Formation 1978 | Location Canada | |
Type Student debating organization President Mitchell Dorbyk
Queen's University Affiliations World Universities Debating Council | ||
The Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate (CUSID generally, and SUCDI in French) is the national organization which governs all competitive university 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. CUSID has been described as "a student-run, parliamentary debate league with close ties to the American Parliamentary Debate Association".
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Many prominent Canadians were university debaters, including Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau, Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, MP John Godfrey, Canadian Supreme Court justices Ian Binnie and Morris Fish, songwriter Leonard Cohen, entrepreneur Moses Znaimer, environmentalist David Suzuki, and journalist Ian Hanomansing. CUSID debaters have gone on to notable careers in law, business, government and academia and the presidency of the organization is a highly sought-after position.
History
CUSID was officially founded in 1978, although it held its first annual tournament in 1977. The regular tournaments held under its auspices, such as those at the University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of Western Ontario, Queen's University, and the University of Ottawa 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.
Annual invitational tournaments held in Canada include the McGill University Winter Carnival, the Queen’s University Chancellor’s Cup, the Carleton University Lord Dorchester Cup, the University of Toronto Hart House IV, the University of Ottawa Father Guindon Cup, and the Wilfrid Laurier University/University of Waterloo Seagram Cup.
Organization
CUSID is subdivided into three regional bodies, representing each region of Canada:
CUSID nationally and internationally sanctions several official championship tournaments, including:
The president of CUSID is the head of the organization and leads an elected executive team of six national and regional officers. He or she also represents CUSID and Canadian debating interests inside and outside of Canada, and is the Canadian representative on the World Universities Debating Council. He or she is elected annually by the member institutions at the National Championships.
There have been five CUSID Presidents who won the National Championships during their term as President: Jason Brent (1992), Gerald Butts (1993), Robert Silver (2000), Vinay Mysore (2010), and Louis Tsilivis (2013).
Format
CUSID tournaments are held in the Canadian Parliamentary Style of debate. 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:
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.
Membership
CUSID comprises more than forty member societies in its three regions:
Central: Bishop’s University Debating Society, Carleton University Debating Society, Dawson Debating Union, Société de Débat Étudiant de Polytechnique, University of Guelph Debating Society, Lakehead University Debate Society, Marianopolis College Debating Society, McGill Debating Union, McMaster Debating Society, University of Ottawa English Debating Society, Société Étudiante des Débats Français de l’Université d’Ottawa, Queen's Debating Union, Royal Military College Debate Society, Club de débats UQÀM, Société de débat de l’Université de Sherbrooke, Hart House Debating Club, Trinity College Literary Institute, University of Waterloo Debating Society, University of Western Ontario Debating Society, Wilfrid Laurier University Debating Society, University of Windsor Debate Union, Osgoode Debate Society, Debating Society at York, Paul Tom Debating Society and most recently, the Trent Debate Society
East: Atlantic Baptist University Debating Club, Cape Breton University Debating Society, Sodales: The Dalhousie University Debating Society, Memorial Debate Society, Mount Allison University Debate Society, University of New Brunswick Debating Union, St. Francis Xavier Debating Society
West: University of Alaska Seawolf Speech and Debate, University of Alberta Debate Society, Brandon University Debating Society, University of British Columbia Debating Society, University of Northern British Columbia Debate Society, University of Calgary Speech and Debate Society, University of Manitoba Debate Union, University of Regina Debate Society, University of Saskatchewan Debate Society, Simon Fraser University Debate Society, University of Victoria Debating Society, University of Winnipeg Debating Society