Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
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The Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate (CUSID generally, and SUCDI in French) is the national organization which governs and represents university-level debating and public speaking in Canada. It sanctions several official annual tournaments and represents Canadian debating domestically and abroad. Its membership consists of student debating unions, sanctioned by their respective universities, from across Canada.
Many prominent Canadians were university debaters, including former Canadian Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, songwriter Leonard Cohen, entrepreneur Moses Znaimer, and journalist Ian Hanomansing. CUSID debaters have gone on to notable careers in business, government and academia, and the presidency of the organization is a highly sought-after position.
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[edit] History
CUSID was founded in 1978. The regular tournaments held under its auspices, such as those at the University of Toronto (Hart House), the McGill University Debating Union, the University of Western Ontario Debating Society and the Queen's University Debating Union predate CUSID's formation by many decades.
Founded as a national organization with strong central Canadian region roots, over the years, individual regional differences—particularly the separate identities of "CUSID East" and "CUSID West"—have become more pronounced. One of its primary functions is facilitating communications between its members institutions. In recent years, those communications have been primarily through their online forum, CUSIDnet, first set up in 1994, as the first online student debating forum in the world.
[edit] Organization
CUSID is subdivided into three regional bodies, representing each region of Canada:
- CUSID East, for the Atlantic Provinces
- CUSID West, for Western Provinces, Territories and Alaska
- CUSID Central, for Ontario and Quebec
Each of the regions sponsors their own tournaments, in addition to the nationally sanctioned tournaments. CUSID sanctions several official championship tournaments every year, including:
- Canadian National Debating Championship
- Canadian National French Debating Championship
- Canadian British Parliamentary Debating Championship
- Central Canadian Debating Championship (Léger Cup) (administered by CUSID Central)
- Western Canadian Debating Championship (McGoun Cup) (administered by CUSID West)
- Atlantic Canadian Debating Championship (administered by CUSID East)
- Central and Atlantic Canadian Novice Debating Championships
- Western Canadian Pro/Am Debating Championship (administered by CUSID West)
- North American Debating Championship (with the American Parliamentary Debating Association)
- World Universities Debating Championship (or WUDC, with many other national debating organizations)
[edit] Presidents of CUSID
The President of CUSID is the head of the organization and leads an elected executive team consisting of six national and regional officers. He or she also represents CUSID and Canadian debating interests inside and outside of Canada, is the Canadian representative on the World Universities Debating Council, as well as alternating annually with the APDA president to represent the Americas on the WUDC Executive Committee. He or she is elected annually by the member institutions at the National Championships.
| Year | President | Member Society |
| 2008-2009 | Adam Coombs | Carleton University Debating Society |
| 2007-2008 | Nick Shkordoff | University of Toronto Hart House Debating Club |
| 2006-2007 | Padraic Ryan | Carleton University Debating Society |
| 2005-2006 | Jessica Prince | McGill University Debating Union |
| 2004-2005 | Erik Eastaugh | University of Ottawa English Debating Society |
| 2003-2004 | Konrad Koncewicz | McGill University Debating Union |
| 2002-2003 | TJ (Tajesh) Adhihetty | Queen's University Debating Union |
| 2001-2002 | Kevin Massie | Trent University Debating Union |
| 2000-2001 | Ranjan K. Agarwal | University of Ottawa English Debating Society |
| 1999-2000 | Robert Silver | University of Western Ontario Debating Society |
| 1998-1999 | Michael Shore | University of Toronto Hart House Debating Club |
| 1997-1998 | Brent Patterson | University of Western Ontario Debating Society |
| 1996-1997 | Casey Halladay | University of Western Ontario Debating Society |
| 1995-1996 | Mitch Wexler | York University Debating Union |
| 1994-1995 | Shuman Ghosemajumder | University of Western Ontario Debating Society |
| 1993-1994 | Kathy Sturgis | University of Guelph Debating Union |
| 1992-1993 | Gerald M. Butts | McGill University Debating Union |
| 1992-1992 | Sarah Dover | University of Ottawa English Debating Society |
| 1991-1992 | Jason Brent | University of Toronto Hart House Debating Club |
| 1990-1991 | Stephen Pitel | Dalhousie Sodales, the Dalhousie University Debating Society |
| 1989-1990 | E. Stephen Johnson | University of Toronto Hart House Debating Club |
| 1988-1989 | Todd Swift | Concordia University Debating Society |
| 1986-1988 | Matthew Mendelsohn | McGill University Debating Union |
| 1984-1986 | Paul A. Canniff | Carleton Debating Society |
| 1983-1984 | Bob Lawson | Royal Military College of Canada Debating Society |
| 1980-1983 | John Robinson | Dalhousie Sodales, the Dalhousie University Debating Society |
| 1979-1980 | Sandy Beeman | University of Ottawa English Debating Society |
| 1978-1979 | Steve Coughlan | University of Ottawa English Debating Society |
[edit] Format
CUSID tournaments are held in Canadian Parliamentary format. This style emphasizes argumentation and rhetoric, rather than research and detailed factual knowledge. Each round consists of two teams – the government team and the opposition team – each of which consists of two debaters. (Teams alternate between government and opposition at tournaments.) The speaking times in CUSID Central and East are:
- Prime Minister (Constructive): 7 minutes
- Member of Opposition: 7 minutes
- Minister of the Crown: 7 minutes
- Leader of Opposition: 10 minutes
- Prime Minister (Rebuttal): 3 minutes
A new modification to the above times was introduced at the 2003 McGill University Winter Carnival Invitational called the Prime Minister's Rebuttal Extension (PMRE). The PMRE allows the government team the option to take a 6 minute PMC and 4 minute PMR and was designed to help compensate for the alleged inherent advantage to the opposition side. In most rounds, the resolution is “squirrelable”, meaning that the government team can propose any topic it wants for debate. The Prime Minister Constructive (PMC) lays out the topic for debate and presents arguments in favor of its position. The opposition team must then immediately present opposing arguments. New arguments can be presented in the first four speeches; they are prohibited in the rebuttal speeches.
“Points of Information” are generally permitted and expected in the standard Canadian Parliamentary style. With POIs, debaters may rise and attempt to ask a question of an opposing debater, who can choose whether to accept or refuse the question. It is generally considered good form to accept at least a few questions during a speech.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| University Parliamentary Debating |
|---|
| World Universities Debating Championship |
| Regional Championships |
| Asia · Australasia · Europe · John Smith Memorial Mace · North America |
| National Championships |
| Australia · Canada · Ireland |
| National Organizations |
| APDA · CUSID · English-Speaking Union · NPDA |
| Styles |
| Australasian · British Parliamentary |
| Lists of debaters |
| Global · Canadian · New Zealand |
| Circuits |
| IONA Debating Circuit |
| Societies |
| Cambridge · Cork · Galway · Glasgow · Limerick · Manchester · Maynooth · Otago · Ottawa · Oxford · Sydney · Tilbury House · TCD Hist · TCD Phil · UBC · UCD L&H · Victoria · Western Ontario |
