A limerick is not just a witty five-line poem, but also the name of an Irish town that hosts the University of Limerick (UL) where the UL Open 2011 will take place on 11 and 12 March. This competition is intended to be “undoubtedly the most fun IV of the year,” as is reported on the Facebook website of that Irish open.

The team cap is 32 teams, format will be British Parliamentary Style, language of the debates is English. Chief adjudicators are Niall Sherry, winner of the Irish Times Debate 2010, and Patrick Rooney, octo-finalist of Worlds 2010 and winner of this year’s Euros at Amsterdam. Both Patrick and Niall “have the advantage of being two of the nicest people on the Irish circuit as well as two of the most qualified,” chief convenor David Hartery says.

Crash is available in limited numbers, judges are preferred to make sure they are comfortable. The registration fee is 65 Euros which will be reduced for non-Irish teams. That includes dinners on Friday and Saturday as well as a full Irish breakfast. Registration will be open from 31 January 2011 via ulopen2011[at]gmail.com. More information is availabe on the website of the UL debating Union.

apf / glx