This is the second part of a four (!) part series on accessibility in debate, looking at strategies for debaters and judges seeking safe access to debate. The first part covered strategies for participants to improve access to debate and is available here. The third part will encompass different regions' structures of equity within and outside of tournaments. The fourth and final part will contextualize the gendered and racialized experiences of leaders and organizers across the spectrum of debate circuits. If you have questions, suggestions, or experiences to share, please contact spruced@tuta.io. As always, people are sincerely encouraged to share ...

It is not uncommon for major tournaments to host training programmes, as Duncan Crowe, one of the main organizers of the Scottish EUDC training series, puts it. However, the effort invested in the Scottish EUDC training series has been exceptional in length and extent. Instead of being a selected set of workshops delivered directly prior to the competition, this training series has involved the production and distribution of new, live training content directly to societies across Europe. The launch of the Scottish EUDC Training Platform marks the introduction of a new pillar to the international debate education. ...

In this week's feature, Helena Hecke investigates the issue of women not being taken serious in adjudication discussions, along with some suggestions to fix it. ...

In this article, I’d like to argue for more knives in BPS debating. Not because I’m the owner of a knife shop – which I’m not – but because there are certain cases where the current rules are unfair towards certain teams and this could be easily corrected. ...

"Is it ok if we use Debatekeeper?" - words you'll often hear at tournaments, proving that an app supporting the adjudication process is always welcome. However, there was one problem: iOS users had no possibility to use it. An alternative app is now available - New Zealand debater Philip Belesky programmed "Timekept", which is available for 0,99€ at the App Store. Following his invitation, the Achte Minute had Anastasia Kreis check it out. [caption id="attachment_31419" align="alignright" width="400"] © Philip Belesky[/caption] After starting the app you'll first be offered a broad list of national and international debate formats, which you can arrange, prioritise ...

Lots of experienced debaters keep discussing what might be the best way to adjudicate in British Parliamentary Style. Today, Stefan Torges wants to discuss the perfect adjudicator's position. ...

After Tim Squirrel provoked a debate on free speech, Amanda Moorghen, deputy chief adjudicator of this year's European Universities Debating Championship in Vienna, proposed in a comment on Facebook that chief adjudicators (CAs) should take the debaters' feelings into consideration when setting motions: "Your race, your gender – these are things which affect the feelings a motion creates in you. It is wrong when, even unintentionally, we only selectively attempt to avert the suffering of others."  The post got a lot of attention. Shengwu Li, European Champion 2009 and best speaker of the World Univeristies Debating Championship in 2010, answered ...

The Debattierclub Magdeburg announced to host the first English judging seminar in Magdeburg. On Saturday, November 22, the participants will have one day of workshops and training. It will focus on how to arrive at a just call with the panel and how to justify it before the speakers. The workshop will be held by Rebecca Irvine and is aimed at debaters with little judging experience (knowledge of the rules of the British Parliamentary Style is assumed, but not much active judging experience is required). Felicia Hoer wrote that there are ten spots for members from other societies. If necessary, the ...

Adjudicators for the upcoming European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC) 2014 in Zagreb have to complete a mandatory adjudication test. This test will influence their ranking as a judge in the tournament and improve the allocation of judges to the different rooms. The test comprises of three sections. The first is a test debate all adjudicators have to judge. The second part consists of theoretical questions about the rules of BP debating and the third part is the judge's personal information and a list of his past achievements as a speaker and judge. As the Chief Adjudicators wrote on facebook, the submission deadline ...

The organisers of the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC), taking place in Kuala Lumpur from 27 December to 4 January, have opened the first application round for Independent Adjudicators. According to the hosts, there will be two application rounds, the first until late June and the second in September, in order to allocate fundings and judging spots as effectively as possible. On the 12th of May, the organisers published general information on the independent adjudicator application process on facebook. On the 24th, they posted another message including the application link and more detailled information about the first phase. Below, the two ...

Under the impression of experiences at Vienna IV, professor of rhetoric and debating coach Steve Llano advocates for an "ethical adjudication". This article was first published on his blog, Progymnasmata. The Vienna IV seems like a competition that time forgot. It's a competition that reaches back to European debate the way it was long before I got involved in it, to a time when the more weird or inside-joke funny the motion was, the better the tournament. These are examples of motions and procedures that operated debate societies before the current trend of making competitions tied at least somewhat to the ...

The registration of Independent Adjudicators for the Zagreb EUDC 2014 is now open. Everyone who wants to be a judge and has not registered for an institution may now apply as an Independent Adjudicator. The registration is open until March 30th 11pm GMT. Independent Adjudicators may receive travel subsidies according to the costs they must bear and according to their proficiency in British Parliamentary Style (BPS) debating. In addition to basic information, the applicants will therefore have to give details about their debating and judging experience and answer a set of questions. These questions are designed to test the applicants' ability ...

The Debattierklub Wien (DK Wien) has opened an online nomination process for Deputy Chief Adjudicators (DCAs) for the European University Debating Championship (EUDC) 2015 in Vienna. From now on, every debater can nominate somebody he deems suitable to be part of the Chief Adjudicator team for the EUDC using this online form. However, as the Chief Adjudicators Christine Simpson and Michael Shapira emphasise, a nomination neither is necessary nor sufficient to be selected as DCA. The nomination process serves the only purpose of calling attention to apt candidates who do not apply on their own. The actual application process starts on ...

Shafiq Bazari and Jonathan Leader Maynard (Chief Adjudicators, Malaysia Worlds 2015) are pleased to announce that fourteen people have applied to be considered for the position of Deputy Chief Adjudicator at Malaysia Worlds 2015. Among the candidates is our very own Dessislava Kirova from Berlin (ESL-Finalist at Manila Worlds, DCA at Manchester Euros and senior member of the OrgComm of Berlin Worlds). The Americas: Sarah Balakrishnan, Brett Frazer, Paul Gross, Buzz Klinger, Romeo Maione, Arlán A. Narváez-Vaz R. Middle East/Africa: Engin Arikan, Ngcwele Khumalo , Paidamwoyo Mangondo Australasis: Paul Karp, Madeline Jennifer Schultz, Sebastian Templeton Continental Europe: Dessislava Kirova, Danique van Koppenhagen The Chief Adjudicators are now asking the world debating community to submit feedback, regarding the suitability ...

Shafiq Bazari and Jonathan Leader Maynard (Chief Adjudicators, Malaysia Worlds 2015)  are pleased to inform the World Debating Community that applications for the positions of Deputy Chief Adjudicator (DCA) at Malaysia Worlds 2015 is now open. The submission Deadline is 31st October 2013. They hope to select the DCAs from a large pool of applications, and therefore strongly encourage applications from all who believe they would be able to fill the role of a Worlds DCA with excellence. In general, candidates should: Be able to commit to being at the tournament, and to travel to Malaysia shortly before its formal start date. Have excellent ...

The OrgComm of Zagreb EUDC 2014 has announced that they opened the DCA application process to the feedback stage. They would like to invite all members of the international debating community to provide feedback on the applicants based on their personal experience of working with them either as debaters, judges, CAs or DCAs. They are interested in feedback regarding judging ability and motion setting. In addition, they welcome any feedback on how well applicants work in teams and their other personal attributes. In alphabetical order, the applicants are: Alon van Dam (Israel, RRIS) Andreas Lazar (Germany, University of Stuttgart) Ashish Kumar (IONA, Cambridge University) Ben ...

A good judging pool at tournaments is eminent for the competitions - and for excellent feedback. Achte Minute talked to Philipp Stiel and Leo Vogel, president and vice-president of the association of debating societies at universities (VDCH, or Verband der Debattierclubs an Hochschulen). Please read more on this in the German version of this article.