Team Canada Debate

Okay so, Im having a serious writers block; there just doesn’t seem to be any word, phrase, or description that can accurately explain how we all feel. But here goes anyway. Its been a long 3 weeks, and we’ve been fortunate to have spent it in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The caliber of the tournament was outstanding and it made history in a variety of ways, including being the largest ever WSDC with almost 60 teams. Its hard to believe that this all started 14 months ago at the selection tournament in Calgary; to be honest it seems like it was ages ago. I guess what im trying to say is that these last 3 weeks have been a bizarre mix of both the most rewarding, stressful, difficult, and enjoyable experience of my life. But this was more than just 5 kids walking in and debating teams of 5 other kids from around the world; we were coached, we were trained, we were streamlined into the finely tuned intellectual machines that we showed the world we could be. And for that, our world-champion coach Ms Lee deserves our undying gratitude; thank you to her for coaching us and believing in us through both the good times and the bad, for keeping us focused on what we all wanted most.

Anyway, thats all I have for now. Thank you to everyone who read our blog and followed our journey to gold. Thank you for all the encouraging words; thank you to our parents, siblings, and friends.

Yours truly,

Kassem

Hey folks,

Im going to spare you the suspense and just give you the results. After a very tough and hard fought debate by both teams on the motion THBT there should be no law restricting freedom of speech. We drew opposition, and the Irish were excellent. In the end, We took the round by a margin of 4-1. Yay for us!! The journey continues- we intend to bring everything we have against New Zealand tomorrow. For your listening pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h88KQZC_Z6k

Laters,

Kassem

So its midnight, and we’re all dead tired. unfortunately, that will probably remove some of the epic that this post truly deserves. Scratch that, all of the epic. Sorry. Anyway, I should probably begin by apologizing for our sparse blogging; spare moments have been tough to find. 

The results:
Canada VS Namibia- 3-0
Canada VS Korea- 3-0
Canada VS Palestine- 3-0
Canada VS Pakistan- 2-1

The impromptu topics were about allowing developing countries to prioritize economic development over the environment, and legalizing performance enhancing drugs. We took Korea on in opposition to that motion; it was a close debate, but in the end, the irritating truth prevailed. Against Pakistan we were on prop and it was by far the closest and most dynamic debate we have had as of yet. Highlights included Keenan asking a POI which began with: “Theres just so… much.. WRONG with that that.. NO!”
Anyway, by a very tight margin and after a fantastic debate, justice prevailed and Canada won. That left us with an 8-0 record and 22/24 ballots! How nice!
Its also worth noting that the biggest upset of the last 2 days was Israels defeat of New Zealand.

Anyway, our strong finish put us… wait for it… wait for it…. SECOND PLACE. This means we will be facing the 15th place Irish in the Octofinal tomorrow (now today) morning. Looking at the break, it looks like we have a tough road ahead but we will no doubt be ready for whatever the Irish or any other team can give us.

So i say bring them on!

Night folks!

Today was the first of our two day “weekend” that bisects the preliminary rounds into two groups of four. It was, to use an acronym that is increasing in usage amongst us, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).

First, we got to sleep in. Which was amazing. After several very early days and very late nights, some healthy, cliched-teenager sleeping-until-noon was sorely needed. Some keeners decided to get up early anyway – cough, cough, Veenu… – but we will forgive their transgressions for at least the moment.

After what I counted was an average of about 14 hours of sleep a piece, Lyle, Jonny, Iqbal, Veenu and I decided to head down the beach for a little bit of relaxation in the sun. Because, you see, what one needs after more than half a day of sleep is some lying in the sun. Sarah and Sophie were already there, and what followed was an incredible combination of hot tubbing, swimming in the pool, and just soaking in some rays. I, for one, have to keep reminding myself that I am at a debate tournament.

After a few hours of lounging around water and sunbeams, it was time for the day’s real adventure: a mini-safari into the desert. After a fairly lengthy bus ride and a harrowing trip in Land Rovers over the sand dunes, the whole WSDC contingent, almost 600 people, ended up in a cordoned off area of desert next to Qatar’s famous, seasonal inland sea. There were a number of things that then occurred, including, but not limited to:

- Beach volleyball, in which I bashed my thumb up pretty good

- Dune surfing on a snowboard (it sounds exactly like what it is)

- Running down a hill and trying to clear a wall into a bouncy castle, which is way more fun that it sounds, yet exactly as childish

- Trying on traditional Middle Eastern clothes

- Riding a camel

- Listening to thumping pop music from 3-4 years ago, which gave us all strong flashbacks to Gr. 8 dances

- Watching an impromptu amateur fireworks display

- And getting a pretty nasty sunburn, in my case

Oh, did I mention we are at a debate tournament? Yeah.

In terms of actual debate, Canada is doing well, too. We are placed sixth so far, behind the 12/12 ballot group of Australia, New Zealand and Greece, as well as Singapore and England in the 11/12 ballot group. But here is the bright patch: our draw rocks, whereas the difficulty of each round for each country above gets exponentially harder. For instance, New Zealand and Australia are against each other in Round 8, Greece will hit Scotland and South Africa at some point, and Singapore still needs to get through Ireland. Thanks Georgie!

So its currently around 10:30 am in Qatar and the majority of Team Canada is fast asleep, taking full advantage of the 1st free day of the tournament. Yesterday was a fantastic day for us, with 3-0 decisions against Thailand (THBT every country should have the right to nuclear weapons, Canada on Opp) and Argentina (THS quotas for women in high government positions, Canada on Prop). By some stroke of luck, we had debated the improv topic on quotas against New Zealand in a practice round 2 days back. Some surprising results so far in the tournament include- 

India is currently 4-0, having beaten both Ireland and Korea

Sri Lanka 3-0 over South Africa on Day 1 

Bangladesh 2-1 over Scotland on Day 2

Pretty sure there were a few others, but none spring to mind immediately 

More to follow!

So after 14 months of training and hours of preparation, Team Canada finally got into their first two rounds at Worlds 2010. The first round against Bangladesh was surprisingly close, on the topic ‘THW Support military intervention in Somalia’ The final decison was 2-1 to Canada. The debating team was Iqbal, Keenan and Jonny. The second against Botswana on the topic ‘THBT physical education should be compulsory in schools’, with Canada on Opp. The result was a 3-0 win for Canada (Iqbal, Lyle and myself for that round). So after Day 1, 2 wins and 5 judges for Canada. More to follow!

Hello again, 

   We got up today at 11 and spent the next couple of hours soaking in the sunshine and playing volleyball. After a massive gust of wind launched one of my serves into the ocean, that plan was scrapped. We had a practice round soon after against Germany not long after, on the topic ‘THW ban religous symbols in schools.’ The round itself was slightly messy and gave us a good indication of some mistakes we were making. The Germans for their part were excellent, and definitely gave us solid practice. The next significant event was the opening dinner in a massive tent complete with buffet, 20-odd huge tables, and chandeliers. Me and Keenan discovered the games room not soon after and ping-pong and pool occupied the rest of our day. In short, a relatively uneventful, though really relaxing day.