Otago University Debating Society
Echoing trends in Australia and the United States (the University of Sydney Union was founded in 1874 and Harvard's debating union in 1880), in the latter decades of the nineteenth century debating was seen as an important talent for New Zealand's thought leaders,[3] and was one of the three sports in the New Zealand University Games from 1902.
Prominent members of OUDS during its early years included Alfred Richard Barclay (one of its first vice-presidents),[4] William Downie Stewart Jr (1898–1900),[5] Harry Bedford (1900–1901)[6] who as a 25-year-old policial novice entered Parliament in 1902 with the highest individual vote that had ever been recorded in New Zealand,[7] John Callan (who won the Joynt Challenge Scroll in 1905)[8] and Ossie Mazengarb (c.1910).
[9] OUDS is one of the five societies in the New Zealand Universities Debating Council,[10] through which members compete in domestic, national and international tournaments.
[11] The Bluff Cup is the weekly internal tournament held between teams of debaters at OUDS.
In 2013 Canterbury won the Claytons final in a 5–4 split decision which gave rise to the Goodall paradox.
Participating debaters socialise in the same common area and sleep in the same living quarters over the entire tournament.
An equivalent tournament, Thropy, is held in the North Island between Victoria, Auckland and Waikato Debating Societies.
The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships more commonly known as "Australs" is a week-long competition held in the break between university semesters.
[16] In 2017, OUDS broke to the Octo-finals of Australs with a team of Joe Ascroft, Emily Williams and Grace Belworthy.
Easters, (previously known as the "University Games") is the first national debating tournament of the year, competing for the Officer's Cup.
Some of the best women debaters from around the world compete in the tournament, which is aimed at development for junior speakers.
Similarly, in 2017 Otago broke to the semi-finals of the tournament with a team of Emily Williams and Selena Ballantyne.
OUDS alumni include a number of Otago University's Rhodes Scholars who have also held executive positions in the society.
[34] The ODT has recently covered public debates held by OUDS featuring high-profile speakers on controversial contemporary issues.
These include debates about mining and deep-sea oil drilling in New Zealand[35][36] and alcohol age legislation.
From 2010 to 2011 Critic had a regular feature column called "Debatable" where two writers would argue the affirming or negative case on a moot.
