Nottingham defeats Harvard at 2011 International Varsity Debate

A team from The University of Nottingham have overcome students from Harvard at the 2011 International Varsity Debate organised by Central China Television.

Aired on the state TV channel to a potential audience in excess of one billion people, the Nottingham team of Ricky Jeavons, Kenrick Davis and Peter McSweeney held their nerve to come out as winners in the debate asking — ‘When getting married, should your spouse love you more than you love them?’

After the debate Peter, an MA student in English/Chinese Interpretation and Translation, explained: “Although the debate subject may seem odd to us, it is a question often debated in China.

“Knowing how many people could be watching made the early exchanges extremely nerve-wracking, but we soon relaxed and enjoyed the experience. The competition was fantastic and gave us the opportunity to meet fellow Chinese language learners and native speakers from all over the world.”

For his performance during the debate, Peter was presented with the ‘Best Debater’ prize for the second year in succession. The University’s School of Contemporary Chinese Studies (SCCS) was also celebrating after its students — Ricky and Kenrick — followed in the footsteps of two of the School’s PhD students who won second prize last November at the ninth International Varsity Debate.

Professor Shujie Yao, SCCS Head of School and Director of Nottingham Confucius Institute, congratulated the students on their success and added: “The continuous success of SCCS students in the International Varsity Debates signifies the remarkable achievements of the School and demonstrates that SCCS can produce the best students in Chinese Studies.”

Sixteen participating teams took part in the four-day competition, separated into two groups, with eight teams competing as native Mandarin speakers and eight teams competing as non-native Mandarin speakers. Each team competed in one debate, with a best debater selected from each event.

The eight non-native Mandarin speaking teams included those from Harvard University, Princeton University, The University of Nottingham, The University of Sheffield, Moscow State University, The University of Melbourne, Tel Aviv University and The University of Heidelberg.