Draft:European Universities Debating Championships
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The European Universities Debating Championship (colloquially known as Euros or Europeans) is a regional equivalent to the World Universities Debating Championship (Worlds) held in British Parliamentary style.
Origin of the championships
The championship's origins are murky, with an attempt to mirror Worlds for Europe in the hope of promoting debating in Central Europe in particular having had several false starts.
The championships as they are known today were first held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands at Erasmus University from the 8th to 11th of April 1999. Subsequent tournaments have been held in a similar time of year, although the competition is slightly longer to accommodate the growth of the tournament.
The competition started with 32 teams of two speakers entering but has now grown to over a hundred at subsequent championships, which entails about 250-300 speakers, judges and organisers. Institutions can enter more than one team based on the ability of the organisers to accommodate. Some institutions also enter separate societies which has proved controversial at times.
While the tournament's smaller size has attracted bids to host from institutions which would ordinarily be too small to attempt hosting Worlds, the 2005 host University College Cork had previously hosted Worlds in 1996.
The competition's supporters description of the tournament as "Europe's equivalent to Worlds" has proved controversial among those who consider the John Smith Memorial Mace to be the gold standard, despite that only teams from the British Isles may enter the latter.
Participants
Participating teams are drawn principally from European tertiary education institutions, although teams from the Middle East and central Asian institutions are eligible pending the formation of similar competitions in their regions. Students at the Inns of Court are also eligible subject to some conditions.
The competition
The competition has a main section of several rounds of debating after which the top 16 teams in cumulative score proceed to the elimination rounds (the "break"). A separate break of 16 teams is done for English-as-Second-Language (ESL) teams. ESL teams may also simultaneously break into the main tournament knock-out rounds.
List of Championships
Past championships
| Year | European Champions | Host |
| 2007 | University of Cambridge (England) | Koç University (Turkey) |
| 2006 | University of Oxford (England) | Berlin Debating Union (Germany) |
| 2005 | Durham University (England) | University College Cork (Ireland) |
| 2004 | Utrecht University (Netherlands) | Durham University (England) |
| 2003 | University of Bristol (England) | Zagreb University (Croatia) |
| 2002 | University of Oxford (England) | Haifa University (Israel) |
| 2001 | Inner Temple (England) | University of Ljubljana* (Slovenia) |
| 2000 | University of Oxford (England) | University of Aberdeen (Scotland) |
| 1999 | University of Oxford (England) | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 1994-98 | Not held | |
| 1993 | University of Bristol (England) | Deree College (Greece) |
| 1992 | University of Oxford (England) | Leiden University (Netherlands) |
| 1991 | University of Oxford (England) | Copenhagen (Denmark) |
| 1988-90 | Not held | |
| 1987 | No information | No information |
| 1986 | University of Strathclyde (Scotland) | No information |
* The tournament was actually held in Portorož, on the Adriatic coast of Slovenia.
Future championships
2008 - to be hosted by Tallinn University, Estonia
English-as-Second-Language (ESL) Competition Winners
| Year | ESL Competition Winner |
| 2007 | Tallinn University (Estonia) |
| 2006 | University of Bonn (Germany) |
| 2005 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2004 | Interdisciplinary Center (Israel) |
| 2003 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2002 | Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) |
| 2001 | Erasmus University (Netherlands) |
| 2000 | University of Tartu (Estonia) |
| 1999 | Deree College (Greece) |
Best Speakers of the Tournament
| Year | Speaker | University |
| 2007 | Sam Block | University of Cambridge (England) |
| 2006 | Will Jones | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2005 | Niall Kennedy | University of Glasgow (Scotland) |
| 2004 | Derek Lande | University College Cork (Ireland) |
| 2003 | David Penny | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2002 | Matt Spence | University of Oxford (England) |
| 2001 | Mila Turajlic | Yugo Deb Net (Yugoslavia) |
| 2000 | Fergal Davis | Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) |
| 1999 | Michael Birshan | University of Oxford (England) |
The Council and the Committee
The Europeans tournament of 1999 formed a Council from the countries represented at the tournament and drafted a Constitution to govern the tournament. Unlike Worlds' tiered voting structures, Europeans Council opted for a one member one vote system of governance, electing to choose equality of representation despite the limited exposure of some countries to British Parliamentary debating at that time for the purpose of encouraging their participation. The Council governs the Constitution and Rules of the tournament, as well as deciding on bids to host subsequent tournaments. At least two bids have been contested - in 2001, Haifa University defeated the University of Limerick and in 2005 Berlin University defeated Koç University.
The Committee is formed of a President (who also chairs Council), a Registrar and regional representation from Central & Eastern Europe, Northern & Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the Islands of the North Atlantic and the convener of the current championship and that for the following year. This committee discusses issues which arise during the time between annual Councils, although the distances involved mandate e-mail rather than in person discussions.