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YORK UNIVERSITY TO HOST CANADIAN DEBATERS TORONTO, February 13, 1997: Everything from the legalization of prostitution to the role of Canadian peacekeepers in Bosnia will be on the table for discussion this weekend as some of the top debaters from Canadian universities gather at York University. About 120 debaters from across Canada will be at York from Feb. 14 to 16 to compete in the York Debating Society's "Judgement Day" Pro-Am Tournament 1997. The debaters will compete in pairs -- a novice debater with a seasoned debater -- until the final round of debates, to be held in the Moot Court Room, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, on Sunday, Feb. 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. This is the first tournament of this format (combining experienced and novice debaters) sanctioned by the Canadian University Society for Inter-Collegiate Debate (CUSID), the Canadian organization to which the York Debating Society belongs. "Debating is an intellectual sport, because it teaches students how to think critically and analyze their thoughts, and how to structure those thoughts more clearly when they are speaking," said Vijay Sarma, president of the York Debating Society and one of York's top debaters. "Many students report that debating helps them with oral presentations and class discussions, as well as giving them some experience if they decide to pursue careers in areas like law or politics." The 50 pairs are coming from small universities like Mount Allison University in New Brunswick and Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., as well as from large universities such as Queen's, McGill, and the University of Toronto. York University can boast some champion debaters in the group. Debating pair Vijay Sarma and Paul Ciufo ranked fifth in the world at the World Universities Debating Championships held this January in South Africa. Sarma and Ciufo became the only North American pair to reach the semi- finals at the world championships, going up against debaters from 38 countries. In September, rookie York debaters David Zic and Jane Haddad went on to the final round of the University of Western Ontario's Novice Tournament, the largest tournament of the year. The tournament format is impromptu debating. The Government team is given an abstract resolution and 15 minutes to come up with a practical case loosely based on the spirit of the resolution, which the Government team then introduces to begin the debate. The Opposition side must then respond to the case in a 34-minute debate against the Government. The roles of Government and Opposition alternate during the tournament. "We all have to think on our feet when we are debating the issues of the day," said Sarma, a fourth-year Fine Arts student. "This tournament combines a novice debater with a more experienced one, and it's a great way to foster debate at the grassroots level and to expose first-year debaters to excellence in the sport." Students from various universities as well as some York University Debating Society alumni will judge the tournament. The top eight competing pairs will proceed to the quarter finals on Sunday morning, with the top four pairs going into semi-finals. Two top pairs will compete in the finals on Sunday at 2 p.m. There will also be rounds of public speaking debates, in which individuals are given an impromptu subject and asked to discuss it for five minutes. This weekend's tournament is free and open to the public. For times and locations of all competitions in the tournament, call Vijay Sarma at (416) 283-3741.
For more information, call:
Vijay Sarma
Vas Eleftheriadis
Mary Ann Horgan
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