ABOUT
Hello everyone,
By now, most of you may have noticed that the Klang Valley is privileged to have an active debating scene. On top of that, the best debaters are accessible to anybody who is willing to ask for their help.
Debaters outside of Klang Valley do not have this privilege. They don’t have access to institutions like NDEC or NOUS who have been instrumental to the growth of debating in the region. Despite the effort they put in, teams in Perak, Penang or even in Sabah and Sarawak will face fewer competitors, less debate sparring and as a result do not get the adequate feedback needed to improve. Even if they had the money to pay trainers, travelling is the less preferred option. Imagine spending several hours on a train to Ipoh every few weeks, your schedule won’t be too pretty.
Over the past few months, schools like SMK Batu Lintang and SM Sakura have been recording audios of their debates and have been sending them to experienced debaters. In turn, their judges recorded their oral feedback or wrote their feedback. This allowed them access to perspectives they wouldn’t have obtained if they were just to debate in their own circle. Both schools, has seen huge improvements in their performance.
After talking to Matteus Lim, one of the debaters from Batu Lintang, he agreed that this method would allow access to a bigger pool of talent and help prop up other scenes. So this is where the idea of Judgefinder was seeded.
Judgefinder is a platform for younger clubs or clubs who don’t have access to trainers to look for adjudicators for one-off reviews. In this group, those looking for judges can link their audio and offer a small fee for adjudicators who might need some extra cash for the month.
Whatever the price is, it is up to the club and the adjudicator to discuss. No one outside is taking a cut from it. Judges on the other hand can recommend which debate clubs other people can look for. Maybe it can be the start of a healthy relationship between you and the institution.
Any activity thrives on feedback. It grows when somebody points out the flaws, and its participants are motivated when somebody tells them they are good. Debating is no different. Let’s get the feedback loop going.
Terence Aaron