PHOTO: Finalists in Stuttgart
At a tournament in Stuttgart, Germany there were thirteen teams from eleven countries competing in the tenth annual tournament oganized by Angelika Hoeness and her associates. The tournament lasted a week and used the World Schools Debating Championship format. See heir website at http://www/schoolsdebate.de
In the semifinals Canada defeated Romania and Germany defeated Israel, with Romania placing third and Israel placing fourth. The finals were held in the library auditorium in the heart of Stuttgart’s cultural mile. The finals were very well attended (every seat was filled) and the crowd seemed to appreciate the performance that the teams put on. The debate was judged by a five judge panel chaired by Bojana Skrt of Slovenia.. I was lucky enough to serve as the speaker for the debate. The motion was, this House believes that diplomacy is the answer to rising fundamentalism.
The decision was 5-0 for Canada in the opposition. The crowd was obviously impressed by the performance of the German team and hoped for their victory, but it was not to be. The judges thought that both teams needed more examples and proofs of their claims and that the proposition team failed to demonstrate that increased reliance on diplomacy would really make a substantial difference.
<== Bojana Skrt explains decision for Canada
The tournament began ten years ago when high school level debate was just starting in Stuttgart and they needed someone to debate against, so they invited teams from Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Now it has grown into an important international event that attracts top teams. This year Serbia, Greece and Montenegro attended for the first time. It was good seeing the Montenegro group that I had seen at the Budva Open in Montenegro as well as the German contingent that had been at the Ljutomer tournament in Slovenia.
<== Germany team with Angelika
Congratulations to the winners, Canada, and to Angelika Hoeness for her tournament organizing and consistant support of debating. There are now some 85 schools in Germany with active English language debate programs, and most of them due to the organizational efforts of Angelika and her colleagues.
