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Pre-Australs Update
MAD v. MUDS Send-off Debate
One of the great annual traditions, the Monash 1 v. Melbourne 1 Australs send-off debate will be held this year on 30 June 2008, right before Australs. Traditionally the last chance to farewell the flagship Victorian teams, this year it's being held at the Corkman, 160 Leicester Street in Carlton (ironically, the pub is further away from Monash Clayton than the location of Australs itself). There's no cost, just rock up and cheer on Tim, Fi and Amit as they take on Alex Chapman, Chris Hibbard and Chris Bisset.
ADAM results
MAD had a fantastic ADAM over the weekend, thoroughly dominating proceedings. Three of MAD's australs teams made the break, with Monash 2 (Mel Tedja, Meredith Prior and Gemma Buckly) making the quarters, Monash 3 (Colette Mintz, Dom Guinane and Madeline Schultz) breaking 1st and making the semis and Monash 1 making the Grand Final, losing what was apparently a very close debate. Congratulations must go to MADdie Ned Douglas, who was a part of the winning team, along with ex-MAD member Phil "Darth" Barker and Seamus Coleman from MUDS.
Australs - Live Results!
MAD will once again be providing live round-by-round results from australs, which will be available to access from the Live Results page. Check back to see how MAD's doing through the rounds and (hopefully) during the finals.
Holiday Update 1
Alumni Drinks
The Monash Association of Debaters (MAD) will be holding an inaugural Alumni Night this year, which all former and current MAD members are warmly invited to attend. This event will be held shortly before the 2009 Australasian Debating Championships (Australs), which will be hosted by Monash University in July.
The Alumni Cocktail Night will launch the first MAD Alumni membership activity. We plan to hold regular events over the coming years which will allow past members the valuable opportunity to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about fond memories of debating at university.
The club is looking forward to celebrating the successes of former and current debaters, both at university and in the workplace. We have a range of special events planned for the night, including a tribute to Martin Sorensen and a celebration of MAD's rich history at Australs, allowing attendees to reflect on MAD's unique culture and intervarsity success, and helping to guarantee the club's successful future.
The alumni night will be a cocktail event, with finger food and drinks provided. Tickets will cost $50 each for Alumni, with all funds raised going directly to assist with the costs of running Australs. Current students can purchase tickets for $25. The night will also include a charity auction and a raffle.
This event will be held on Friday 19 June at the Monash University Law Chambers, which is located at 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne. The event will commence at 6.30 pm and end at 9.00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.trybooking.com/ZJ.
If you have any questions about the night, or if you are interested in contributing to Australs or MAD more generally, please send an email to Rhys Campbell at monash.debaters.socials@gmail.com.
Hong Kong Parliamentary Debate Workshop
The Hong Kong Parliamentary Society has for several years invited trainers from MAD to participate in their Summer Workshop. This year there are four assistant trainer positions available for MADdies.The workshop runs from the 20th-25th of July at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Assistant trainers will receive a small amount of funding (approx. $500) to help cover the cost of flights - meals and accommodation will be provided. The exact amount of sponsorship will be confirmed this week, but is likely to be around half the cost of flights.
If you're interested in participating, send your application to Damien at monash.debaters.president@gmail.com by Thursday, June 18. Your application should outline your debating, adjudication and training experience, as well as why you'd like to particpate in the program.
If you have any questions, contact Fiona at monash.debaters.training@gmail.com
MAD v. MUDS Send-off Debate
One of the great annual traditions, the Monash 1 v. Melbourne 1 Australs send-off debate will be held this year on 30 June 2008, right before Australs. Traditionally the last chance to farewell the flagship Victorian teams, this year it's being held at the Corkman, 160 Leicester Street in Carlton (ironically, the pub is further away from Monash Clayton than the location of Australs itself). There's no cost, just rock up and cheer on Tim, Fi and Amit as they take on Alex Chapman, Chris Hibbard and Chris Bisset.
Week 13 Update
Alumni Drinks
The Monash Association of Debaters (MAD) will be holding an inaugural Alumni Night this year, which all former and current MAD members are warmly invited to attend. This event will be held shortly before the 2009 Australasian Debating Championships (Australs), which will be hosted by Monash University in July.
The Alumni Cocktail Night will launch the first MAD Alumni membership activity. We plan to hold regular events over the coming years which will allow past members the valuable opportunity to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about fond memories of debating at university.
The club is looking forward to celebrating the successes of former and current debaters, both at university and in the workplace. We have a range of special events planned for the night, including a tribute to Martin Sorensen and a celebration of MAD's rich history at Australs, allowing attendees to reflect on MAD's unique culture and intervarsity success, and helping to guarantee the club's successful future.
The alumni night will be a cocktail event, with finger food and drinks provided. Tickets will cost $50 each for Alumni, with all funds raised going directly to assist with the costs of running Australs. Current students can purchase tickets for $20. The night will also include a charity auction and a raffle.
This event will be held on Friday 19 June at the Monash University Law Chambers, which is located at 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne. The event will commence at 6.30 pm and end at 9.00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.trybooking.com/ZJ.
If you have any questions about the night, or if you are interested in contributing to Australs or MAD more generally, please send an email to Rhys Campbell at monash.debaters.socials@gmail.com.
President's Cup Results
MAD put in a dominant display at President's Cup over the weekend, with an all Monash Grand Final and four of the top 5 speakers. Congratulations to Fiona Prowse, Nita Rao and Nicole Franklin who won the Grand Final in a 3-2 split decision over Meredith Prior, Gemma Buckley and Melania Tedja. Along with Victor Finkel, Gemma and Mel were also in the top 5 speaker. Special congratulations to Meredith Prior, who was ranked best speaker overall, and Callum Sargent who was awarded best novice. Amit Golder, Dom Guinane, Tom Chapman, Vera Lam and Scott Dawson adjudicated the Grand Final. Congratulations must also go to Amit and Dom for running the tournament in the capacity of Chief Adjudicator and Convenor, respectively.
ADAM
ADAM is a pre-australs warm-up tournament, held the weekend before Australs at Melbourne University. It's a fantastic opportunity to debate against a wide range of teams, especially for those not going to Australs. Email Scott for more details.
Week 12 Update
Alumni Drinks
The Monash Association of Debaters (MAD) will be holding an inaugural Alumni Night this year, which all former and current MAD members are warmly invited to attend. This event will be held shortly before the 2009 Australasian Debating Championships (Australs), which will be hosted by Monash University in July.
The Alumni Cocktail Night will launch the first MAD Alumni membership activity. We plan to hold regular events over the coming years which will allow past members the valuable opportunity to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about fond memories of debating at university.
The club is looking forward to celebrating the successes of former and current debaters, both at university and in the workplace. We have a range of special events planned for the night, including a tribute to Martin Sorensen and a celebration of MAD's rich history at Australs, allowing attendees to reflect on MAD's unique culture and intervarsity success, and helping to guarantee the club's successful future.
The alumni night will be a cocktail event, with finger food and drinks provided. Tickets will cost $50 each for Alumni, with all funds raised going directly to assist with the costs of running Australs. Current students can purchase tickets for $20. The night will also include a charity auction and a raffle.
This event will be held on Friday 19 June at the Monash University Law Chambers, which is located at 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne. The event will commence at 6.30 pm and end at 9.00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.trybooking.com/ZJ.
If you have any questions about the night, or if you are interested in contributing to Australs or MAD more generally, please send an email to Rhys Campbell at monash.debaters.socials@gmail.com.
Surveys
MAD is conducting two surveys at the moment to try and help us improve your experiences at the club, both socially and in terms of debating. This is part of a process which is evaluating the current activities of the club and how they can be improved. The surveys are an important way for you to be able to give us honest, anonymous feedback and to shape the future direction of the club. We would greatly appreciate if you could take the time to fill out the two surveys below. Please do them - remember, it is ultimately in your own interest to give us honest feedback!
Martin Sorensen Results
Congratulations to Tim Jeffrie, Meredith Prior and Callum Sargeant who won the Sorensen Grand Final last night in a unanimous decision, defeating Viv Jones, Colette Mintz, Carmel Wallis and Sam Whitney. Congratulations also to Tim and Callum who were awarded Best Speaker and Best Novice, respectively.
ADAM
ADAM is a pre-australs warm-up tournament, held the weekend before Australs at Melbourne University. It's a fantastic opportunity to debate against a wide range of teams, especially for those not going to Australs. Email Scott for more details.
President's Cup
The location has changed - the tournament will now be held at Melbourne High School. It's on the last weekend in May and includes a guarantee of 5 debates for everyone, followed by both a novice and a main grand final, as well as social events on both nights (dinner on Saturday and drinks on Sunday). Registration costs will be $30 for debaters and $20 for adjudicators, which gets you 5 rounds of debating, lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea both days, and dinner on the Saturday night.
Week 11 Update
Martin Sorensen Grand Final
After five rounds and semi-finals, the Grand Final of the Martin Sorensen Competition will be contested by "Sideways Vagina" and "Tit Mints". It will be held at the Notting Hill Hotel on Wednesday 27 May from 7pm - come along a bit earlier and grab dinner before the debate.
Alumni Drinks
The Monash Association of Debaters (MAD) will be holding an inaugural Alumni Night this year, which all former and current MAD members are warmly invited to attend. This event will be held shortly before the 2009 Australasian Debating Championships (Australs), which will be hosted by Monash University in July.
The Alumni Cocktail Night will launch the first MAD Alumni membership activity. We plan to hold regular events over the coming years which will allow past members the valuable opportunity to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about fond memories of debating at university.
The club is looking forward to celebrating the successes of former and current debaters, both at university and in the workplace. We have a range of special events planned for the night, including a tribute to Martin Sorensen and a celebration of MAD's rich history at Australs, allowing attendees to reflect on MAD's unique culture and intervarsity success, and helping to guarantee the club's successful future.
The alumni night will be a cocktail event, with finger food and drinks provided. Tickets will cost $50 each for Alumni, with all funds raised going directly to assist with the costs of running Australs. Current students can purchase tickets for $20. The night will also include a charity auction and a raffle.
This event will be held on Friday 19 June at the Monash University Law Chambers, which is located at 472 Bourke Street, Melbourne. The event will commence at 6.30 pm and end at 9.00 pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.trybooking.com/ZJ.
If you have any questions about the night, or if you are interested in contributing to Australs or MAD more generally, please send an email to Rhys Campbell at monash.debaters.socials@gmail.com.
Surveys
MAD is conducting two surveys at the moment to try and help us improve your experiences at the club, both socially and in terms of debating. This is part of a process which is evaluating the current activities of the club and how they can be improved. The surveys are an important way for you to be able to give us honest, anonymous feedback and to shape the future direction of the club. We would greatly appreciate if you could take the time to fill out the two surveys below. Please do them - remember, it is ultimately in your own interest to give us honest feedback!
Australs
MAD has selected its teams for Australs:
Monash 1: Amit Golder, Tim Jeffrie, Fiona Prowse
Monash 2: Gemma Buckley, Meredith Prior, Melanie Tedja
Monash 3: Dominic Guinane, Colette Mintz, Madeline Schultz
Monash 4: Ravi Dutta, Viv Jones, Nita Rao
Next Monday will see the traditional Monash 1 v Monash 2 send-off debate. Come see MAD's finest battle it out before Australs in our last Monday meeting for the semester.
President's Cup
The location has changed - the tournament will now be held at Melbourne High School. It's on the last weekend in May and includes a guarantee of 5 debates for everyone, followed by both a novice and a main grand final, as well as social events on both nights (dinner on Saturday and drinks on Sunday). Registration costs will be $30 for debaters and $20 for adjudicators, which gets you 5 rounds of debating, lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea both days, and dinner on the Saturday night.
Week 10 Update
Regressive
Regressive is MAD's biggest and most entertaining social events. It's basically a debate done backwards - the catch being that anyone who speaks earlier (who would normally speak last, like a 3rd speaker) gets to dare the people who are going to come after them (who would normally speak first, like the 1st speakers) to do all sorts of crazy things. It's completely free and always a lot of fun.
When: Friday 15th of May, from 7:00. Debate starts at 8:00.
Where: Nita's house, 54 Lum Rd, Wheelers Hill
Cars will be ferrying people from Glen Waverley station if they need to
train in or catch one of the many buses that go to that station.v If people need to stay the night there will be spaces to crash at
Nita's, Scott's, Dom's and other people near by. Just contact them or Rhys in advance to arrange to stay over.
Speakers:
1st Aff: Kiran Iyer 1st Neg: Nita Rao
2nd Aff: Laura Aston 2nd Neg: James Beavis
3rd Aff: Luke McGreevy 3rd Neg: Colette Mintz
Chair: Damien Bruckard
Adjudicator: Mel Birch
Topic will be announced on the night.
Free drinks all night and food provided! 1st years bring desert, Exec members bring main course, all others bring entree and snacks.
Martin Sorensen Competition
Don't forget that Martin Sorensen continues for the final round and the semi-finals, with pizza in between.
Australs
The next major tournament on the calendar, the Australasian Debating Championships, will be held in July and hosted by Monash. Details will be available soon for those who wish to volunteer for the tournament. The final stage of trials will also be held this Sunday - there will be a meeting at 1pm in H6 on Monday to decide the final makeup of the teams. For those wishing to adjudicate, you are required to email an adjudication CV to Scott by Friday, or hand it in to him on Sunday at trials. The template for the adjudication CV has been emailed out to interested persons, and can be found here.
President's Cup
The DAV is holding a 3-on-3 tournament on the last weekend in May at Melbourne Girls College and includes a guarantee of 5 debates for everyone, followed by both a novice and a main grand final, as well as social events on both nights (dinner on Saturday and drinks on Sunday).Registration costs will be $30 for debaters and $20 for adjudicators, which gets you 5 rounds of debating, lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea both days, and dinner on the Saturday night.
NOVICE RULE: For a team to be eligible for the novice break EVERY speaker must be a novice. A novice is someone who has not debated at Worlds, Australs or 2 or more Easters or broken at Easters. You can register as a team or an individual, teams may have up to 4 people registered, but only 3 may prepare any given topic. Visit http://www.dav.com.au/adults/pres_cup_reg.php to register (registration closes Wednesday 27 May).
Week 9 Update
Regressive
Regressive is MAD's biggest and most entertaining social events. It's basically a debate done backwards - the catch being that anyone who speaks earlier (who would normally speak last, like a 3rd speaker) gets to dare the people who are going to come after them (who would normally speak first, like the 1st speakers) to do all sorts of crazy things. It's completely free and always a lot of fun.
When: Friday 15th of May, from 7:00. Debate starts at 8:00.
Where: Nita's house, 54 Lum Rd, Wheelers Hill
Cars will be ferrying people from Glen Waverley station if they need to
train in or catch one of the many buses that go to that station.v If people need to stay the night there will be spaces to crash at
Nita's, Scott's, Dom's and other people near by. Just contact them or Rhys in advance to arrange to stay over.
Speakers:
1st Aff: Kiran Iyer 1st Neg: Nita Rao
2nd Aff: Laura Aston 2nd Neg: James Beavis
3rd Aff: Luke McGreevy 3rd Neg: Colette Mintz
Chair: Damien Bruckard
Adjudicator: Mel Birch
Topic will be announced on the night.
Free drinks all night and food provided! 1st years bring desert, Exec members bring main course, all others bring entree and snacks.
Martin Sorensen Competition
Don't forget that Martin Sorensen continues for the next two weeks, 2 debates per night and pizza in between.
Australs
The next major tournament on the calendar, the Australasian Debating Championships, will be held in July and hosted by Monash. Applications to trial for a debating position are now closed. Stage 1 will be held this Saturday - those who have registered to trial will receive further information shortly. Additionally, Stage 2 has been cancelled - we will now have the final stage of trials on Sunday 17 May (again, details for those participating will be provided shortly). However, if you wish to adjudicate, you will be required to submit an adjudication CV to Scott by May 15 - a template for this will also be available soon.
Week 8 Update
Guest Speaker - George Negus
Next Monday MAD is very lucky to be hosting journalist and author George Negus. George has been a reporter for 60 Minutes and hosted Foreign Correspondent, and is currently the host of Dateline on SBS. He will be speaking on contemporary political journalism, and all MADdies are encouraged to take advantage of this fantastic event.
EGM
MAD will be holding a General Meeting at 1pm on Monday 11 May, in H6 in the Menzies Building. The current proposed constitutional amendments are here, and also to insert the following clause as S2.7, and re-number what currently is clause 2.7 and 2.8 as clauses 2.8 and 2.9, respectively:
*2.7. Supporting Membership*
2.7.1 Supporting Membership shall be open to:
- i. all persons who subscribe to the aims and objectives of the
club, and who have held an ordinary membership or were eligible to hold an
ordinary membership in the past;
- ii. schools participating in events run by the club; and
- iii. organizations which subscribe to the aims and objectives of
the club
2.7.2 Supporting members will be entitled to annual updates on the
activities and events of the club deemed to be relevant to their interests,
and may receive other benefits accorded to ordinary members at the
Executive's discretion.
2.7.3 Notwithstanding s2.7.2 above, supporting members shall not be eligible
to vote or hold committee positions.
Martin Sorensen Competition
It's time for MAD's second internal competition of the year... the Martin Sorensen Competition! Sorensen is a five round competition for the entire club to take part in.
When? Monday 4th, 11th and 18th May from 5.00 - 9.30pm
Where? Basement of the Law Building (we meet in L4)
What? It's 5 rounds of hot 3-on-3 debating, then a semi final to determine the Grand Finalists, who will debate at the Nott. Awesome.
Who? YOU! Register as an individual or in a team. Teams are of 3 - 4 people and can have up to:
- 1 experienced person (broken at Australs/Worlds)
- 2 intermediate person (debated at 1 Australs, 1 Worlds or 2 Easters'); and/or
- As many novices (debated at a maximum of 1 Easters) as you'd like!
Confused? That's OK, just email Amit with a proposed team and I'll tell you if it's illegal. Also, if you'd like to adjudicate the competition, email your interest to Amit. He'll love you longtime. Oh, as always MAD will provide a free pizza dinner for all competitors and adjudicators... Bueno!
SO: if you are interested email Amit on monash.debaters.internals@gmail.com with your name and number and any teammates you've roped in. Registration closes 11am, Monday 4 April 2009.
Week 7 Update
Freshers Grand Final (for real this time)
After four rounds of debating, Freshers is down to just two teams. The Grand Final will be Ken vs. Guile, and will take place at the next Monday meeting in H6. Additionally, we will be announcing the top 5 speakers of the competition and the best speaker, who will receive a special prize.
Martin Sorensen Competition
It's time for MAD's second internal competition of the year... the Martin Sorensen Competition! Sorensen is a five round competition for the entire club to take part in.
When? Monday 4th, 11th and 18th May from 5.00 - 9.30pm
Where? Basement of the Law Building (we meet in L4)
What? It's 5 rounds of hot 3-on-3 debating, then a semi final to determine the Grand Finalists, who will debate at the Nott. Awesome.
Who? YOU! Register as an individual or in a team. Teams are of 3 - 4 people and can have up to:
- 1 experienced person (broken at Australs/Worlds)
- 2 intermediate person (debated at 1 Australs, 1 Worlds or 2 Easters'); and/or
- As many novices (debated at a maximum of 1 Easters) as you'd like!
Confused? That's OK, just email Amit with a proposed team and I'll tell you if it's illegal. Also, if you'd like to adjudicate the competition, email your interest to Amit. He'll love you longtime. Oh, as always MAD will provide a free pizza dinner for all competitors and adjudicators... Bueno!
SO: if you are interested email Amit on monash.debaters.internals@gmail.com with your name and number and any teammates you've roped in. Registration closes 11am, Monday 4 April 2009.
Australs
The next major tournament on the calendar, the Australasian Debating Championships, will be held in July and hosted by Monash. Since Australs is one of the two most prestigious tournaments MAD attends, and places are limited, MAD will be holding a series of trials to select its teams. Everyone who's interested should register for trials - it's great practice and even if you don't make a team this year the experience will stand you in good stead for future years. Check out the Intervarsities page for more details.
Easters Recap - Keep the cap!
MAD continued its fine run at Easters, breaking a team, five adjudicators and achieving the highest pick-ups per capita of any MAD contingent in recent memory. The stars were of course Monash 9 (Nita Rao, Lachlan Saunders and Sam Whitney) who broke amongst raucous chants of "Keep the Cap! Keep the Cap!". Monash 9 did MAD proud, taking the fight to the top breaking team and even convincing the chair of the panel that they'd won. They unfortunately went down on a 2-1 split decision, but not before giving the old enemy Sydney a few scares.
MAD's other teams also did well, with a number of teams a few spots off the break, and all teams finishing on at least 2 wins. On the adjudication front, MAD stalwart Sammy K broke to the octos, and Kiran Iyer to the semis. MAD's own DCA Tim Jeffrie managed to save not only himself, but fellow MADdies Ravi Dutta and Amit Golder, a spot on the Grand Final panel as well.
Week 6 Update - Easters!
A massive contingent of 13 teams and 16 adjudicators is heading up to Brisbane for Easters on Thursday for what should be an awesome tournament. As per usual, we'll be texting live updates to the website, so those of you who can't join us should keep an eye on the Live Results page.
There's no other events on during the mid-semester break, but coming back from Easters we'll have a jam-packed second half of the semester. Member training will be ramping up, we'll have the Martin Sorensen Competition (our second internal competition), Regressive (MAD's wackiest social event for the year) and of course, the Australasian Debating Championships, hosted by Monash. Stay tuned for more details on all of these
Week 5 Update - Freshers Final and Easters
After four rounds of debating, Freshers is down to just two teams. The Grand Final will be Ken vs. Guile, and will take place at the next Monday meeting in H6. Additionally, we will be announcing the top 5 speakers of the competition and the best speaker, who will receive a special prize.
Details should already be in people's inboxes about Easters, and next Monday night we'll be having some practice debates for the Easters teams. It's a good chance to meet your teammates if you haven't already, and get a couple of debates under your belt before you head up to Brisbane.
Week 4 Update - Freshers and Easters
Freshers night 1 was a great success, and there's another two debates next Monday night. After this, the top two teams will meet in the final on the Monday lunchtime before Easter. Email Amit at monash.debaters.internals@gmail.com to let him know if you can't make the second night.
MAD has also selected a massive 13 teams for Easters, which is now less than two weeks away. In years gone by we've had a road trip to get to know each other, but since everyone's catching a flight up to Brisbane, we'll be having a pre-Easters social event for the contingent to get to know each other, get some t-shirts and learn the MAD song. It's likely to be on Thursday, 2 April (next week), at a location to be advised. We've also got some practice debates on the Monday night before Easters for all the teams to get to know each other and get in a couple of debates before the tournament.
Week 3 Update - Freshers and Commencement Dinner
Now that you've experienced MAD's training, it's time to put those skills into action during our Freshers Internal Competition. It's open to all new members of the club, and is designed as a fun and easy way to get more experience with University debating. It will be held across the next two Monday nights, with the Grand Final on the Monday before Easter. You can enter as an individual or as a team - email Amit at monash.debaters.internals@gmail.com to register.
Also, don't forget to come to Commencement Dinner this Friday (details in the post below or in the sidebar on the left) - we've got unlimited food, beer, wine and soft drink, all for only $20 with a Culture Card ($25 non-Culture Card).
Week 2 Update - Commencement Dinner and Easters sign-up
Rhys is a slow learner, but even he's realised the folly of holding a social event outdoors given Melbourne's volatile weather. As a result, he's organised an exciting - and indoor - location for MAD's next social event, Commencement Dinner. Details are below:
When: Friday March 20th, 7:30pm start.
Where: Sophia's, 857 Burke rd, Camberwell, right near Camberwell station.
Cost: $20 culture card, $25 non-culture card. (Covers unlimited food, beer, wine and some spirits)
Tickets can be bought at the Monday meeting and member training session,
as well as on the door. Discounted price of $10 culture card and $15 non
culture card for those who will be arriving after 9:00 and not eating.
For more info, contact Rhys on 0423 304 262 or email
monash.debaters.socials@gmail.com
Also, if you haven't already, don't forget to sign up for Easters. There really is no better way to get an idea of what MAD's all about than going to Easters - check out the IV's page for more details.
Week 1 Update - First Year BBQ and Easters sign-up
For all those who want to unwind from their first week of uni and meet fellow debaters, whilst also enjoying free food and drinks, then our first year BBQ is for you! It kicks off at 5:00pm at Caulfield Park, on the corners of Princess Highway, Sir John Monash drive, and Dudley St. Parking is available on Dudley St, and we'll be at the BBQ area near the Cricket club. It's a short walk from the station and Monash Caulfield. Afterwards, we'll be heading into South Yarra for the Arts pub crawl. So definitely come along for free stuff and good times!
Speaking of good times, there's no better way to spend Easter weekend than with MAD at the annual Easters tournament in Brisbane. Check out the IV's page for more details.
On the debating side of things, next Monday lunchtime we have our Exhibition Debate, showcasing an all-star cast of some of MAD's finest. In the evening, Australasian and Worlds Grand Finalist Victor Finkel will be running the first member training session on an introduction to University Debating.
Welcome to MAD in 2009!
After a fantastic 2008, MAD is gearing up for another great year in 2009. We've got some great events lined up for this year. On the debating front, every new member should sign up for Freshers, MAD's first internal competition of the year. It's a great way to get know fellow first years and see just how much better university debating is compared to school debating. Don't worry if you've never debated before - that's what our Member Training sessions are for. We'll teach you everything you need to know about debatng (and then some), and give you a chance to practice these skills as well.
However, to really understand what university debating is about, you have to go to one of the invervarsity tournaments, or IVs. The first IV is Easters, the National Novice Intervarsity, and much like our own Freshers internal tournament it's designed specifically for people new to debating. Teams have to have at least 2 novices in them, so you'll be up against other people of similar skill. This year it's held over the Easter weekend in Brisbane, and will bring together teams from all over the country.
Later on in the year, you'll have another chance to be involved in a major tournament, as Monash is hosting the Australiasian Debating Championships during the July holidays. Opportunities to be a part of the organising team will become available over the next few months, so stay tuned for updates.
But debating isn't everything we do - our regular meetings are on Monday lunchtimes at 1pm in H6 in the Menzies Building, with debating competitions and training taking place in the Law basement on Monday nights from 5pm onwards. We've also got a packed calendar of socials this year - the first two are the First Year BBQ on Thursday 5 March, and Commencement Dinner on Friday 20 March. Details about locations will follow soon...
So get involved, drop by our O-Week tent to say hello and get ready for another big year with MAD!
Back-to-back Worlds Grand Finals for MAD!
MAD has finished off an amazing debating season with Victor Finkel and Ravi Dutta (Monash B) making the Grand Final of Worlds. This is the second year in a row MAD has had a team in the Grand Final. Our congratulations go to Victor and Ravi for an excellent tournament.
But it wasn’t just Victor and Ravi who enjoyed success. Fiona Prowse and Amit Golder (Monash A) were one of the most successful teams of the tournament, breaking in fourth position, then narrowly losing in the Octo-Finals. Fiona and Amit blitzed the field, individually ranking as equal third best speakers of the tournament – a highly talented, even team!
Claire Lindsey and Tim Jeffrie broke as adjudicators, while Madeline Schultz and Dominic Guinane (Monash C) just missed out on the break in a very strong performance. These great results deserve a celebration. Stay tuned for details.
Applications for Editor and Sub-Editor of the Monash Debating Review (MDR)
And now for something completely different... the Monash Association of Debaters is opening up applications for Editor-in-Chief and Sub-Editors for its journal, the Monash Debating Review (MDR). The MDR is a prestigious, inter-disciplinary journal containing articles on debating policy, tactics, argumentation strategy and other information relevant for debaters. It has a wide international readership, being sold at major international tournaments such as Australs and Worlds. The Editor-in-Chief will based in Melbourne, Australia (the home of Monash), however Sub-Editors may reside anywhere in the world.
For more information about the MDR and the Sub-Editor role, please see the Position Description for the Editor-in-Chief and Sub-Editors. The application deadline is 28 February 2009. If you have any questions please contact Damien Bruckard at monash.debaters.president@gmail.com.
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