What's Happening in MUDS?

Week 8 - Semester 2 - 2007

* MUDS News

Hamish Malcolm Report

The scores are tallied, the rounds are over and the Hamish Malcolm break is announced!
Round five saw debaters emphatically arguing 'that we should abolish the states' with high scores in all rooms a testament to the quality of argument on display. Afterwards we hit the pub for a final hurrah before mid semester- but it's not over yet! Semi finals will be held during the break, then the HAMISH MALCOLM GRAND FINAL is at the law school on October 2, the first Tuesday back. Come to cheer on your friends, enjoy a great debate and then hit the pub for free drinks (!) afterwards. There are also speaker prizes for the top 10 ranked individuals, so make sure to be there in case you're one of them!

See you there!
Cheers,
Claire and Candice

The Break!!

1 Tripod

2 Obama for America

3 Pavlova's Dogs

4 (Child) Workers of the World Unite!

5 Rusty Spoons

6 Lord Voldemort's Army

7 Lovegoods

8 Pro Publicum Bono

[below: Fed during break point]

9 Dance Dance Revolution

10 Roger Federer is a Honey

11 JASS

12 The Jack Sparrows

13 World of Warcraft

14 Rainbow Brite

15 Battle Tronics

16 Super Mario Bros

The Semis

Semi A: [date/venue to be announced, positions to be randomly allocated]

Tripod, (Child) Workers, Rusty Spoons, Pro Publicum

Semi B: [date/venue to be announced, positions to be randomly allocated]

Obama for America, Pavlova's Dogs, Lord Voldemort's Army, Lovegoods

*Upcoming Events

Australian Womens Debating Championships

All MUDS members are invited and strongly encouraged to attend the Grand Final of the Australian Womens Debating Championships. The Grand Final will be held on Mon 24 Sept at 1pm at the Melbourne Town Hall (Supper Room). This debate will feature some of the best female debaters in the country and will be a fantastic event.

Hamish Malcolm Grand Final

On the first Tuesday back from the break, Tuesday 2nd October, will be the Grand Final of the Hamish Malcolm Competition. There will be the best teams in the comp fighting it out for the major prize, the speaker prizes awarded, much hilarity and joy, as well as a sizable food and drinks budget thanks to MUDS at the Corkman afterwards!! See you there!!

MUDS Open Competition

Don't despair, the end of Hamish Malcolm doesn't mean the end of Tuesday night BP glory.

The MUDS 'Open Comp' will run over two nights after the holidays- on 16 and 23 October. Debates will start at 5.30, with two consecutive rounds on the 16th, then on the 23rd after the third round there will be the Grand Final! As the name suggests, it's open- there's no novice rule so you can sign up with whoever you want (teams of two are permissible provided you can guarantee you won't forfeit). Don't feel intimidated though- while the competition allows experienced debaters to compete together, the MUDS novice focus isn't lost- there will be a 'novice Grand Final' as well, where the best non-experienced teams compete for equal glory!

Worlds

We are now entering the business end for all of those in MUDS wishing to attend the World Universities Debating Championships in Thailand this year. The details you need to know in order to attend for MUDS are below:

The Selection Process

Debaters

In order to determine teams, we hold 'trials'. Two external selectors will watch each interested debater in one debate (hence, everyone debating twice) and determine a ranking for all the speakers.

Teams are then preliminarily formed on the basis of the rankings (speakers 1-2 form Melbourne A, speakers 3-4 form Melbourne B etc). We will send as many teams (n) as:

1. We have 'n-1' adjudicators for (this is a tournament requirement)

2. We are able to register (this year is 5 teams and 5 adjudicators)

If one third of the top three teams is not female, then female debaters will be pulled up into the top three teams in order to meet our Affirmative Action requirements.

Approximately one week after trials, a 'team formation' meeting is held. This is when the contingent is finalised. You must decide by this date:

Whether you are definitely attending the tournament,
Whether you wish to debate or adjudicate (if you applied for both), and
The final teams.

Register for trials to the MUDS account (mudsonline@gmail.com) by Monday 1st October. We encourage people to trial, even if they are not yet sure whether they can attend the tournament! Even if you have already expressed interest in attending, you need to email us again to confirm you attendance at trials and/or submit your adjudication CV.

The details for Worlds Trials are:

Date: Sunday 7th October

Time: 10:30am-5pm

Place: Melbourne University Law School

Adjudicators

Adjudicators of all levels of experience are welcome to come to Worlds. All adjudicators sit an 'adjudication test' at the start of the tournament (this is where all the adjudicators watch and adjudicate the same debate!) and you can nominate to be a 'Trainee adjudicator' if you have never adjudicated before. The number of adjudicators we have also determines how many people can debate, so adjudicators are highly sought after! We would also encourage people interested in debating in also applying to adjudicate in case they miss out on a team.

To apply to adjudicate, you must email the MUDS account (mudsonline@gmail.com) by Monday 1st October:

- An adjudication CV; and

- A debating CV

(These are each an outline of the relevant experience and/or achievements you have in the area.)

In order to determine sponsorship, Selectors will rank the adjudicators on the basis of these CVs.

Timeline

Event	Date
Register for Worlds Trials (debaters) Applications Due (adjudicators)	Monday 1^st October
Worlds Trials: 10:30am – 5pm Law School	Sunday 7^th Octpber
Team Formation Meeting: 1pm Level 10 Foyer Redmond Barry	Monday 15^thOctober
Deadline for Registration Payment* to MUDS Account	Friday 19^th October
*WORLDS!!!*	*27th December 2007 - 5th January 2008*

Payment Details

Registration for Worlds costs $580 AUD.

The details of the MUDS bank account are:

Bank: National Australia Bank

Name: Melbourne University Debating Society

BSB: 083-457 Account No: 517574963

(Please include your name in the description of the deposit so we can identify it.)

Note that transfers may need a day or two to clear so please make sure that the money reaches the account by the date outlined above so that we can pay full registration for our contingent without incurring any late fines.

MUDS is in the process of seeking sponsorship for Worlds from the the Cultural and Community Relations Advisory Group at the University. Last year this application was very successful and this year we are hoping we will similarly be able to procure sponsorship for our top 3 teams and adjudicators.

Sponsorship Eligibility

To be eligible for sponsorship you must:

Be a current student of Melbourne University
Be a current MUDS member
Meet a threshold test for contribution and involvement in the club.

For further details, see the sponsorship eligibility requirements on the MUDS website.

*2007, Semester 2 MUDS Calendar

Mid-Semester Break	Friday, 21 September – Monday, 24 September – Women’s
Week 9	Tuesday, 2 October – Hamish Malcolm Grand Final and drinks Thursday, 4 October – Trials warm-up Sunday, 7 October – Worlds Trials
Week 10	Public Debates week, including MUDS Free-for-all
Week 11	Tuesday, 16 October - Open Competition Rounds 1 and 2
Week 12	Tuesday, 23 October - Open Competition Round 3 and Grand Final