Dutch WUDC is approaching!
How to get involved
For the first time in the history of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), WUDC will be hosted in the Netherlands. Dutch WUDC will take place from the 27th of December 2016 to the 4th of January 2017 in The Hague. It promises to be the biggest debating event in Dutch history, with 8 days of thrilling debates and fantastic socials.
The preparation for WUDC are already on their way for more than 1,5 years, but with only 4 months to go, it is getting real! We hope that many of you Dutch debaters will be involved in Dutch WUDC. This article gives you five suggestions how you can join!
Speak!
Several Dutch debating societies have successfully registered to send one or more teams to WUDC in The Hague, others are still on the waiting list. If your institution registered, consider asking your society how they select the teams and be part of the selection! WUDC is a great experience for both experienced and new debaters. Attending WUDC in The Hague is probably the cheapest WUDC experience you are going to have, as your travel costs will be minimal. You never know when WUDC will be back in the Netherlands, so make use of the opportunity!
Judge!
Judging is also a great way to experience WUDC. It is quite likely your society is not only sending teams, but also sending one or two judges. If not, there are two other options. Firstly, a second round of Independent Adjudicator applications will open soon. If you want to judge independently of your institution and you feel that you are good enough, you can apply for one of these spots. Do realise that there are more people applying than spots available, so you might not get a spot. More information can be found here. Lastly, it can happen that international institutions are not able to find judges to fill up their judging spots. Sometimes they are offered on international debate pages. In these situations, you will have to pay your own registration fee, but it does provide you the opportunity to judge on behalf of another university.
Organise!
WUDC is organized by an org comm consisting of members of different debating societies from the Netherlands, with Andrea Bos & Bionda Merckens as convenors. We are currently looking for new people for our org comm. This is a great opportunity to be part of the organisation of one of the biggest student events in the world. Not only will it be fun, it is also great for your CV if you can say that you were part of the organisation of such a major event. The positions can be found here. Please apply before September 6th.
Volunteer!
You don’t have the time to be part of the org comm? Or do you just want to be involved during the event itself and is debating or judging not an option? Apply to become a volunteer! We cannot run WUDC without the help of volunteers. It is also a fun opportunity to be part of something great and it is a great way to build up your debate network and to build up experience in hosting events. Food and accommodation during WUDC will be covered. We do ask you to attend two mandatory preparation meetings in October and November (dates to be confirmed). More information or do you want to stay updated about when volunteer registration opens? Click here!
Train!
WUDC offers a training programme in the next few months led by our Director of Training. The programme is starting soon and more information will follow within the next week.
If you have any further questions about how to get involved at Dutch Worlds, don’t hesitate to contact Andrea, one of the convenors, at andrea@dutchwudc.nl!
Daan Welling
Daan is een oud-debater van de Leiden Debating Union en Nijmeegse Studentendebatvereniging Trivium. Ook diende hij als Bestuurslid PR & Communicatie van de Nederlandse Debatbond (2013-2014).
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