With the Amsterdam Euros still going on – final rounds (ESL and main break) are still to be held in the Dutch capital on Friday – next year’s host is fixed: the National University of Ireland (NUI) at Galway, sited on the Emerald Isle’s west coast.

The Law Society and the Literary and Debating Society of NUI at Galway cooperated in bidding for staging the Euros in 2011. Being the only bidders, the council being in session at Amsterdam European Universities Debating Championship Thursday night accepted their bid.

Those wanting to take part in next year’s Euros may want to allocate the date: The tournament is going to take place from 7 to 13 August 2011. There will be nine preliminary rounds of debating, the team cap is limited to 200 teams, the fees will be 265 Euros per participant.

Chief Adjudicator Ruth Faller (Ireland) assembled a great team of renowned adjudicators: Shengwu Li (Singapore), Simone van Elk (The Netherlands), Steven Nolan (Ireland) und Yoni Cohen-Idov (Israel). Isabelle Loewe from Bonn, Germany, is going to serve as Equity Officer.

The Irish hosts launched a confident bid on their homepage: They not only want to fulfill all practical requirements that come along with such a prestigious competition, but elevate the standards to unprecedented new heights. Amongst others, the organizational team negotiates with international airlines to provide for inexpensive travelling.

This year’s European Universities Debating Championships (EUDC) are staged in Amsterdam and still going on until July 17. Their slogan reads “Spread the love”. The Euros, founded 1999 in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, are annually held in alternating countries. The format has ever since been British Parliamentary Style. The Emerald Isle hosted the EUDC in 2005, back then in Cork. Motions and more info on the current competition can continually be found on twitter, look for hashtag #EUDC. You may also read current tweets in the Achte Minute magazine on the right bar.

apf / tr / glx