WSDC 2010 has launched a Youtube Channel for the tournament. You can check it out here.
WSDC 2010 Youtube Channel
Feb 8th, 2010 by admin
Halfway there…
Feb 7th, 2010 by iqbal
Howdy Canada!
Bleary eyed, mentally sluggish, and haggard. I think that probably describes Veenu, Vinayak, Sarah, Andrew, Sophie, and Ms Lee, and myself in Terminal 5. Surprise surprise, Lyle, Jonny, and Keenan are nowhere in sight. The last (2) days have been productive and entertaining. Veenu says he resents my assertion that he is tired; he claims to be wide awake. But I know better. Anyway, back to the point, aside from debating all of our prepared cases, we got a chance to test out our finals case against the best of the brightest of the ancient club (team canada alum). It is the general consensus amongst the 9 of us that we won the round handily. Outside of debate, many amusing adventures were begun and concluded. Veenu, Keenan, and I attempted to join the church of Scientology; when we inquired into the cost of embarking on said endeavour… we were told by wise church officials that we should “seek to discover the truth of that within the scope of our own reality. To achieve affinity.” For Veenu and I, the investment probably wouldnt be too wise, but Keenan’s thetan count was through the roof. Seems as though he has a true calling from Xeenu. (But why not Veenu?) Okay.. something else that happened today… Oh right. After waking up at 8 AM to get to Saturdays finals case practice, we headed out to Second Cup for some caffeine-based stimulants. As usual, Sophie tried to make friends with all animate objects in the store (some inanimate ones too), including a little 4 year old kid. Just as they got talking, Jonny decided to inform the kid that talking to strangers is bad; needless to say, the kid refused to talk to Sophie again. A distraught Sophie wailed that “the kid was going to make me happy…”. Ill let you be the judge. Its also worth noting that Jonny, Lyle, and Keenan have re-emerged from the annals of Heathrow airport, and only Keenan is speaking coherently.
I should probably also mention something we all expected would happen at airport security. I was of course stopped for a “random secondary search” on both legs of the flight so far…
Finally, I want to quickly mention the epic bowling game on my ipod. A man of skill, wisdom, and dexterity, I set the high score of 245. Confident I was not going to be beaten, I (foolishly) allowed Vinayak to make what I thought was to be a series of futile attempts… He smashed my score. And it is on that angry and disappointed note I am to sign off on.
Yours truly,
Kassem
Yalla Team Canada!
Feb 6th, 2010 by andrew
I am confident that we are the only nine teenagers in Canada who woke up early today and debated the merits of military intervention in Somalia. Iqbal, Keenan, and Jonny took on a makeshift “Team Bangladesh” consisting of Vinayak, Sophie, and me. In between my classic rock references (“We would not be Africa’s ‘Beast of Burden’”) strong analysis on the topic was put forth by both sides. We were provided with (a brief) lunch at Trinity College, and then returned to prepare the Grand Final topic, “This House would never bail out big industries.” Despite the apparent dryness and tiredness of the topic, the Prop team of Iqbal, Keenan and Veenu and the Opp team of Sarah, Lyle, and Jonny produced an interesting round with compelling ideas and points.
Yesterday we made our appearance on CBC Connect which profiled Keenan’s relationship both to the team and to debating. As it turns out, both are quite deep. A link to the segment is here: http://www.cbc.ca/connect/2010/02/the-great-debate.html
We are all very excited for our looming flight to Qatar tomorrow. In about 24 hours we will be immersed in a new culture, taking on the world’s best, and watching the Super Bowl. Bring it on.
Colour Blindness
Feb 4th, 2010 by jonathon
I apologize for Iqbal’s colour blindness. The skies here are a Torontonian grey, while the skies in Qatar are a brilliant azure. Iqbal sees them all as green.
Team Canada on Global Toronto!!!
Feb 4th, 2010 by admin
Global News at 6 joined Team Canada during pre-departure training today and put together a segment. You can view the video here.
Team Canada was also featured yesterday on CBC Metro Morning Radio and has a couple more opportunities before they depart on Saturday. Stay tooned for more details.
Team Canada on Breakfast Television Vancouver
Jan 28th, 2010 by admin
On Wednesday the Vancouver members of Team Canada were featured on Breakfast Television Vancouver. The team was invited to debate against the hosts of the show on the topic “is Facebook better then Twitter.” The coach of Team Canada, Ms. Tracey Lee, is also featured in these segments as the moderator!
The videos of the debate are here and here.
There is also a behind the scenes video here.
Team Canada on Breakfast Television Calgary!
Jan 21st, 2010 by admin
Two members of Team Canada, Keenan MacNeil and Veenu Goswami, were featured this Wednesday on Breakfast Television Calgary.
Check out the video here.
Qatar Motions Released!
Jan 6th, 2010 by admin
The motions for the World Schools Debating Championships in Qatar this February have been released.
The Preliminary rounds topics are:
- That we should support military intervention in Somalia.
- That every country should have the right to possess nuclear weapons.
- That doctors should report evidence of marital abuse to the police.
- That terrorist suspects should have the right to a trial in civilian courts.
All countries at the tournament will debate the above motions. The Final two teams will also debate the motion:
- That governments should never bail out big companies.
Along with prepared motions, teams are assigned 4 impromptu topics in the preliminary rounds. Teams have one hour to prepare impromptu topics. There are a total of 8 preliminary rounds (4 prepared, 4 impromptu), and then Octo Finals, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, and the Grand Final.
The motions are selected by an International Motions Committee. This year the committee consisted of Chris Erskine (Chair, Australia), Sherria Ayuandini (Indonesia), Taimur Bandey (Pakistan), Russell Courts (Greece), Jim McElroy (Ireland), Loucia Isaac (Qatar), and Simon Quinn (Qatar).
Team Canada coverage in the Calgary Herald
Oct 30th, 2009 by admin
Team Canada member Veenu Goswami from Calgary, Alberta was profiled in a Calgary Herald Article on Wednesday October 28, 2009. You can read the article here.
Team Canada Wins West Coast Worlds!
Sep 30th, 2009 by admin
Team Canada was invited to the West Coast Worlds tournament in Glasgow, Scotland. The team was divided into three teams of three students each. The torunament was a resounding success, with an all-Canadian final! Canada placed first, second and fifth at their first appearance at the tournament!
More information about the tournament is available here.