Not an April fools’ joke, seriously: On April 1, registration for the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC or Worlds) starts. Be sure to have all your info ready for registration at 10 a.m. sharp Philippine Standard Time, that is +8 GMT, Greenwich Mean Time, since the DLSU Worlds – named after the De La Salle University – will be held in Manila, Philippines in December and January. For debaters in London that means they will have to fill in the registration form at 2 in the morning. But also debaters from other places will have to get up early to get their registration ready: Berlin at 3 a.m., Jerusalem at 4 a.m., Moscow at 5 a.m. Nota bene: Debaters in western time zones have to be ready on the eve of April 1, for instance in New York City that is 10 p.m. on March 31.

There is loads of detailed information available on the internet about DLSU Worlds: The homepage may be found at www.dlsuworlds.com, where you will soon find the registration form, meanwhile see the preview of the online registration form. Frequently asked questions are already answered in the section of the very same name. Finally, you may want to add De La Salle Worlds as a friend on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Since 1981, debaters from all over the world have been competing at the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) at alternating locations across the planet. It was not before 1996 that the British Parliamentary Style became the mandatory format for this annual tournament. From 27 December 2011 to 4 January 2012, the international debating circuit will flock in to De La Salle University at Manila, Philippines, where the tournament is part of the university’s centennial. The convenors expect more than 1,400 participants from about 70 nations. Co-chief adjudicators are Lucinda David from the local La Salle Debate Society and Sam Block, alumnus debater from the Cambridge Debating Union. Joe Roussos (South Africa), Cormac Early (USA), Tim Mooney (Australia), Masako Suzuki (Japan) und Art Ward (Great Britain/Ireland) are their deputies. Language of debate is English and there are three categories: “Main” for native speakers, “ESL” (English as a Second Language, for those who prove great proficiency in English) and “EFL” (English as a Foreign Language).

apf / glx