Sydney Mini
Sydney Mini will run from the 2nd to the 4th of December this year at the University of Sydney. Like Melbourne Mini, it aims to be a warm up tournament for the Worlds Debating Championships in Dublin. This is a chance for those wishing to get in a bit more practice before Melbourne Mini to debate in a competitive but enjoyable environment. It is also a fantastic chance for you to visit Sydney, and all of its attractions.
Invitation
In keeping with tradition, the University of Sydney Union will once again be hosting the annual Australian Parliamentary Debating Championship, affectionately known as the Sydney Mini Series, from 4pm Friday 2nd December to 5pm Sunday 4th December. The tournament will be held at the University of Sydney. Debaters and adjudicators from all institutions are welcome.
Debating
This year the Sydney Mini Series is set to be the largest pre-Worlds tournament in Australia, with teams from ANU, Macquarie, Melbourne, Monash, New Zealand, Sydney, UNSW, UTS and UWA all indicating that they will attend. Make sure you register as soon as possible, as demand is very high and places very limited.
Sydney Minis is definitely a tournament worth attending. The tournament is aimed at providing practice in the lead-up to Worlds 2006 in an extremely competitive yet fun-filled environment. Everybody is welcome to debate or adjudicate, from those new to the Parliamentary style to potential world champions! The power-pairing tab system will ensure that people will debate other teams of a similar level of experience. Last year six teams which participated in Sydney Minis went on to break at Worlds, as did numerous adjudicators.
Adjudication team & the tab
The adjudication team for this year will ensure that the standard of the tournament is at an all-time high. The Chief Adjudicator is Sydney’s Michael Zelas. Michael has broken at Worlds (04, 05), Australs (04, 05) and Easters (04) as an adjudicator. The Deputy Chief Adjudicator will be Vanessa Collins (UNSW), who has broken as a debater at Worlds (03, 05), Australs (99, 01, 02, 03, 04), Women's (03), Easters (99, 01) and Sydney Minis (03, 04). Vanessa is a former winner of Sydney Minis (04) and has adjudicated three sets of Grand Finals at both Easters and Women's.
Daniel Green will once again run the tab. Daniel was Tournament Director at Australs (04), Sydney Minis (04), Sydney Grand Slam (05), Sydney Novice Invitational (05) and Sydney Pro-Am (05), to name but a few. He is also booked in to be Tournament Director at Australs in 2006.
Tournament team cap + ‘n-1’ policy
Due to incredibly high demand for places at Sydney Minis this year (over twenty teams have already indicated their interest in attending), a strict tournament cap will be in place. Please make sure that you register as soon as possible (deadline is 5pm Friday 25th November or earlier if the cap is met), as places will be allocated on a first-in, best-dressed basis. Please note that it will be necessary that all contingents meet the ‘n-1’ requirement, to ensure the best quality adjudication for everybody in attendance.
Food, Drink and Social
In keeping with precedent, you will be well nourished throughout the tournament. You will be hard pressed to find another tournament which keeps you as festively plump throughout! Lunch, dinner and afternoon tea will be provided (see ‘Tournament Schedule’), catering to all dietary requirements. Saturday night will feature an informal Championship Dinner, which should be a night of good food and laughs. It should be fine to wear whatever you debate in during the day to the Championship Dinner. Secure storage for fact files and the like will be available on the Saturday night.
Tournament Schedule
Friday 2nd December 2005 Saturday 3rd December 2005
1600 Registration begins 1100 Briefing begins
1700 Compulsory briefing 1130 Round 3 prep begins
1715 Round 1 prep begins 1145 Round 3 debate begins
1730 Round 1 debate begins 1300 Lunch
1900 Dinner 1400 Round 4 prep begins
1945 Round 2 prep begins 1415 Round 4 debate begins
2000 Round 2 debate begins 1530 Afternoon tea
2130 Day 1 ends 1600 Round 5 prep begins
1900 Dinner 1615 Round 5 debate begins
1730 Round 5 debate ends
1800 Championship Dinner
Sunday 4th December 2005
1000 Briefing begins
1030 Round 6 prep begins
1045 Round 6 debate begins
1200 Lunch & break announced
1245 Semi-final prep begins
1300 Semi-final debates begin
1430 Afternoon tea & break announced
1445 Grand-final prep begins
1500 Grand-final begins
1630 Awards presentation and wrap-up
1700 Tournament ends
Registration
At the moment rego is capped at $60 for debaters, but this should be lowered before the tournament itself. Rego will cover two dinners, two lunches, two afternoon teas, drinks, social event, prizes and administration costs. Rego for adjudicators will be significantly less - possibly around the $30 mark or lower - more details soon. Rego will be due in cash during Registration, which runs from 4pm to 5pm on Friday 2nd December. You will not be allowed to participate until you have paid rego.
How to register
Please email Amanda Isouard (amanda_isouard@student.usyd.edu.au) with the following information by 5pm Friday 25th November 2005:
INDIVIDUAL DEBATER REGO
Name:
Team name (eg. Sydney 1):
Team mate/find me a team mate:
Mobile number:
Email address:
Date of birth:
Dietary/medical requirements:
INDIVIDUAL ADJUDICATOR REGO
Name:
Adjudicating experience:
Mobile number:
Email address:
Date of birth:
Dietary/medical requirements:
Code of Conduct
A strict Code of Conduct policy will be in place throughout the tournament. All participants will be required to sign this prior to competing in the tournament. Procedures will be in place to deal with any breach of this policy.
Transport and Parking
The University of Sydney is located twenty minutes from Sydney Airport, making it a roughly $AUD20 taxi ride. A train is also available from the airport which will get you to the University or the city in about 20 minutes.
Parking is available on and off-campus. On-campus parking will cost $6 for each day of the tournament. Free parking is available every day in Forest Lodge (two minutes from the Holme Building over the Parramatta Road footbridge) and on Parramatta Road on the weekend.
Accommodation
Unfortunately accommodation will not be provided. However, if you need accommodation for the tournament, feel free to contact us and we will assist you in finding the most suitable accommodation.
Practice Debates
The University of Sydney will be holding multiple practice debates during the run-up to Worlds which travelling teams are welcome to attend. Send an email to Amanda Isouard (amanda_isouard@student.usyd.edu.au) if you are interested in being involved.
Contact Information
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amanda Isouard. Her details are as follows:
Amanda Isouard
Convenor & Intervarsity Director
Debates Committee
University of Sydney Union
amanda_isouard@student.usyd.edu.au
Email us at mudsonline@gmail.com to express your interest in being part of the MUDS contingent.
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