Latest Updates
McLeese Debate Junior Invitational (Qualifier for Jr. Nationals) – March 3, 2013
Qualifying for Junior Nationals Will take place here. This tournament is open to all public and independent schools, and teams from the same school may attend with parental chaperones. For information about Junior Nationals, please visit the CSDF homepage: http://www.csdf-fcde.ca/
National Seminar Applications
National Seminar delegates will be chosen on the basis of written applications. More information will be posted as it becomes available. The OSDU contact person for this process is Grace Nolan (see our contact page).
Qualifying for Nationals – March 1-2, 2013
The invitation for Hart House is available here. Results from this tournament will be used to qualify teams for the National Championships. The OSDU contact person for this event is Steve Penner (see our contact page). For information about Nationals, please visit the CSDF homepage: http://www.csdf-fcde.ca/
Dear members and friends of debate:
As you are no doubt aware, the labour unrest between the government and public school teachers in Ontario this fall has caused significant disruption to extra-curricular activities. OSDU depends on the generosity of countless public teachers to host, coach, judge, and organize debates, as well as to serve on the Board of Directors and as Regional Coordinators. Because of this, our activities have been understandably stifled since the work action was announced.
Unfortunately, we have come to the conclusion that many of OSDU’s activities, including Regional Qualifiers and the Provincial Championship, have to be cancelled for the 2012-2013 year. We (the Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators) arrived at this determination with a heavy heart after considerable deliberation. Although we strive to provide quality debating experiences for as many debaters as possible, it is hard for us to serve anyone without the participation of public schools. Our registration this year is exceptionally low. We have neither the funds nor the person power, not to mention the student participation, to justify undertaking the large-scale planning that goes into regional and provincial competition. Moreover, in light of our constraints, we would not be able to provide a provincial tournament that is regionally diverse, competitive, bilingual, and that includes the valuable experience of spending a weekend as a group in social and educational activities. Because we are the only debating organization in Ontario that offers these opportunities, we have decided to postpone our next Provincial Championship until 2014, when we will be able to deliver the kind of experience that reflects our mission and values. (See below for details.)
We regret the impact that this has on schools and individual debaters who would have participated in OSDU events this year in spite of the labour situation, and we look forward to bringing everyone back together again soon.
You may be hearing in the news that select school boards are reaching “deals” with the Government that will end the strike action, at least regionally. While these developments may be encouraging (depending on your perspective), they come too late to salvage the OSDU debate season. This is because even if approved, the agreements may take months to implement, until which time (and also afterward) it is reasonable to expect a continued lag in extra-curriculars. If we were going to host a Provincial Championship this year, we would have to do an enormous amount of organizing in the next few months, and we simply can’t afford to plan major events until extra-curriculars are up and running again in the public system.
But wait! OSDU is not shutting everything down for the rest of the year. Read on…
Junior Provincials
[Ed. Jan 22:] Qualifying for Junior Nationals Will take place here. This tournament is open to all public and independent schools, and teams from the same school may attend with parental chaperones. For information about Junior Nationals, please visit the CSDF homepage: http://www.csdf-fcde.ca/
National Championships
The OSDU Provincial Championship usually serves as the qualifying tournament for the National Championship. Due to the cancellation of the Provincial Championship, Ontario’s delegates for the National Championship will be selected on the basis of the results of the Hart House highschool tournament (March 1-2, 2013). The Registration information will be available on the OSDU website as soon as the Tournament Directors release it. Please note that Hart House will follow British Parliamentary style, while the National Championship uses the Canadian National Debate Format. More details will be posted on the OSDU website closer to the event.
Team Canada Tryout
OSDU will run its usual procedure for qualifying delegates to represent Ontario at the tryout for Team Canada, the group of debaters who represent Canada at the World Schools Debating Championship as well as other international competitions. OSDU serves as a provincial gateway to the national tryout. We are now accepting applications fromindividual debaters in Grade 11 or lower. Your school does not have to be registered with OSDU in order to apply, and we hope that public school students will participate in spite of the absence of staff-organized debating clubs. Please send the attached application to Lauren Bialystok at lrbialys@gmail.com by 5:00 on Saturday, December 8. The applications will be reviewed by an OSDU committee and the top 6 candidates will be invited to an in-person tryout in Worlds Style on Saturday, December 15 on the University of Toronto campus. From there, the top 3 will advance to the national Team Canada Tryout.
Registration
We will not be collecting general registration this year (see above re. Junior Provincials). Those schools who have already paid will have their fee forwarded to next year’s debating season. Or if they prefer, OSDU’s Treasurer, Amy Robichaud, can issue a refund, and then payment for next year can be made next year.
2013-2014
We are very pleased to announce that the 2014 OSDU Provincial Championship will be held in Hamilton with the collaboration of McMaster University. After this year’s unfortunate turn of events, we look forward to coming back with an even more vibrant, high-quality season of regional and provincial debates in 2013-2014. We will also resume our popular fall workshop series (tentatively to be located at North Park Secondary School) and will continue our efforts to increase opportunities for French and bilingual debate.
Website
Our website (www.osdu.on.ca) will remain a hub of debating information for Ontarians, including announcements about other tournaments, resources, and contact information. Please continue to check the website regularly throughout the year for updates on all things debating in Ontario. Also check out our recently posted Mission Statement and Statement of Values in the ‘About’ section of our website.
Thank you for your time and dedication to debate in Ontario and to our students. We look forward to being fully operational again in September of 2013.
Best wishes,
Misha Abarbanel
OSDU President
English Curriculum Leader, Dr. Norman Bethune C.I.
Download: Team Canada Tryout Information | Tryout Application
Why join OSDU?
OSDU is the only province-wide, bilingual debating organization dedicated to increasing participation and achievement in highschool debate. We run our own tournaments but also act as a hub for all debating activity in Ontario. By joining OSDU, your school can:
- Attend all regional tournaments sponsored by OSDU and try to qualify for the annual Provincial Championship. The Provincial Championship is the only tournament that guarantees representation from every debating region in the province and combines a weekend of organized activities with competitive debate. The top teams at the Provincial Championship go on to compete at the National Championship.
- Compete for the chance to represent Ontario at competitive national events, such as the Oxford Cup and the Team Canada Tryout.
- Participate in the Junior Provincial Championship, which offers a chance for debaters in Grades 6-9 to learn debate and get a head start on highschool competition. The top debaters at the Junior Championship go on to the National Seminar, a weeklong social and educational experience for students across Canada.
- Participate in French and bilingual debating, which is not offered by any other organization.
- Access workshops, materials, and the support of our dedicated Board of Directors and regional coordinators.
- Support a registered charity that is dedicated exclusively to the promotion of debate.
OSDU tries to make debating as accessible as possible to all interested students. We encompass all schools and school boards, from private and public to French and Catholic, and coordinate with other debating organizations and clubs to share information and maximize the opportunity for student debate.
Where does the registration fee go?
Because OSDU is a not-for-profit organization run entirely by volunteers, membership fees are essential for supporting our basic operating costs. Your nominal registration fee helps to pay for our Board of Directors meetings and the travel of OSDU volunteers to and from tournaments. Individual tournaments still charge small team fees to cover the costs of food and supplies used at the tournament. Collecting our membership fees every fall ensures that we can plan for an exciting year of debate.
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