World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships

Last updated
World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships
Tournament information
Game Debating and Public Speaking
Established1988
Number of
events
5 + 1 Overall Winner
Website
Current champion
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Anna Gage (Overall)
Individual Events
Champion
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Michelle Liu
  • (Parliamentary Debate)
  • Flag of the United States.svg Justin Ahn
  • (Impromptu Speaking)
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ethan Wahba
  • (Interpretive Reading)
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Millie Steinman
  • (Persuasive Speaking)
  • Flag of South Africa.svg Richard Leschner
  • (After-dinner Speaking)

The World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships (WIDPSC) is an annual English language debating and public speaking tournament for individual high school-level students representing different countries. It is the public speaking equivalent of the World Schools Debating Championships.

Contents

The most recent event was hosted in April 2024 by the Canberra Girls Grammar School in Canberra, Australia and crowned Canada's Anna Gage as the overall world champion. The 2025 edition of the event is slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the first time the nation will serve as host for competition and marking WIDPSC's first Asian host since Hong Kong in 2015.

History

The tournament was founded in 1988 by Reading Blue Coat School, St. John's-Ravenscourt School, the Debating Association of New England Independent Schools, Taunton School, Queen Anne's School, and The English School, Nicosia. It was one of the first international competitions to individually rank high school-level students in debating and public speaking. [1] The tournament was founded the same year as the World Schools Debating Championships to respond to the desire for an equivalent competition for public speaking at the international level.

The first Worlds was hosted by Reading Blue Coat School in Reading, England and continued to be hosted in England until 1995. The late 1990s saw the tournament's hosts began to cycle through different countries, with Argentina hosting in 1998, Botswana hosting in 1999, and Cyprus hosting in 2000. [2]

Format

Organization

The tournament usually takes five to six days, with two to three rounds of events daily. The opening day of the tournament involves opening ceremonies and a guest speaker. The last two days do not involve any regular competition, except for those advancing to the final rounds. These days are occupied by a full day excursion or activity, and a formal closing banquet that involves the grand finals and awards ceremony. The grand finals of the tournament are considered to be a display of the tournament's best competitors. Some notable past locations of the grand finals have included the Utah State Capitol, Seimas of Lithuania and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Competitors also partake in other activities and outings organized by the host school during the week. These often involve exploring the city of the tournament. [3]

Competitors must compete in four out of five events: parliamentary debate, impromptu speaking, interpretive reading, and either persuasive speaking or after-dinner speaking. Students compete in two preliminary rounds for each event. This is followed by a round of finals with approximately the top 10% of competitors competing. This is followed by a Grand Final show round, with the top two or three speakers in each character (the top 4 for debating).

Adjudication and Ranking

Adjudication for the tournament consists of members of the general public invited as judges, as well as one coach judge per room. Prior to the tournament, the host school will publicize the tournament and individuals locally associated with public speaking and debating and the host school will volunteer to judge. These individuals then participate in one or more training workshops. Scores are reviewed by a committee of coaches and experienced officials to discern for bias. The rationale behind this selection method stems from the founders' intent to assess ability on the basis of speaking to the 'common man or woman', not a specialized individual. Each competitor is judged by 40 to 50 judges by the end of the competition.

The top seven to twelve competitors in each event advance to final rounds, and the top two (or four for debate) competitors in the finals advance to the grand finals. Categorical rankings are decided on performance in the grand finals and finals. The final rounds are judged by coaches whose students are not in the category they are adjudicating. The overall ranking is based solely on the combined results of the preliminary rounds.

In 2023, it was decided that the overall champion of the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships would receive the John Robinson Award – an award commemorating the founder of this international competition, John Robinson.

A notable difference between the WIDPSC and the World Schools Debating Championships – the parallel major international competition which specializes in debating rather than public speaking – is that WSDC's primary focus is on the ranking of each country's team as opposed to each individual participant's ranking. Accordingly, students at the WIDPSC often compete against fellow members of their country's team. WSDC is a different format of debate with three per side. WIDPSC debate format is two per side.

Participants

Students from numerous countries have participated in the tournament, including: Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, England, South Africa, Lithuania, Pakistan, Cyprus, Argentina, Eswatini, Botswana, Israel, India, South Korea, Zimbabwe and Germany. Additionally, foreign nationals enrolled at schools abroad often compete, but are not officially recognized as representing an additional country. Usually participants are in their last two years of high school.

Competitors can qualify in several ways. These are: through direct application to their national debating and/or public speaking organization, through a national tournament, or if they belong to one of the founding schools, by their decision. Countries that have a more established debating and public speaking program often use qualifying competitions, which are extremely competitive. This is the method currently used by South Korea, Canada, the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Alternatively, those with nascent or smaller programs rely on a handful of schools to select and send members; this includes Cyprus, Germany, and Pakistan.

Additionally, half of the team from the United States and Canada qualify through the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Championships. This competition is restricted to independent schools, and is of a similar format but of lesser significance and does not have competitor qualification requirements. [4]

Governance

The championships is managed by The Independent Public Speaking Association, or IPSA. The IPSA is composed of schools and leagues that participate in the tournament on a regular basis. The organization's predominant responsibility is to oversee the tournament, and decisions about Worlds are made by general consensus at an annual general meeting. IPSA is not involved in the particulars of each tournament, and aside from a basic rubric, host schools have considerable freedom in the tournament's execution.

IPSA also contains an Executive Council composed of the founding schools and schools that have attended three out of five years and hosted the competition. The Executive Council acts in an advisory capacity to host schools and when IPSA is unable to convene. It is responsible for the tournament's long-term sustainability. [5]

Past Championships

YearHost SchoolVenueOverall Winner
1988 Reading Blue Coat School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Joel Hechter
1989 Reading Blue Coat School and Queen Anne's School Rob Goffin
1990Atul Verma
1991 Taunton School Flag of England.svg Somerset, England James Priory
1992 Aylesbury Grammar School Flag of England.svg Aylesbury, England David Gratzer
1993 Reading Blue Coat School and Queen Anne's School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Gary Harding
1994 Taunton School Flag of England.svg Somerset, England Jessica Riley
1995 The English School, Nicosia Flag of Cyprus.svg Nicosia, Cyprus Alex Michaelides
1996 Reading Blue Coat School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Luke Jones
1997 Taunton School Flag of England.svg Somerset, England Joanne McNally
1998 Northlands School Flag of Argentina.svg Buenos Aires, Argentina Michael Kives
1999 Maru a Pula School Flag of Botswana.svg Gaborone, Botswana
2000 The English School, Nicosia Flag of Cyprus.svg Nicosia, Cyprus Kristopher Ade
2001 Queen Anne's School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Elliot Tapper
2002 Michaelhouse Flag of South Africa.svg Balgowan, South Africa Daniel Wilner (Disputed Winner: Craig Kesson [6] )
2003 Queen Anne's School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Rowan Dorin
2004 Wasatch Academy Flag of the United States.svg Salt Lake City, United States Sarah Mortazavi
2005 The English School, Nicosia Flag of Cyprus.svg Nicosia, Cyprus Zahid Sunderani
2006 The Hotchkiss School Flag of the United States.svg Lakeville, United States Shakir Rahim
2007 Diocesan College (Bishops) Flag of South Africa.svg Cape Town, South Africa Shakir Rahim
2008Max-Born-Gymnasium and Lessing-Gymnasium Flag of Germany.svg Backnang / Winnenden, Germany Seth Rosenberg
2009 Reading Blue Coat School Flag of England.svg Reading, England Edward Hicks
2010Educational Debate Centre Lithuania Flag of Lithuania.svg Druskininkai, Lithuania Zeenia Framroze
2011 Moreton Bay Boys' College Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brisbane, Australia Nic Martin
2012Ryan Pistorius
2013 Clifton School Flag of South Africa.svg Durban, South Africa Connor Campbell
2014Educational Debate Centre Lithuania Flag of Lithuania.svg Druskininkai, Lithuania Daniel Huang
2015Hong Kong Schools’ Debating and Public Speaking Community Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong, Hong Kong Samantha Starkey
2016 Shady Side Academy Flag of the United States.svg Pittsburgh, United States Natalie Ganzhorn
2017 Ravenswood School for Girls Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sydney, Australia Olivia Railton
2018 Diocesan College (Bishops) Flag of South Africa.svg Cape Town, South Africa Eleanor Lawton-Wade and Megan Campbell (tie)
2019 Branksome Hall Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto, Canada Anna Croxon
2020N/A Online Rohan Naidoo
2021 Leaders Academy Ruby Grinberg
2022 The Country Day School Maria Ivoditova
2023 Clifton School Flag of South Africa.svg Durban, South Africa Erick Yang
2024 Canberra Girls Grammar School Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Toronto, Canada Anna Gage

Past Individual Event Winners

YearCategories
Parliamentary DebateImpromptu SpeakingInterpretive ReadingPersuasive SpeakingAfter-dinner Speaking
2010 Flag of South Africa.svg Jessica Hichens Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Thomas Diment Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Adam Litman Flag of Pakistan.svg Saad Sohail Flag of Cyprus.svg George Alexander Charalambous
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tom Diment Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Ewing Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Kristine Ramsbottom Flag of Hong Kong.svg Heather Pickerell Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Kelham
2012 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Connor Campbell Flag of the United States.svg Priyanka Sekhar Flag of Hong Kong.svg Lucien Wang Flag of South Africa.svg Natasha Dusabe Flag of Australia (converted).svg Neil Kemister
2013 Flag of South Africa.svg Joseph Kahn Flag of the United States.svg Nicolo Marzaro Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ryan Sherbo Flag of Lithuania.svg Eleonora Lekaviciute Flag of Australia (converted).svg Emily Leijer
2014 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Christopher Skriols Flag of South Africa.svg Emma Buckland Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Stephanie Fennell Flag of South Africa.svg Lulutho Ngcongolo Flag of South Africa.svg Brendan Allan
2015 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Olivia Railton Flag of Australia (converted).svg Anant Butala Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Imaan Kherani Flag of South Africa.svg Desmond Fairall Flag of Hong Kong.svg Shimali De Silva
2016 Flag of the United States.svg Eric Tang Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Elizabeth Roberts Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nicole Sung Flag of South Africa.svg Rowan Mockler Flag of the United States.svg Angela Xiao
2017 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Olivia Railton Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Liam Brown Flag of Cyprus.svg Lucas Irwin Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jacqueline Farrel Flag of Cyprus.svg James Morphakis
2018 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Willingham Flag of the United States.svg Auran Vatan Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Zaki Lakhani Flag of Australia (converted).svg Samuel Roach Flag of South Africa.svg John van Niekerk
2019 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Andrei Comloson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lilian Borger Flag of South Africa.svg Julia Nhawu Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Anna Croxon Flag of Hong Kong.svg Markandeya Karthik
2020 Flag of South Africa.svg Rohan Naidoo Flag of Australia (converted).svg Thomas Fernando Flag of the United States.svg Flo Auerbach Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Maylee Mann Flag of the United States.svg Flo Auerbach
2021 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Angela Lu Flag of South Africa.svg Eugene Cloete Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Saara Chaudry Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Maria Ivoditova Flag of the United States.svg McKenna Goodson
2022 [7] Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Caridee Chau Flag of the United States.svg Emma Jean Hermacinski Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kayleigh Lei Flag of Hong Kong.svg Nicholas Chung Flag of the United States.svg Julia Shephard
2023 Flag of South Africa.svg Ben Anderson Flag of the United States.svg Thomas Harrick Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Edward Gao Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Evan Peters Flag of the United States.svg Graham Bateman
2024 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Michelle Liu Flag of the United States.svg Justin Ahn Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ethan Wahba Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Millie Steinman Flag of South Africa.svg Richard Leschner

Footnotes

  1. Founding History of the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships
  2. Hosts of Worlds Record
  3. Worlds 2007 Events Schedule
  4. http://www.iispsl.org/history.html History of the International Independent Schools Public Speaking League
  5. 1988 Worlds Constitution
  6. https://www.news24.com/news24/dbn-pupil-world-debating-champ-20020411 [ bare URL ]
  7. WIDPSC - Sun Apr 17 - Grand Finals , retrieved 2022-08-13

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