Team Chubby Chang, consisting of debaters from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, clinched QED 2017 after three days of fierce debate over seven rounds, as they edged past Team Beygairath Brigade in the finals. The tournament featured colleges like National Law School-Bangalore, IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee and Hindu Law College. Most teams were evenly matched throughout, with the quality of debate bettering last year’s standards.
Every year, the tournament follows the Asian Parliamentary Debate format. Teams of three battle it out by engaging with each other in a forty-two minute debate. Each round is judged by a panel of adjudicators. There is an internal competition going on amongst the adjudicators as well. Speakers grade adjudicators based on the quality of feedback received.
After several preliminary rounds, the best speakers and adjudicators proceed to the elimination rounds (a concept popularly known as breaking). Although many teams represent their home colleges, cross teams consisting of debaters from different colleges also participate.
The event started on the 10th of February, with an adjudication test requiring participants to rate a mock debate followed by the first of the preliminary rounds with motions based on the nature of classroom learning. The second day had three consecutive rounds dealing with issues about ethics and international racism. The finalists debated whether all-female remakes need to be supported, a motion given in the context of all the hue and fuss surrounding the Ghostbusters remake.
There were of course slip-ups, the primary one being the absence of food-stalls which had to be cancelled at the last minute, the frequent delays in starting rounds and transportation issues. However, the staggering prize money, a professional band performance by Knight Shades (an Elvis tribute band from Delhi), quality accommodation outside campus, and an extremely experienced core adjudication panel greatly improved the participants’ experience, and many of them promised to return next year.