Georgetown Debating Union Takes Part in the World Universities Debating Championship

Georgetown Debating Union (GDU) at GU-Q took part in the July 2021 World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC). Held in the British Parliamentary (BP) format, this 40th edition of the annual WUDC was hosted virtually by Debate Korea, marking the first time this tournament was hosted by Northeast Asia. 

Organized in 1981, the WUDC is the world’s largest debating tournament and one of the largest annual international student events globally. Participation at such a highly competitive level is the latest achievement of the Georgetown Debating Union, which is currently the reigning champion of both the Qatar Universities Debating League and the Qatar Universities National Debating Championship. 

In a congratulatory message to the student body, the Office of Student Life recognized the club for their achievements. “This is the first time that a participant from GU-Q has made it so far and we are very proud of your achievements. We look forward to more success in the coming years.”

The GDU representing GU-Q  was one of over 300 universities, 380 teams, and 300 judges competing at the championship. GDU members Muhammed Saad Ullah (SFS’23) and Asma Shakeel (SFS’24) competed as a team at the championship. After a total of 9 preliminary rounds, they ended the tournament with a total of 11 team points, ranking 277th (out of 380).

GDU captain Pragyan Acharya (SFS’24) was one of 300 participants competing as a judge in the championships. After nine preliminary rounds, he qualified to compete in the single-elimination or knockout stages of the championship. “This marks the first time a participant representing an institution from Qatar, and coming from Nepal qualified to the out-rounds of WUDC,” explained Pragyan, who was then selected to judge up to the Semi-Finals of the tournament, capping his run as a World Semi-Finals Judge.

While most people understand that debaters are judged, said Pragyan, many are unaware of the competition for judges that takes place within debate tournaments. “Throughout the nine preliminary rounds, judges are scored by the teams that the judge delivers a verdict to. Based on an aggregation of scores the judge receives throughout the nine rounds, and the judge test taken at the beginning of the tournament, it is determined who qualifies and who does not, and how much further into the knockout rounds the individual is allocated to judge. In my case, I judged the Semi-Finals, which makes me a World Semi-Finals Judge.”

The WUDC finals were between a team from the London School of Economics (LSE), University of Zagreb and two teams from the Ateneo De Manila University, Philippines. The University of Zagreb was declared the winner of the 2021 WUDC.

Prior to WUDC, Pragyan also judged at the annual Australian British Parliamentary Debating Championships 2021, which saw participation from 110 universities and 300 participants from around Austral-Asia. Representing GU-Q, Pragyan judged the Semi-Finals at that championship as well.

The GDU has resumed their weekly training and is open to welcoming new members. The club is committed to continuing their success in debate, and to making debating accessible to all interested GU-Q students.