The team TCD Hist A (Lorna Staines, Catherine Prasifka, Dublin) won the open finals as Closing Opposition at the UCU Open 2016. They prevailed against Utrecht United (Danique van Koppenhagen, Florine Rombach) in Opening Government, X in Opening Opposition and Jules and Tom (Jules Boog, Tom Pouw)  in Closing Government on the motion “Assuming the technology exists, THW remove the fear of death from all (human) individuals.” The final was adjudicated by Simone Landman (chair), Katharina Jansen, Mike Weltevrede, Clíodhna Ní Chéileachair,  Nishith Hegde and two others whose names we weren’t provided.

The novice finals were won by The Backup (Becky Mikova, Pelle Keulen, Rotterdam) on the motion “THBT states should actively promote the idea that the decision to have a child is a selfish one.” Aside from them, the following teams competed: UDC Law BB (Annie Kate Bradley, Kyran Brady) , Berlin AJ (John Kay, Matt Caito) and Up TU something (Hemang Chawla, Luisa Beloqui, Delft). It got adjudicated by Nevenka Radic (chair) and others whose names we weren’t provided.

Open break

1. Utrecht United (Danique van Koppenhagen, Florine Rombach)

2. Leiden Lennart and Tom (Tom Morley, Lennart van Laake)

3. TCD Hist A (Lorna Staines, Catherine Prasifkam, Dublin)

4. Fortuna D (David Metz, Jeroen Wijnen, The Hague)

5. Bona D&J (Davy Fung and Jakob Hagenberg, Amsterdam)

6. German Angst (Yimin Ge, Caroline Asschenfeldt, Munich)

7. Jules and Tom (Jules Boog, Tom Pouw, Asterdam)

8. DCGA Göttingen A (Jan-Henrik Hinselmann, Alexander Osterkorn).

Danique van Koppenhagen was declared best speaker of the tournament and Tom Morley ended as the number 1 novice speaker.

On the fourth and fifth of November, the UCU open took place on the campus of University College Utrecht in Utrecht, the Netherlands, organised by Jelte Schievels (covener) together with Elvire Landstra, Mischa Sibbel and Daan Sanders. The CA team consisted of Rebecca Irvine, Nishith Hegde, Clíodhna Ní Chéileachair, Ilija Ivanišević and Ybo Buruma.

Motion overview

R1: THW ban political candidates who repeatedly make false claims during election campaigns from running for office.

R2: THW fully subsidise all forms of plastic surgery.

R3: THW grant full self-government to indigenous peoples who live in geographically separate areas.

Info slide: Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. For example: Native Americans, Indigenous Australians, Canadian first-nations people.

R4: THBT the International Criminal Court should hire bounty hunters to catch people who refuse to surrender after an indictment.

Info slide: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international court that prosecutes individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Currently the ICC is dependent on its member countries to catch and bring forward any individuals the ICC indicts.

R5: THBT women should boycott major international sporting events in countries with poor womens’ rights records.

Semi-finals: THBT the US should impose a no-fly zone in Syria.

Novice finals: THBT states should actively promote the idea that the decision to have a child is a selfish one.

Open finals: Assuming the technology exists, THW remove the fear of death from all (human) individuals.

fvw./lok.