When the registration period closed 48 teams had signed up for the competition. Many teams are unable to come however because of exams, holidays or a lack of sponsors. Nathania Engelhardt, student Applied Communication Sciences and one of the organisers of the tournament shrugs it off. ‘It’s a matter of circumstances that we had so many teams drop out of the competition. Many student debaters have to study or work with the schedule of universities.’
It’s the second time that the debating tournament is organised by Wageningen Debating. Teams from all over the world gather in Wageningen for the event, including teams from England, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Scotland. The 48 debaters will be joined by 15 judges who will declare the winners of the tournament. The competition will be supervised by international Chief Adjudicators, they will also determine which topics will be up for debate.
Tournament
Each team has the chance to qualify for the semi finals during 5 debating rounds on the Saturday the 16th of july and on Sunday when the semi final and final will take place also. Two teams will be declared the victors of the competition, one in the Novice category, for deabters who have less than a year experience, and in the Open category. There is also a prize for the best debater for both catergories.
The debates will be following the British Parliament format, which was also used during the first edition of the tournament. The first round of debates will start at 10:30 in the Actio and Impulse buildings. Spectators can sign up to be part of the jury in the audience. The final is in Impulse on Sunday afternoon at 15:30.