The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships (known colloquially as "Australs") is one of the world's largest debating tournaments, second only in size to the World Universities Debating Championship, and one of the largest annual student events in the world. Australs follows the Australia-Asia three-speakers-plus-replies format, rather than the British Parliamentary Style of "Worlds." It is held annually during early July under the auspices of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association (AIDA). The host university is selected a year before at a meeting of the AIDA Council.

Since the inaugural tournament at the University of Sydney in 1975, Australs has continually expanded the scope of its participants, now attracting around 400 participants each year from around the Asia-Pacific region. Australs was significantly modernized in 1993 when a new constitution was introduced. The Constitution provided for standard rules of debate and adjudication, and provided for extended voting rights for non-Australian and New Zealand participants. Currently teams come from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

The best speaker of the tournament is awarded the "Martin Sorensen Best Speaker Prize." In 2006 the tournament was hosted by New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington, where the inaugural "Jock Fanselow Cup for Best Speaker in the Grand Final" was awarded.

Related Links

2007 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship
World Debate Website page on the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championship
World Debate Blog