A short EUDC report from Miriam

After I finally remembered my password, also from me a short report on EUDC so far:

First of all: This is huge! About 600 debaters from all over the world have gathered in Newcastle and it sometimes get a little bit crowded ;o)
We are accomodated in a kind of student dorm that resembles a yellow maze. Lots of corridors and corners you can get lost in, and a charming 70ies plattenbau atmosphere. Outside the dorm there is a community field, with community cows (!) on it. So we can pet the cows, as we walk across the field to the debate venues every morning. The venue is about a 20-minute walk away from the accomodation. We all get a good fitness program here as well.

ESL-interviews have been very strict this year and at least two of the German speakers have actually been categorized as an EFL speaker, because of apparently speaking too much English every day, or because of a mistake. Efforts are being made to convince the organization team to change this.

Generally the organization is very good, but it's really not easy to have a 600-person tournament run smoothly. As Anna has already posted, the 8th round has been canceled, due to delay (and we are not all happy about it ;o) ). The motions are being announced in a basement room with only one access staircase, so it takes a really long time to get everybody in and out every time. I expect more delay tomorrow. Also the food is very ...English ;o)

Concerning results, the German teams are in the solid middle. As far as I'm informed there is one German team with 6 points after 3 rounds (no guarantee for correctness!), the Magdeburg team has 5. The mood among the German debaters is great! Lots of fun here!

We are curiously awaiting tomorrow's 4-round marathon. I'll post some more, if I have time.