A Message from our Tabmaster

This is a message from our Tabmaster Bob Nimmo on how he hopes to train a future generation of tabmasters at South Africa WUDC 2016:

WUDC South Africa is dedicated to developing debating in underrepresented regions through its training program. As part of our commitment to training and development, we are pleased to announce a plan to further the development of the next generation of Tab Directors. We hope this will help provide institutions with the foundations which will help them run large-scale competitions in the future, with a strong tab infrastructure. We hope this will help spread debating across the globe.

During registration, we will invite applications for assistants to work as a part of the tab team of WUDC 2016. Successful applicants would have all the privileges of delegates to WUDC and would count towards an institutions N-1 obligations, but rather than speaking or judging would be at the heart of the tabbing of the competition. 

They would be in a position to both observe and participate in the tabbing and it is our hope that they would leave the competition in a position to take on the job of Tab Director at future competitions.

WUDC South Africa 2016 Training Program

One of the most exciting parts about hosting WUDC is the opportunity to play a part in spreading debating throughout the world. Freedom of speech, critical thinking, and teaching people to use words to resolve difference are skills that change lives, change countries, and change the world. This culture and skill set is something that is often taken for granted. It is definitely true, as Lucinda David said in her Tedx talk, that "Debating Can Change Your Life."

To this day, Africa is one of the least represented regions in the international debating community; a region full of untapped potential; a region where the power of debate has the potential to change the course of history. South Africa is one of the shining examples of how debate and discourse can change the course of history, and is proud to host a bid that will endeavor to spread the power of words throughout the entire region

As a result, our commitment to training and development stands at the heart of our bid. Our program aims to provide training for speakers of all experience levels, language categories, and regions. This blog post will detail what our training program will look like, and how we will make the most of our opportunity to spread debating throughout the region and the world.

Our CA Team is very dedicated to training, and the program that follows is in many ways a reflection of their experiences and contexts. Pam was the Debates Training Secretary, and then the Director of Debating at the Durham Union Society, has coached debating for the English Speaking Union and Debate Mate, and currently coaches debating at high schools across the UK every week. Dessi is the current Head of Training at the Berlin Debating Union), and Saddiq can often be found spending his spare time delivering debating workshops around Asia. This program will grow and develop as more DCAs are added to our team and we appoint a Director of Training. However, this is the starting point, and our initial vision as a CA team, for the program.

Guiding Principles

• Training does not simply happen at WUDC, but rather all throughout the years leading up to the competition. As a result, our training program will be based on a two-year on-going engagement with the world debating community.
• Training should not simply be rehashes of basic training lectures, but rather sequential, repeated engagements that build on each other throughout the two years leading up to the competition.
• A combination of on-the-ground and online training to increase the scope of access and frequency of engagement.
• A commitment to create not just training programs for debaters, but also for adjudicators. 
• A focus on historically under-represented regions.

Structure of the Program

Training does not just happen at WUDC, but rather throughout the years leading up to it. As a result, we commit ourselves to a program that begins immediately after the bid is secured, right up until the closing ceremonies of WUDC 2016. Our training program is based on two key features:

1. A combination of on-the-ground training around the world, and an online training program.
2. A unique two-branched approach that includes a special focus on adjudication training.

On-the-ground Training

As an adjudication core, we understand the importance of CA engagement with their regions in terms of gaining understanding of their regional judging talent, providing training to both cultivate debating talent and help standardize judging, and to CA/judge competitions and provide in-depth feedback on both debaters and adjudicators in their region to help improve and cultivate talent.

As a result, all CA members will make themselves available to judge the major competitions in their region, and offer to provide BP debating and BP adjudication workshops before and after these. We will also recruit esteemed external judges from around the world to deliver our workshops at competitions we are unable to attend, in order to increase access and expand the scope of our programs.

The debating workshops will span a number of different topics, from the basics of BP debating, to advanced tactics of different positions on the table (e.g. Back-Half Strategy Seminars, Opening-Government Strategy Seminars, etc.), to specific "how to debate" topic area seminars (e.g. "Debating Rights", "Debating Economics", "Debating International Organisations", etc.). We aim to organize and deliver several of these seminar before or after every major national and international competition around the world.

We will endeavor to film as many of these training sessions as logistical circumstances allow, and post them all online.

Online Training Program

The online component of our training program is something we believe is particularly important in providing access to training for those who would otherwise not be able to attend our workshops due to geography, circumstance, or funding, and allows us to provide consistent and on-going engagement with the circuit throughout the year, instead of just at major competitions.

Our online training program will have two major components to it. The first is to provide a wealth of basic debating resources to individuals and societies around the world. We believe that this is important as many of the roadblocks newer societies often face is a lack of resources that can help them to develop effective training programs for their societies.

The second major component of our online training program is the creation of documents and videos that operate sequentially to provide training for advanced debaters around the world. One of the issues with debate training to date has been that sessions are often hit-and-miss, and the on-the-ground nature of them means that they must cater for many different skill levels and levels of previous training. As a result, our online program will feature sequential training resources that build on each other throughout the two years leading up to WUDC South Africa. Debaters will be able to go through these training segments at their own pace, providing a much more consistent and thorough program for advanced training than has ever been seen before.

Adjudication Focus

One of the unique features of our planned training program is its focus on adjudication training. Far too often, training programs exclude adjudication training, with only crash courses and basic judging training being offered. We believe that a strong adjudication pool requires more time and effort put into training our judges.

The reason we have such a strong focus on adjudication training is two-fold. First, with an expanded team cap, it's important to ensure that the talent and size of the adjudication pool increases accordingly. Second, good adjudication, not just at WUDC, but at competitions throughout the year, is one of the most important inputs in improving as a debater. Some of the most important improvements you will make as a debater will come from contextual feedback on what you have just done wrong and right in a round you have just debated in.

Thus, the best training an adjudication core can give is not the basic lectures to debaters on "how to debate x" or "what to do in OG", those are simply the starting points of a good training program. The most important training an Adj Core can give is strong adjudication training so that debaters get the best judging and feedback they can possibly get after each and every round they debate in, whether at WUDC, or at competitions in their home countries. Strengthening the adjudication pool around the world means that regardless of where you are on the tab at WUDC, or what competition you are attending before or after WUDC, you will get accurate, insightful, and useful feedback. This is why we are committed to putting adjudication training at the heart of our policies.

We will provide a dual on-the-ground and online training program for adjudicators that mirrors our program for debaters.This program will not simply teach the basics of judging BP, but will provide more advanced adjudication training as well. We believe that this is important not only for cultivating more advanced judging talent, but also for standardizing BP judging around the world.

Specific topic areas will include: "Weighing Up the Comparative", "What to do when OG incorrectly defines the debate", "Fair burden assumptions in debating", etc. The aim will be to provide practical guidance on likely scenarios within debates, and through them to teach a wider judging framework.

Engagement Matters

We know that often, debaters and judges have specific questions about adjudication that they require feedback on that cannot always be covered in the overall briefings and workshops we provide. As a result, we are framing our training policies with a pledge to responsiveness and engagement. To this end, we will have two policies:

1. We will set up an e-mail where debaters and adjudicators can send in questions to the CA team and Director of Training.
2. We will run "Meet The CAs" Question and Answer sessions online where the CAs will come online in either a chat forum medium or a video-chat medium to answer questions from any debaters or adjudicators who would like to talk to us.

Focus on Under-Represented Regions

The WUDC South Africa Orgcomm are hard at work contacting major regional organizations, such as the African Union, trying to secure funding for additional training programs that will focus on historically under-represented regions. 

Summary

Our training program will utilize a dual on-the-ground and online system that promises consistent long-term training for debaters of all skill levels from all regions around the world. It will be characterized by a special focus on adjudicator training, and will be guided by the principles of inclusion, standardization, engagement and responsiveness. We welcome any and all feedback from the world debating community, as we believe that understanding the roadblocks different debaters and adjudicators face around the world is key to constructing genuinely useful programs for those who want to take advantage of them.

We really hope that we get the chance to enact this program, as the opportunity to spread debating is one that all three of our CA team members care deeply about.

Tabbie Upgrades for WUDC South Africa 2016

Below is a note from Richard Coates, our Assistant Tab Master. Originally appeared here, and is reposted on this blog with his enthusiastic support!

In preparation for what we hope will be the most inclusive and largest WUDC ever held, I thought it would be useful if I laid out the planned Tabbing software upgrades that will allow this to happen logistically. Bob has given you the benefit of his wealth of experience, but it is also important that the Tab program that we are going to be using can be the magic wand that Bob deserves to weave his tab wizardry. As one of the people currently developing Tabbie, the tabbing software used by (among many other competitions) Cork Worlds, Manila Worlds, Newcastle Euros and Tallinn Euros, as well as the upcoming Zagreb Euros, I am very excited to share with you some of the things that will mean that a 500+ team worlds runs as smoothly as a much smaller competition.

1) eBallots (at the CA team’s discretion)

While it is not yet clear whether eBallots will be any faster than the gigantic group of excellent volunteers that we will have assisting us, the capacity is already in place to ensure that this can be activated at the touch of a button.

eBallots are somewhat established on the IoNA circuit now, having been introduced at the Cambridge IV last year, and used at several competitions since then, including 2 Cambridge IVs, the Oxford IV and the English National Championships. The capability for producing and processing eBallots is fully integrated with Tabbie, and we have a dedicated, professional, server set up to allow this to work, along with a technical support staff to ensure that the server can cope with the demands of 130 rooms requesting information at once. eBallots allow information to come back before the runner physically delivers the ballot to the TabCave, via an adjudicator's mobile phone, tablet, laptop, or a computer situated in the debate venue. This also acts to provide a check against bad handwriting or incorrect maths, to ensure that there are no issues with data input, while still turning the tab around in a very reasonable time.

2) Pre-Draw

Bob Nimmo has already explained exactly what this means, and I can’t do better than to quote Bob:

"Normal procedure is to draw the round and then assign judges based on that. However, it is possible to predict with fairly high accuracy how many points each room is going to contain and assign judges [within Tabbie] to rooms ranked from 1 to 130. Those assignments can then be matched up with the real draw once it has been made. The assignment still needs to be examined for clashes and a last check based on any late-received feedback, but does allow the A-team to discuss the judge assignment during prep time and (in the case of the members sitting out of a round) complete the majority of the work during the debate itself.

3) Social Networking Updates (at the CA team’s discretion)

Tabbie will also be equipped to publish a live draw to Twitter and/or Facebook (and MySpace, if Worlds is ever held in 2004 again) with details of who is speaking where. Not only does this ensure that speakers and judges can always be in the right place at the start of the round (and debating the right side of the motion), but it will also provide the opportunity for those following along at home to have complete information for every round, without scouring Twitter for details of the crucial bubble room that their favourite Durham team is competing in. It should be noted that the strict safeguarding policy that we will have at Worlds will mean that these updates will not include any information not made available to the public.

4) All-In-One integration

From registration, to data-inputting, to draw, to publication of results, Tabbie has the capacity to do it all. This means that there will be no awkward turnarounds while data is imported from one format to another, no difficulties in preparing the draw, and the tab can be published as soon as the best speakers are announced with the click of a button. Bringing everything into one piece of stable software will mean that the only delays will be those required for competitors and adjudicators to catch their breath between those gruelling rounds of debate.

5) Tabbie Tournament Manager

Introduced at the Cambridge and Oxford IVs this year, Tabbie Tournament Manager allows for instant feedback from judges to the Convening and CA teams. Has your room disappeared? Are you missing a team? Has your debate started on time? Do you need your ballot taking to the tab room? Tabbie Tournament Manager allows for instant communication between room and TabCave (is it any coincidence that this is an anagram of BatCave? I think not...) and allows for the clear organisation of our huge team of wonderful volunteers.

6) Interactive Tabs (at the CA team’s discretion)

Interactive tabs (described by someone on Facebook as ‘the best thing ever’) allow for teams to chart their progress over the course of an entire tournament. WUDC is a unique experience for people to compete against the best in the world, as well as teams from across the planet. Interactive tabs allow you to see exactly how every room broke down, how every speaker point was dished out, and just how close you were to not taking that crucial point at the crucial time. It also allows for complete transparency in adjudication, and even provides for a fantastic way to chart exactly how that Monash team did so well. Again.

7) Judge Feedback

Originally a piece of standalone software, the OverCoates judge feedback system has been used at multiple IoNA IVs and Schools Competitions, as well as Manila and Chennai Worlds, and will be used at Zagreb Euros. This analytical package allows for a clear breakdown of how judges are performing, with clear numerical values, and direct integration with Tabbie software. This ensures not only that every piece of feedback is processed and taken into account, but also that it can have a direct input into the judges' rankings, again with the touch of a button. With 130 chairs, it would be almost impossible for the CA team to witness first hand every single potentially breaking judge, and so the integration of Judge Feedback into Tabbie allows for comprehensive meta-adjudication.

The Composition of the WUDC South Africa 2016 Adjudication Core

One of the things that WUDC South Africa 2016 prides itself on is transparency. This commitment is not just something we apply to our organisational plans and finances, but something we take to heart throughout all aspects of our bid. As a result, the adjudication core of WUDC South Africa will be prioritising transparency and meritocracy as central goals in our independent adjudicator selection, our metrics for breaking judges, and our criteria for selecting DCAs.

With these values in mind, and due to an expanding competition, the WUDC South Africa 2016 Adjudication Core will be comprised of seven members. Our team will be comprised of our two Co-CAs, Pam Cohn (IONA) and Syed Saddiq (Asia), our DCA Dessislava Kirova (Continental Europe), and four additional DCAs will be regionally representative, and will be selected by an open application and feedback process.
Our CA Team will reflect our commitment to inclusiveness and quality of judging. As a result, in addition to our focus on regional representation, we will strive to provide a team that is gender-balanced, and contains a representative from each language category.

Detailed below are short descriptions of what we are looking for (beyond the merit criteria) in each of our four DCAs we will be appointing by open application process.

DCA “Americas”

We will be appointing one DCA from the “Americas” region. Our Americas DCA will need to have in-depth knowledge of the domestic debating styles used throughout the region. The Americas have been under-represented in WUDC adjudication pools in recent years, and we believe that much of this is due to a lack of understanding of regional talent due to varied domestic debating styles.

Regardless of where they originate from within the region, our Americas DCA must commit to engaging with the entirety of the region, and to have a presence at major competitions throughout, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, etc. This is important to understanding and cultivating judging talent from all corners of the region.

DCA “Asia”

We will be appointing one DCA from the “Asia” region. Whilst we encourage applications from all interested candidates, we will be prioritising applicants with an EFL background.

DCA “Oceania”

We will be appointing one DCA from the “Oceania” region. This DCA will need to have an in-depth knowledge of the Oceania circuit, and have a strong commitment to spreading debating within their region.

DCA “Open”

The final member of our team will be an “Open” category DCA, who has a somewhat unique character compared to past WUDC DCAs. As part of our dedication to expanding debating, and our specific focus on cultivating and standardizing adjudication across the world, this DCA will need to have both an extensive debating and judging CV, as well as a demonstrated track-record and commitment to debate education.

Whilst we will accept applications from all interested candidates for this slot, we would like to encourage applicants from the Africa and Middle East and IONA regions.

12 Reasons to Vote for WUDC South Africa 2016

1) A Cheaper Reg Fee

We know that cost can often be a barrier to teams attending WUDC. We are determined to help as many people as possible to attend WUDC South Africa, which is why we have a registration fee of 330 euros. 

2) Responsible Finance

We are currently running a 2.5 million Rand surplus on our budget, and are embracing transparency through external auditing and a planned inspection by Worlds Council. We could spend this money, but we haven’t planned to (yet) as we want to ensure that there is no financial scenario which could endanger an excellent Worlds.

You can read more about our budget here and here. 

3) An Expanded Team Cap

Too often, Worlds registration is a competition between newer institutions trying to get a team, and more established institutions wanting multiple teams. This hinders inclusion and the spreading of debating, as well as preventing the top institutions from sending teams which could well win the championship.

We aim to expand the team cap to 520 teams and are confident our logistical plans will allow us to. This means that it is more likely you will be allocated the teams you want as early as you want, meaning you can come, and you can also book flights earlier. So now, you and your partner are more likely to be able to come and meet us under the rainbow.

4) Excellent Tabbing

In Bob Nimmo and Richard Coates, we are convinced we have found the best tab team possible. Between them they have tabbed over 100 competitions including multiple Worlds and Euros.

They have also completely redesigned Tabbie, including the creation of e-ballots, and also created the ‘OverCoates’ judge feedback system. This level of understanding is vital to running a competition of this scale, and we are certain they can deliver. You can read Bob’s analysis of how to run a competition of 520-600 teams here. 

5) Adjudicator Subsidies

We recognise a tournament of the scale we plan requires an excellent adjudication pool. To that end, we not only plan to provide upwards of $100,000 USD in subsidies and registration waivers, but also plan for our CA team to extensively monitor national circuits to identify and cultivate judging talent. More details can be found here in our Adjudicator's Vision Document.

6) Regional Representation and Spreading Debating

Europe has hosted 38% of all worlds whilst Africa has hosted only 8%. WUDC South Africa intends to develop and amplify the debating culture in this developing region. WUDC South Africa will collaborate with major regional organisations to secure funding to create further training programs to be focused on regions that are historically under-represented in the adjudication pool of WUDC

We have also secured 22 debate scholarships and will be increasing the number as more sponsorship comes in. This means more teams who would not otherwise be able to attend should be able to do so.

7) A World Class CA Team

Between Saddiq, Pam, and Dessi, our CA team has been on the adjudication core of four major international competitions and several dozen other competitions. They have also been on the orgcomm of WUDC and numerous other large competitions, and have debated across four regions, and to the top of their respective language categories. 

Collectively, the team holds too many speaker awards for us to list here. They are a pretty qualified bunch. You can read more about them here, here, and here.

8) Professionalization and Inclusion through Training

Our training will be divided in two parts: workshops for debaters aimed at helping them improve their debating skills and workshops for adjudicators aimed at developing and building judging talent. All members of the CA Team will make themselves available to give workshops before every major competition in their respective regions.

In order to benefit as many debaters as possible, the CA-Team will compose and publish online material, lectures and training exercises for teams and societies starting in early 2014 and continuing until WUDC 2016. 

9) A Commitment to Debate Education and Training

Saddiq, Pam and Dessi can usually be found on the Adjudication Cores of most major competitions in their regions. In their downtime, you can usually find Saddiq travelling Asia providing debating workshops, Pam coaching debating at schools across the UK, and Dessi coaching debaters of all experience levels as the Head of Training for the Berlin Debating Union.

Our team's commitment to debate education and training is undeniable. Whether it's Pam coaching debating to underprivileged youth in East London, or Saddiq CAing Australs and Asians BP, debate training and education is in the blood of our team. Our Adj core also intends to come down to judge at all major regional competitions (E.g. EUDC, Australs, North Americans, etc.).

10) Speedy Visa processing

The orgcomm, in collaboration with the South African Presidency, will appoint one special Visa officer who’ll be available to assist Visa processing from the month of May (when reg opens). Since South Africa Worlds intends to open registration 5 months prior to worlds, Visa processing can be planned accordingly. 

The orgcomm has also secured a deal which allows quicker 'Streamline Visa' processing for Worlds participants during a specific time frame. It means we'll open up a special counter in all Visa processing countries to accommodate Worlds Participants, expediting the processing of your visas.  If you are to DHL your passports (Group VISA  application), the processing will be even quicker. 

11) It’s South Africa

We think this speaks for itself. Sunshine, safari, and lions.

12) The home of Yakka

Enough said, and in so many varieties...

And a reason we hope you won’t have to vote for us...

Thank-you for reading, and best of luck to you and your institution in Chennai. We hope you will consider our bid! :)