dodgy ramblings of worlds adventure

Over 1000 university students from across the world descended on Dublin just two days after Christmas. They were there to compete in the P & G Careers World University Debating Championships 2006. Hosted by University College Dublin (UCD), the competition takes place in British Parliamentary style debating in which each mock ‘house of parliament’ consist of four teams of two. Opening government and closing government form a kind of coalition in favour of the proposal, both agreeing with the proposal but for different reasons. The opposition side of the house does the same. For each debate, teams are given 15 minutes to prepare a seven minute speech of pure oratory gold. The draw placed us against the likes of Yale, Harvard and Oxford. The topic for round one: “This house would grant an amnesty to all illegal immigrants currently in the US”.

Over three intense days of debating, the Deakin University Debating Society team of Tom Davidson and Janelle Cook utilised the debaters best friend, the gift of the gab, to get through topics that challenged the greatest of teams. The idea to survive Worlds, know a little bit about everything. And it is probably an idea to pray for some luck.


But before entering into many an intellectual argument, the tournament kicked off with an introduction to Irish culture at “Ireland night”. Irish stew consumer and traditional irish music heard (which after several hours has a tendency to sound like the same song over and over again), but can someone please explain where Stella Artois fits into the picture.

Such conundrums were not the purpose of nearly 24 hours of flying, leaving behind temperatures above 30, to hit a climate that at this time of year barely scrapes above 5.

Round two saw the topic “That this house believes that the Catholic Church should allow the use of condoms in the fights against HIV/AIDS in Africa”. Followed in Round Three with “That this house believes the West should end its military co-operation with Pakistan until it holds free presidential elections”. Ending day one with a total of four points.

Day two of debating again witnessed an incredibly high standard. Round 4: “This house would prohibit women over the age of 45 years from undergoing assisted human reproduction”. Round 5: “This house would give Japan a permanent seat on the UN Security Council”. Round 6: “This house would not allow intelligent design to be included in the school science curriculum”. Fortunately we were not involved in the debate that squirreled the motion to be about the intelligent design of robots. (For those wondering intelligent design is a theory of evolution that includes social influences in human development). Day two saw Deakin end with six points.

The final day of debates before the elusive finals series began with Round 7: “This house would recognise a legally enforceable minimum standard of living”. Round 8: “This house supports the creation of an independent state for the Iraqi Kurds”. Round 9: “This house supports indigenous persons convicted of a crime being sentenced by their community and not by the courts”. Ending the tournament on 9 points, against high class opposition.

2005 was nearing its end, and it was time to hit the dance floor to bring in the new year. It is a common fear when debaters organise such important social events as New Years Eve, because anything can happen. And when the last song you hear for 2005 is Yellow Submarine, you know it has. “The Classic Beatles” intrigued us even more when they started playing the Rolling Stones. The most important event to take place for most debaters is the announcement of the teams that made the finals. But like 292 other teams at WUDC Dublin, Deakin was not included in the 32 teams to go through to the next stage.

But the fun and intrigue of Dublin had just begun to reveal itself. It was cold yet it did not snow. You can eat Chinese food with chips. Competitors were taken to the “Bondi Beach Club”. As Australians, taking us to an Australian themed club whilst in Dublin, a place known for its pubs, seems only slightly daft, but nevertheless a boon. UQ deemed it the best night of the championships (though perhaps a bit early). Staff wore 80’s style high cut, denim shorts. The entrance was covered in fake snow. Five local lasses came out in trackies and would only dance when the floor was empty. And if you thought the night couldn’t get any better, at 11:55 everyone from the tournament was escorted back to the hotel and quarantined (I kid you not) for fear of a contagious form of influenza (which the previous morning had been viral meningitis, and magically was never heard of again after that fateful night).

The tournament culminated in the Championship Dinner after Hart House took out the Grand Final against University of Chicago, Inner Temple and Yale. Our time in Dublin had come to an end, but not without a visit to the Guinness Storehouse.


The Deakin University Debating Society would like to thank the Faculty of Business and Law, the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Arts and Deakin University Student Association for their generous support of the society and their participation in the World University Debating Championships.


If you are interested in joining DUDS email dusa-debating@deakin.edu.au