See You Next Year :)

NUS Debate Club, with the support of Debate Association (Singapore) and Google Singapore, organised the Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championships (SBPDC) 2013. The theme of the tournament was "Internet Policy and Digital Literacy".

The largest British Parliamentary format competition nationally, the SBPDC brought together 80 teams not just from junior colleges and polytechnics, but also combined Singapore school teams and overseas colleges.

After 2 days of debating held over 17th and 18th of August, Nanyang Girls' High School B emerged Champions of the Junior Break, while Hwa Chong Institution (Junior College) A emerged Champions of the Senior Break.

The winning teams in each category took home 2 Google Nexus 7 tablets each, which are yet to be released in Singapore!

The awesome Google Nexus 7 tablets

The other results are as follows:

Junior Grand Finals Best Speaker: Alicia Lim, NYGH B

Junior Grand Final Results:

4th: HCI B

3rd: HCI C

2nd: HCI A

1st: NYGH B

Senior Grand Finals Best Speaker: Kwek Jia Qi, HCJC A

Senior Grand Final Results:

4th: SAJC A

3rd: HCJC B

2nd: TJC A

1st: HCJC A

Top 20 Junior Speakers:

20) Au Wei Hoe, HCI E

=17) David Boo Koh, HCI D

=17) Mark Hangchi, SJII A

=17) Yin-Ing Low, SJII A

=17) Choi Won Joon Richard, DDI CL

16) Caleb Cheng, Gong Jiao A

=13) Goh Han Yang, Gong Jiao A

=13) Alicia Lim, NYGH B

=13) Chua Fang En, NYGH D

12) Ong Juin Khai, HCI D

11) Goh Su Ning, NYGH A

10) Evan Wong, SMK DJ A

9) Nicole-Ann Lim, NYGH C

8) Bryan Yan, HCI A

=7) Timothy Ethan Lee, HCI A

=7) Lin Mingxuan, DDI CL

6) Charmaine Chua, NYGH B

5) Allison Wu, NYGH C

4) Kok Jun Yi, HCI C

3) Song Mingwei, HCI C

2) Gabriel Tan, HCI B

1) Alex Cheong, HCI B

Top 20 Senior Speakers:

20) Jessica Nagulendran, ACJC B

19) Sai Simrita Dhamodaran, NUS HS C

18) Abigail Wong, ACJC B

17) Kwek Jia Qi, HCJC A

=16) Poh Zia Xin, NJC C

=16) Ang Meng Leng, DDI AT

15) Abel George, SAJC A

=14) Charmaine Low, RJC D

=14) Sarah Tay, DDI AT

13) Benedict Tan, NJC C

12) Seah Ying Ying, HCJC B

11) Wang Zi Yang, RJC D

10) Douglas Quah, TP B

9) Elvis Zhang, HCJC A

8) Annette Yeo, ACJC A

7) Divyesh Daswani, TP B

=6) Samuel Loh, WSDC C

=6) Andrew Seow, RJC A

=4) Ernest Goh, WSDC B

=4) Samuel Augustine Wittberger, WSDC A

=4) Gerald Choa, HCJC B

=4) Manoj Kumar Thiyagarajan, TJC A

=3) Etsuko Lim, WSDC A

=3) Benson Lim, TJC A

=2) Aloysius Chan, ACJC A

=2) Tan Kuan Hian, WSDC B

1) Nar Sher May, SAJC A

(Actual top of tab: Lee Chin Wee, WSDC C)

Thanks to Lucas Li for the compiled tab results.

Senior Grand Finals - Party in the USA

Teams in the Senior Grand Finals are getting ready for their turn to argue it out for the crown of Grand Champions and a pair of Google Nexus 7 tablets.

Teams in the Senior final watching the Finals motion info video

Motion: THBT the US State Department should aggressively fund proxy servers and other circumvention technologies for the benefit of people living in authoritarian states

Teams: HCJC A, HCJC B, TJC, SAJC

Junior Category Finals - Battle of Bukit Timah

In the Junior finals, three Hwa Chong Institution teams and a team from Nanyang Girls High School are duking it out over the motion TH supports the use of social media to propagate simple narratives to support the causes of developing countries.

Hwa Chong A in Opening Government

Who will reign supreme and take home a pair of Google Nexus 7 tablets?

ARE YOU READY FOR THE BREAK ROUNDS?

The break for the Semi-Finals for both junior and senior category will be released at about 2PM. 

BE THERE!

FINAL PRELIM ROUND! - Theme: ITS RAINING MEN

The pairings for round 5 are uploaded here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qf23zy22wagwbv4/The%20Draw%20In%20Round%205.html

The motion for the FINAL prelim round is:

TH Regrets the Impact of Grindr and other gay-themed social networking sites on LGBTQ culture.

Debates start at 12:32PM

GOOD LUCK TO ALL TEAMS!

The Draw for Round 4 - *INSERT COOL INSTRUMENTAL*

The draw for Round 4 can be found at the link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/suj1tdl8vxsxgym/The%20Draw%20In%20Round%204.html

The motion is:

THBT 4chan and Tumblr are the nation's greatest threat to cyber security.....NOT!

The actual motion is:

THBT national security leakers should be tried for treason

The debate will begin at 9:45AM.

ENJOY! :)

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR DAY 2

Thank you all for a wonderful first day of debates!

1) The reporting venue for day 2 is LT6, it is located at E4 where some of the debates were held today.
2) The reporting time is 8.30 AM. Teams that are late will be dropped from the tab as we are running a tight schedule.
3) All participants and observers will have to turn up in Smart Casual attire if they would like attend the Finals. All teams are encouraged to dress formally in anticipation for attendance and possibly debating at the finals.
4) Teams that have not made payment and have promised to do so are reminded to bring their registration fee to pay in the morning. Teams that do not make payment will be disqualified from the break.

SEE YOU TOMORROW! :)

The Draw for Round 3 - Theme: Rains of Castamere

The link for the draw for Round 3 is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fspty1tfy590vb/The%20Draw%20In%20Round%203.html

The motion is:

TH is right to download Game of Thrones from BitTorrent

The debates will start at 1805.

Pairing for Round 2 - Theme:SHUT UP

This is the link to the pairings for Round 2:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/631toey3v8j8wge/The%20Draw%20In%20Round%202.html

The motion is:

THBT Western Internet Companies have a moral obligation to comply with limitations on freedom of speech in other countries

and the debates will start at 15:28.

All debaters should report back to the LT the moment the round is over.

The Draw For Round 1 - Theme: Who Do You Think You Are

This is the link to the draw for Round 1:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/usg6qng2too66kg/The%20Draw%20In%20Round%201.html

The motion for the first round is:

This House Believe That Anonymity has done more harm than good to the social discourse

and the debates will start at 12:20PM.

Directions from Kent Ridge MRT

Hello all!

For those who are travelling to the Kent Ridge Campus from Kent Ridge MRT, please take the NUS Shuttle Bus A1E Red from the Kent Ridge MRT to the Central Library bus stop, then cross the road to the Computer Centre bus stop.

To get from the Computer Centre bus stop to the venue, please refer to the previous blog post here for instructions!

Cheers,

Kenneth

IMPORTANT UPDATE: CHANGE IN SCHEDULE

Hi everyone,

We understand that it is 3 days to the event and we hope that the changes do not massively affect or inconvenience individuals for if it does we sincerely apologize in advance.

After discussing with the Adjudication Core, where we were all in agreement, the Organizing committee will be changing the break format of the tournament from a quarter-final break to a semi-final break for both the junior and senior category.

Additionally, we will be adding in two activities that we believe will be of immense value to all participants.

The first will be an exhibition debate presented by the NUS Debaters prior to the start of the tournament. This will provide live instruction into the format and a glimpse into how British Parliamentary Debates are conducted at the university level. It promises to be an extremely informative and exciting debate with the line up including NUS speakers who have ranked in the top 10 speakers in all of Asia at British Parliamentary.

The second will be a Post Debate Analysis session conducted by the esteemed adjudication core after every round. These sessions are meant as constructive dialogues that discuss the issues which could (and should!) have been raised in the round. We believe that this will allow all participants to gain greater insight into the motions they debate and to reinforce the lessons learnt from these motions.

The amended schedule is as follows

Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championships 2013 Updated Schedule correct as at 14 Aug 2013
Day 1, Saturday 17th August 2013
8:30am	Registration
9:15am	Tournament Administrative Briefing
9:30am	Lecture on British Parliamentary Format
10:30am	Exhibition Debate and Motion Analysis
12:00NN (may be earlier)	Release of Motion for Round 1
12:20pm	Preliminary Round 1
2:00pm	Lunch
2:50pm	Report Back to Auditorium
3:00pm	Release of Motion for Round 2
3:20pm	Preliminary Round 2
5:00pm	Release of Motion for Round 3
5:20pm	Preliminary Round 3
7:00pm latest	Dismissal
Day 2, Sunday 18th August 2013
8:30am	Registration
9:00am	Release of Motion for Round 4
9:20am	Preliminary Round 4
11:00am	Release of Motion for Round 5
11:20am	Preliminary Round 5
1:00pm	Lunch
1:50pm	Report Back to Auditorium
2:00pm	Release of Break Results
2:20pm	Release of Motion for both Junior and Senior Semi-Finals
2:40pm	Junior and Senior Semi-Finals (concurrent)
3:50pm	Report Back to Auditorium
4:00pm	Release of Motion for Junior Grand Final
4:20pm	Junior Grand Final
5:10pm	Release of Motion for Senior Grand Final
5:30pm	Senior Grand Final
6:30pm	Prize Giving Ceremony
7:00pm latest	Dismissal

Thank you and see you this Saturday!

FOUR MORE DAYS!

We are just a few days away from the 2013 Singapore British Parliamentary Debating Championships!

In order to ensure that all you eager debaters get to the right venue, here's a little handy guide!

For Day 1 (Aug 17th), the reporting venue is at NUS Kent Ridge Campus, School of Engineering, Lecture Theatre 3 (LT3). It is NOT at University Town.

How to get to LT3:

by Public Transport
- Take bus 96 from Clementi Bus Interchange to the NUS Computer Centre Bus Stop.
- Alternatively, you can take buses 95 from opposite Buona Vista MRT Station or 151 to the Central Library Bus Stop and then cross the road to the NUS Computer Centre Bus Stop.
- If you are taking a taxi, tell your friendly neighbourhood taxi uncle to take you to the Central Library at NUS.
- From the NUS Computer Centre Bus Stop, follow the Google Pegman and take the walkway up to the link bridge.
- Cross the link bridge then follow the signs to get yourself to LT3!

by Car
- Drive south down Clementi Road, past the AYE exit and University Flyover towards West Coast Highway.
- There are two Kent Ridge Crescent entrances along Clementi Road, take the SECOND one with the large NUS sign saying Entrance B.
- Drive along Kent Ridge Crescent until you see Central Library on your right, on your left will be the NUS Computer Center bus stop.
- If you are parking, turn left into Car Park 17 before the Computer Center Bus Stop.
- From there, follow the Google Pegman in the picture above!

Hope to see you there!

Dress Code for Day of Finals

All participants and observers,

Please take note that the dress code expected for the day of Finals is Smart Casual (no slippers, sandals or shorts).

Important Reminder - Fill up your team details!

All teams who have registered are reminded to input their details into the respective google document for their team category by this Thursday, the 8th of August, in order for our administrative team to generate invoices for your school and ensure dietary preferences are met.

If you are sending teams for the junior section (secondary school, typically students aged 13-16) - the link to the google document is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1snCIi2OWEoFgoJhRGiYbwE9NyybLBGtOb-PAt7Wg7Ms/viewform

If you are sending teams for the senior section (JC/Polytechnics, typically students aged 17-19) -  the link to the google document is: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AH2a8ilclOTemJHk0ix2ooUbJeuolWeOfYEn_AtnNb4/viewform

Tournament theme and possible topics.

Hi everyone!

As we approach the competition and registration comes to a close, the adjudication core would like to remind all teams that the theme of this tournament is Internet policy and digital literacy, so you can expect motions that relate to that theme! To help all teams with the preparation, here are some areas of research that you can focus on:

• Free Expression and Censorship

• Government Surveillance 

• Online Privacy

• Internet Governance and the ITU

• Social Media

• Intellectual property rights

• Economic/ Social/ Cultural value of the Internet and other web apps.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing you at the tournament!

Regards,

the Adjudication Core.

UPDATE

Hi everyone!

Registration will end soon! So please send in your team applications if you have not!

Also, just a few final confirmations and clarifications! (because we noticed the initial post on this site stated that the dates were yet to be confirmed)

Dates for SBPDC 2013: 17th and 18th of August 2013

Venue: NUS Faculty of Engineering at Kent Ridge Campus

Participation: Regional (any and all teams from South East Asia)* 

Theme: Internet Policy and Digital Literacy

See you guys there!

*Subject to the following (earlier stated) conditions

2) Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championships (SBPDCs) will not be open to Independent or Open Composite Teams. Registration is strictly confined to debaters from recognized educational institutions.

The exception to this rule are nationally recognized combined schools teams such as WSDC Singapore and DDI. These teams will be subject to rules stipulated in point 2.

3) Teams and Debaters from these nationally recognized combined schools teams will not be able to break into the elimination rounds of the tournament or qualify to be recognized for individual speaker awards. Although their achievements, if any, will be recognized at the relevant break announcements.

This is to promote SBPDC's as a institutionally based tournament.

However, the overall speaker and team tabulations will be released at the end of the tournament with their teams included.

NUS Debate Development Series 2013

In conjunction with the tournament, the NUS Debate Team invites all students to the Debate Development Series 2013 open to all secondary schools and junior colleges! Back by popular demand, this workshop will continue to provide advanced training on British Parliamentary debate. 

Details of the programme are as follows:

1. Dates

10^th & 11^th of August 2013

10am – 4pm

2.  Venue

NUS Bukit Timah Law Campus Level 3

3. Fees

The programme will charge $90 per student. This would cover 2 days of the programme, lunch, and programme materials.

Institutions that register more than 4 students will be entitled to a group discount at $85 per person.

4. Programme Details

a.  Format

British Parliamentary

b. Programme

The programme aims for the following:

i)   Further reinforce argumentative, oratory and methodical skills of debaters;

ii)  Nurture young but established debaters to be debating mentors to their peers;

iii) Introduce British Parliamentary Debating format to Singapore schools

At the end of the programme, there will be certificates of participation issued to all participants, as well as awards to acknowledge the Most Outstanding Debater, Most Improved Debater and Most Knowledgeable Debater.

We invite you to sign up early to secure places for your institution as there is no institution cap, but in order to maintain a small trainer to student ratio, we will be capping our registration at 40 participants.  If interested, please email us your institution name, names and meal restrictions of participants, with “NUS Debate Development Series 2013” as the subject.

Applications close on the 1^st Aug 2013, 2359h, after which once we confirm your spot, payment details will be emailed out to you. For further questions, do not hesitate to email me at daniellegsm@gmail.com

We hope to see you soon!

Best Wishes,

Danielle Goh

NUS Debates

Workshop Director

97801577

IMPORTANT UPDATE

IMPORTANT UPDATE

Three important updates to take note off

1) Registration will close on the 31st of July 2013 and the results will be posted on the website by the 1st of August.

2) Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championships (SBPDCs) will not be open to Independent or Open Composite Teams. Registration is strictly confined to debaters from recognized educational institutions.

The exception to this rule are nationally recognized combined schools teams such as WSDC Singapore and DDI. These teams will be subject to rules stipulated in point 2.

3) Teams and Debaters from these nationally recognized combined schools teams will not be able to break into the elimination rounds of the tournament or qualify to be recognized for individual speaker awards. Although their achievements, if any, will be recognized at the relevant break announcements.

This is to promote SBPDC's as a institutionally based tournament.

However, the overall speaker and team tabulations will be released at the end of the tournament with their teams included.

4) Payment Details:
Upon confirmation of your team registration details regarding payment and transfer will be mailed directly to your point of contact.

Please address all queries to sbpdc2013@gmail.com


Thank you!

The Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championship is BACK!

Tournament Venue: NUS Faculty of Engineering (http://eng.nus.edu.sg)

The Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championship is back this year for the 2013 edition. It will be held on the 17th and 18th of August at the NUS Kent Ridge Campus Faculty of Engineering.

This is the chance for you and your teammates to compete against other schools from Singapore and around Asia to be crowned the Champions of Singapore British Parliamentary debate!

This year’s tournament promises to be bigger and better than last year. With the support of Google Singapore, we have expanded the team cap of the tournament to 120 teams. We have also invited teams from around the region, and look forward to a tournament that will showcase the best and brightest youth debating talent Asia has to offer.

The eventual champions will be crowned as Singapore’s Best British Parliamentary Team at their level and will also receive prizes sponsored by Google including a Nexus Tablet for both team members.

Some tournament details:

Registration Fee	$50 per Participant (Lunch & Refreshments included)
Team Cap per Institution	5 Teams
Judge Rule* *Teams will be required to provide students to participate as adjudicators according to this rule	4 Teams – 1 Adjudicators 5 Teams – 2 Adjudicators
Tournament Cap	120 Teams, First come first served
Members per team	2
Theme	Internet Policy and Digital Literacy
Preparation time before each round	20 minutes

Dates have not been confirmed yet, but the tournament will be held some time in August 2013. So watch this space for updates!