Just 15 months until the global debating community is going to assemble in Berlin from December 27, 2012 until January 4, 2013 to compete for the title of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC or Worlds). Right now, chief adjudicators Sharmila Parmanand and Doug Cochran are looking for deputy chief adjudicators (DCA) to enhance their team. Please use the application form made available for you by Achte Minute.

What’s the task? Doug gave Achte Minute the answer: DCAs should “serve alongside us in training judges, setting motions, and generally managing the adjudication of the tournament.” Sharmila and he are “looking to “build the strongest possible team for Berlin Worlds; we’re looking for candidates who can provide the experiences, skills, and perspectives that we can’t.” As they promised during the bidding period, they want at least one DCA on board who is a non-native English speaker, “eligible for either the ESL or EFL break, according to current WUDC rules.”

Three more characteristics candidates should bring along with them:

• Organisational ability – Is the candidate a capable administrator and organiser?  Do they work well as part of team?  When part of adjudication teams, do they rank, promote, and break judges on the basis of merit?
• Skill as adjudicator – Is this person a top adjudicator, scrupulous in reaching the correct decision and willing to invest time in quality feedback?
• Skill as a motion setter – Does the candidate set motions that are fair and fun to debate?

You feel like they’re looking for you? Then fill out the form, send it back to both adjudicators via s [dot] parmanand [at] wudcberlin [dot] com and d [dot] cochran [at] wudcberlin [dot] comand make sure it’s there before September 30. After that, Doug and Sharmila are going to publish a full list of names and solicit feedback from the global debating community as Doug explained in an e-mail to that very same community.

Die World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) werden seit 1981 jährlich um den Jahreswechsel ausgetragen, seit 1996 immer im British Parliamentary Style. Vom 27. Dezember 2012 bis 4. Januar 2013 wird die Debattierwelt zu Gast in Berlin sein. Die Gastgeberin, die Berlin Debating Union, erwartet 1.100 Teilnehmer aus mehr als 50 Ländern. Das Chefjurorenteam wird angeführt von Sharmila Parmanand (Philippinen) und Doug Cochran (England). Debattiert wird auf Englisch in drei Sprachkategorien: “Main” (vor allem Muttersprachler), “ESL” (English as a Secound Language, für Leute mit hauptsächlich englischsprachigem Unterricht oder Aufenthalten in englischsprachigen Ländern) und “EFL” (English as a Foreign Language, für Leute, deren Sprachkenntnisse nur auf Schulunterricht basieren).