for Leiden B but we are, of course, very proud of them too.

In the ESL finals, Leiden C faced UDIMA A (Spain), Warwick A (England), and Vienna A (Austria). The open finals were fought out between Leiden A, Leiden C, HUJI A (Israel), and Tel Aviv B (Israel). Tonight, we know if we can call our champions with exactly that title: champions.

Update: Big news! Leiden wins both finals! Leide C wins the ESL finals and Leiden A wins the open finals. The Nederlandse Debatbond congratulates them on their victory.

EUDC, WUDC and WSDC Reporter

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