Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate

Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate
Formation	1978
Type	Student debating organization
Location	Canada
President	Meghan Ackland Carleton University
Affiliations	World Universities Debating Council
Website	http://www.cusid.ca

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 Debating Association (APDA)".

Many prominent Canadians were university debaters, including former Canadian Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, MPs John Godfrey and Justin Trudeau, 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, and Queen's University 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 Central, for Ontario and Quebec, which sponsors the Central Canadian Debating Championship (Léger Cup)
• CUSID East, for the Atlantic Provinces, which sponsors the Atlantic Canadian Debating Championship
• CUSID West, for the Western Provinces, Territories, and the U.S. state of Alaska, which sponsors the Western Canadian Debating Championship (McGoun Cup)

CUSID nationally and internationally sanctions several official championship tournaments, including:

• Canadian National Debating Championship
• Canadian National French Debating Championship (Compétitions Nationales Françaises SUCDI)
• North American Debating Championship (with the American Parliamentary Debate Association)
• World Universities Debating Championship (or WUDC, with many other national debating organizations)

Presidents

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.

Office Term	President	University
2013–2014	Meghan Ackland	Carleton University
2012–2013	Louis Tsilivis	University of Toronto
2011–2012	Ashvin Singh	University of Toronto
2010–2011	Auyon Siddiq	Dalhousie University
2009–2010	Vinay Kumar Mysore	McGill University
2008–2009	Adam Coombs	Carleton University
2007–2008	Nick Shkordoff	University of Toronto
2006–2007	Padraic Ryan	Carleton University
2005–2006	Jessica Prince	McGill University
2004–2005	Erik Eastaugh	University of Ottawa
2003–2004	Konrad Koncewicz	McGill University
2002–2003	T.J. (Tajesh) Adhihetty	Queen's Debating Union
2001–2002	Kevin Massie	Trent University
2000–2001	Ranjan K. Agarwal	University of Ottawa
1999–2000	Robert Silver	University of Western Ontario
1998–1999	Michael Shore	University of Toronto
1997–1998	Brent Patterson	University of Western Ontario
1996–1997	Casey Halladay	University of Western Ontario
1995–1996	Mitch Wexler	York University
1994–1995	Shuman Ghosemajumder	University of Western Ontario
1993–1994	Kathy Sturgis	University of Guelph
1992–1993	Gerald Butts	McGill University
1992-1992	Sarah Dover	University of Ottawa
1991–1992	Jason Brent	University of Toronto
1990–1991	Stephen Pitel	Dalhousie University
1989–1990	E. Stephen Johnson	University of Toronto
1988–1989	Todd Swift	Concordia University
1986–1988	Matthew Mendelsohn	McGill University
1984–1986	Paul A. Canniff	Carleton University
1983–1984	Bob Lawson	Royal Military College of Canada
1980–1983	John Robinson	Dalhousie University
1979–1980	Sandy Beeman	University of Ottawa
1978–1979	Steve Coughlan	University of Ottawa

Member societies

CUSID comprises over forty member societies:

Region	University	Member Society
Central	Bishop's University	Bishop’s University Debating Society
Central	Carleton University	Carleton University Debating Society
Central	Dawson College	Dawson Debating Union
Central	École Polytechnique de Montréal	Société de Débat Étudiant de Polytechnique
Central	University of Guelph	University of Guelph Debating Society
Central	Lakehead University	Lakehead University Debate Society
Central	Marianopolis College	Marianopolis College Debating Society
Central	McGill University	McGill Debating Union
Central	McMaster University	MacDebate Society
Central	University of Ottawa	University of Ottawa English Debating Society
Central	University of Ottawa	Société Étudiante des Débats Français de l’Université d’Ottawa
Central	Queen’s University	Queen's Debating Union
Central	Royal Military College of Canada	Royal Military College Debate Society
Central	Université du Québec à Montréal	Club de débats UQÀM
Central	Université de Sherbrooke	Société de débat de l’Université de Sherbrooke
Central	University of Toronto	Hart House Debating Club
Central	University of Toronto	Trinity College Literary Institute
Central	University of Waterloo	University of Waterloo Debating Society
Central	University of Western Ontario	University of Western Ontario Debating Society
Central	Wilfrid Laurier University	Wilfrid Laurier University Debating Society
Central	York University	Osgoode Debate Society
Central	York University	Debating Society at York
East	Acadia University	Paul Tom Debating Society
East	Atlantic Baptist University	Atlantic Baptist University Debating Club
East	Cape Breton University	Cape Breton University Debating Society
East	Dalhousie University	Sodales, The Dalhousie University Debating Society
East	Memorial University	Memorial Debate Society
East	Mount Allison University	Mount Allison University Debate Society
East	University of New Brunswick	University of New Brunswick Debating Union
East	St. Francis Xavier University	St. Francis Xavier Debating Society
West	University of Alaska Anchorage	Seawolf Speech and Debate
West	University of Alberta	University of Alberta Debate Society
West	Brandon University	Brandon University Debating Society
West	University of British Columbia	University of British Columbia Debating Society
West	University of Calgary	University of Calgary Speech and Debate Society
West	University of Manitoba	University of Manitoba Debate Union
West	University of Regina	University of Regina Debate Society
West	University of Saskatchewan	University of Saskatchewan Debate Society
West	Simon Fraser University	Simon Fraser University Debating Society
West	University of Victoria	University of Victoria Debating Society
West	University of Winnipeg	University of Winnipeg Debating Society

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:

• 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.

External links

• Official Site
• Official Twitter Feed
• Official Vimeo Videos Site
• CUSID Central Debating Guide