Heart of Europe 2012

The Association of Debate Clubs of Olomouc Region, wish to invite you to the 9th year of our traditional international high school debate tournament, the Heart of Europe 2012. The competition takes place in Olomouc, Czech Republic from 29th July to 3rd August 2012, and is open for secondary and high school students from anywhere in the world. Usually, there are teams from three or four different continents participating, from countries as diverse as South Africa, Hong Kong, Canada or Romania (among many others).

Heart of Europe features 8 preliminary power-paired rounds (half of the debates are impromptu), octo, quarter, semi-finals (all impromptu) and the Grand Final (prepared). The team cap has been set to 60 this year and we use the WSDC format, so it is really good opportunity to practice for WSDC 2013, Turkey. Participants should be familiar with English at least to such an extent that they will be able to deliver a speech - other than that, proficiency in English does not matter when it comes to registration. Teams of all levels of experience are welcome, since the Heart of Europe is designed as a learning opportunity and competitive challenge in equal measure.

Just like last year, our goal is to achieve panels of 3 adjudicators available for every preliminary debate, therefore we will be applying the n+1 rule again („n“ being the number of teams in a given delegation). Delegation bringing one team has to bring two judges, a delegation bringing two teams has to bring three judges, and so forth. We believe that panels provide greater fairness and also within them, more experienced judges can be combined with the less experienced, thus allowing the less experienced judges to learn.

The registration fees for Heart of Europe 2012 are 180 EUR per debater, 120 EUR per judge and 220 EUR per observer. It is possible that we will require a deposit to a bank account in advance, but it is more likely that we would have you pay the fees upon your arrival, as usual. All participants will be accommodated in the best university dormitories in Olomouc and provided with meals and tickets for public transportation throughout the city during the course of the tournament. This year, all the important facilities will be very close to each other, so the time spent on transportation is going to be significantly reduced. Consequently, there will be much more free time and/or time for special pre-planned social and recreational events.

If you like what you have read so far, feel free to read the enclosed Call for Registration for more details, and we will hopefully be able to welcome you to the Heart of Europe 2012 debating tournament.

You can also check out our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heart-of-Europe-Debating-Tournament-Official-Site/175134202532094

Or our website:

http://www.heart-of-europe.org/web/

Or email us:

registrations@heart-of-europe.org

Registration is already open. Feel free to contact us to ask any questions. We‘re looking forward to seeing you in the Czech Republic this summer!