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July 14, 2009, 11:27 AM ET
International Online Debating Competition Is Scheduled for August
David Crane wants to get people all over the world to argue.
This August, Mr. Crane is using his Web site, Debatewise, to sponsor an online debating competition with teams competing from around the globe.
“The idea, really, is to try to make this as international a competition as possible,” Mr. Crane says, “to see if debate can be used as a way of bridging gaps between countries and cultures and to see if we can use — what seems ironic — the method of disagreeing with somebody else as a way of actually finding out how much we’ve got in common.”
His idea has already generated interest. Thirty teams have signed up for the competition from 14 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. Entry costs $5.
In each round of the competition, teams will be given one day for each of the following tasks: coming up with arguments, preparing for the opposition’s arguments, a second round of debating, and a final day to summarize a team’s points. Two professional judges will rate each match, and the winner will move on.
Neill Harvey-Smith, chair of the World Debating Council, which oversees a world championship including nearly 1,000 students from 50 countries each year, will serve as the competition’s chief adjudicator.
Mr. Crane says he does not debate and has no formal training in debating. “I get very argumentative down the pub,” he says. “But that’s as far as it comes.”
Debatewise, which began last April, is meant to be “the Wikipedia of debates” — helping its users make informed decisions on current affairs, arts, sports, political, and religious issues. Members can post their own debates, add information to others already on the site, or poke holes in other arguments. They are awarded points based on how many times they contribute, not necessarily on the quality of their content.
“What people need,” Mr. Crane says, “is a simple way of being able to compare pro and con arguments to get the information you need to make an informed decision.” —Marc Beja
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