There is enough to say about SOAS IV 2012 itself. The tournament was outstandingly well organised for a British tournament.That is to say that it would still be considered very badly organised if we were to apply continental European standards. However, there was food and hostel accommodation close to the campus. With 140 teams SOAS IV is one of the largest tournaments on the Island. Because it enjoys a friendlier reputation than Oxford or Cambridge with regards to how it treats participants, about 30 ESL teams traveled to London to debate at SOAS IV. 3 of them were sent from Vienna. We had a hell lot of fun in London and the Vienna contingent also enjoyed the socials excessively. Nonetheless, I dare to say SOAS IV was particularly special. The reason for that is the success of DKWien Teams.
Vienna Teams delivered an outstanding performance at SOAS IV 2012. Jakob & Mark broke 5th and won their Semi which let them proceed into the final, Melanie & Stefan (Vienna X) broke 2nd in the ESL category. On top of that Stefan and Melanie conquered ranks 8th and 10th on the ESL speaker tab.
Success like the one at SOAS IV is new to DKWien. Out of the more than 70 tournaments teams attended since the first Vienna team appeared internationally in 2009, we only had a small number of breaks on international tournaments. There was one ESL final in Cardiff 2010, a Semi in Athens 2010, a quarter’s break at SOAS IV 2011 and at Sciences Po Le Havre 2012. In my opinion this is not a large number of achievements given the number of tournaments DKWien teams attended.
The Hard Work Is Paying Off
The breaks at SOAS IV show that hard work pays off. Of course breaking two teams at once at a high rank does not mean we will be able to reproduce this result over the next few tournaments. However, I interpret it as the first pay off of the hard training we pursued over the summer and throughout the past semesters. DKWien started from a very low point. Most of the speeches we would have considered outstanding in our society two years ago would now be below average. I remember the time we used to classify someone as really good speaker if we thought he could reach a 78 speaker mark. At the preceding EUROS we had two speakers who reached marks in the low 80ies. While struggled to have a full English debate per week 2 years ago, we now meet 3 times a week, we put up internal workshops and tournaments and our teams attend more tournaments around the globe than any other society. As someone who has been part of this development I am very grateful that the hard work slowly starts to pay off with success at tournaments like the one we witnessed at SOAS IV. It is a strongly needed confirmation that we are working towards the right direction and that all the time invested in training was at least not wasted uselessly.
These achievements motivate us to keep up the good work. Breaking two teams is not a mere individual achievement. Teams can break only, if the level inside the entire society is high enough so that they can have the training that will make them break through the glass ceiling of the in-rounds. As such getting our teams to break is a team effort, and SOAS IV shall be a confirmation of their work for all people engaged in DKWien even if they were not part of the actual contingent. Thus, I hope everyone in the society can take the SOAS success as a reason to keep the good work up. So even though I am aware we still have quite a way to go until we will be able to match against the top societies, I am already looking forward to the next break of a DKWien team. Watch out, DKWien is approaching to a tournament near you – and we come for the break! Welcome to the new age!
General Data: SOAS IV 2012, 20-21 October 2012, London, UK; CAs: Leela Koenig, Rosie Unwin; BPS 5 Rounds, 7min Speeches, break to ESL Semis & Main Quaters; Winner: Main: UCD L&H A, ESL: Roosevelt Academy A (Netherlands).
DKWien Contingent: Adjes: Anika Nussgraber, Anna Nessman; Vienna X: Melanie Sindelar & Stefan Zweiker (broke to ESL semis); Vienna Y: Andreas Prischl & Madlen Stottmeyer; Vienna Z: Jakob Reiter & Mark Etzel (reached ESL finals)
Motions
ROUND 1 TH regrets the criminalisation of squatting.
ROUND 2 THW allow high-ranked army officials, when in agreement, to reverse decisions made by democratic governments regarding military missions.
ROUND 3 THW not fund research into the existence of a violent gene.
ROUND 4 THB that LGBTQI activism in countries with strong anti-gay policies does more harm than good.
ROUND 5 THW abolish all term-limits on the service of elected heads of state.
QF OPEN THB it is legitimate for states to deny residence or asylum to immigrants who openly contradict their predominant values.
SF OPEN You are the British government. You have full guarantee that SAS (special air service) can enter the prison which currently holds the Pussy Riot Girls in Russia and you can remove them safely.
THW enter Russia and remove the Pussy Riot Girls from their cells.
ESL SEMI FINAL THW not allow members of the royal family to serve in active combat.
ESL FINAL THB that European States should end all funding for the arts until everyone lives above the national poverty level.
OPEN FINAL THB the state should actively prosecute sexist and misogynist remarks.
