Not a debateable outcome

For the first time in living memory, Imperial College has been represented at the annual World Universities Debating Championships. This year’s WUDC competition was hosted by the Berlin Debating Union in Technische Universität Berlin from the December 27th until the January 4th.

By the conclusion of the competition, Ed Middleton, an Imperial 5th year medic, was placed as the 84th highest ranked speaker in the world. The whole Imperial team, virgins of the WUDC, ranked highly in the top 20% of the 400 competing teams. Imperial’s judges were also personally chosen by the event’s organisers to judge the highest quality debates at the competition.

Each competing team, made up of two people, takes part in a gruelling nine individual rounds of different debates over a five day period. Each debate is against a room of teams made up of the best student debaters in the world. The event is the largest debating tournament in the world, with over 1000 speakers, judges and organisers in attendance.

The Berlin competition was eventually won by a team from Monash University (Australia); a university that has now won the WUDC three timesin a row.

For next year’s competition in Chennai (India) the Debating Society will again hold open trials for anyone to compete for an opportunity to represent Imperial

The Imperial team and judges were selected in internal trials within the College, which were adjudicated by external judges. The victorious team was chosen to compete and two runners up representing Imperial as judges.

For next year’s competition in Chennai (India) the Debating Society will again hold open trials for anyone to compete for an opportunity to represent Imperial and they say they are encourage new people to “have a go” at debating.

Debating Society President, James Clough, who along with Ed Middleton made up the other half of the Imperial team at the WUDC, had never debated before he came to university.

“We are looking forward to new people competing in debating for a chance to represent Imperial in next year’s WUDC competition and at other competitions closer to home,” he said. “I think I can safely say that all of us had an excellent week in Berlin and are already looking forward to next year”

There was also of course a social element to theevent, with a lot of what has been described as international “networking”. The competition, lasting from December until January, gave all present the chance to celebrate the New Year in the manner expected of 1000 university students.

For more information about starting debating you can email debate@imperial.ac.uk.