World Online Debating Cup

The World Online Debating Cup, also abbreviated as WODC, is a debate tournament held by the user LarztheLoser, the creator of the competing debate website Edeb8.
== Rules ==
The tab will generate pairings for debaters in the following way: all debaters will be put into "brackets" based on their number of wins. Brackets are then split in half, with the top half of the bracket facing the bottom half. For example, in a bracket with 10 debaters, the #1 ranked would face the #5, the #2 faces the #6 and so on. If there are an odd number of debaters in a bracket, the lowest ranked debater in the bracket moves down to the top of the next bracket. If there are an odd number of debaters in the tournament overall, the lowest ranked debater in the tournament gets a bye for the round, that counts as a "home" win with 5 points.
A debater may request to sit out up to one of the five rounds (for example, because of an emergency) which will be counted by the system as a home draw. Debaters may be allowed to sit out multiple rounds in extraordinary circumstances by informing the tournament director.
The tab will select one debater to be home, and one to be away. Whichever debater has been "away" least will be set as away. If each has been away an equal number of times, it is decided randomly. If the home/away pairing takes place on a site that does not allow you to debate without a webcam, and the away debater has no webcam, the home/away pairing is switched. http://www.edeb8.com/tournament#rules
=== Conditions ===
Time will be very important in this tournament. The tournament begins at midnight GMT, June 20. The match-ups for each round will be posted here within an hour of the round beginning, and debaters will be emailed their match-ups shortly afterwards, giving the site, the username of the opponent, and whether they will be home or away. "Home" debaters will affirm topics on their own site, and away will negate on the home side's site, except by prior arrangement. Both parties should negotiate any other conditions for the debate. It is up to the "away" debater to join the site (if necessary) and establish contact with the home debater promptly. Debaters should also agree on a topic they want to argue. If any conditions or topic cannot be agreed within 5 days and the debate has not started, the tournament director will assign a topic (randomly based on topics done at the tournament so far and topics done at recent other debate tournaments) and conditions that must be used by the debaters to begin the debate within 2 days. If this is not done, both sides forfeit. The tournament director may award one side a win if it appears the other side has avoided the debate to fix the outcome of the match.
All debates MUST be concluded within the two weeks from when the round begins. Any tournament round conditions must take this into account. If a debate is not concluded at the end of the two weeks, the tournament director may choose to give both debaters a loss. There are no exceptions to the two-week rule. Immediately at the end of the two weeks, the next round begins.
Three weeks after the round begins, any voting for the winner of every round will be counted. Any votes after this time will not count towards the tournament. When this is done the current standings of every participant in the tournament will be calculated and presented on this page.
=== Conduct ===
The tournament has no special conduct rules other than that you must follow the rules of whatever site you are debating on. Potential participants should review the terms and conditions of each site and be sure to accept those before starting the tournament, or risk forfeiting any rounds that would take place on those sites.
Disqualifications will be given to any user who is banned from any of the participating sites during the tournament for a conduct violation. Debaters may also be disqualified if they are proven to have reached any agreement to fix the results of any debate to change the position of another debate, if they have entered the tournament under multiple identities, if they have voted on their home site (or their own debates) or if they have paid money for votes. The aim of the tournament is to foster online debate of a high standard.
Voting is open to all, but participants in the tournament may NOT vote on debates on their home site or on their own debates. This is to discourage strategic voting. Voters must at least attempt to give a fair and balanced decision on who they think argued the case better, which may not necessarily be the side that they personally agree with. This standard of voting, however, is expected to be moderated by each site's normal procedures individually.
=== Issues ===
If any issues should arise during the tournament that would affect the tournament's operation, they will be dealt with in the first instance by the tournament director, and if necessary tournament officials or representatives from any site involved in the tournament.
=== Privacy ===
User names and public details from participating sites may be used by the tournament for promotional purposes (ie a message reading "congratulations to X for winning the tournament"). All other details will be used only for the purpose of the tournament and will be destroyed at the end of the tournament. Your email address will not be shared with the edeb8 site or any third parties.
=== Finals ===
At the conclusion of the 5 rounds, the final tournament placings will be awarded. The sites will be ranked by average member position and the champion site announced.
The grand final will be held among the top two debaters, at whichever site ranked highest. The conditions will be agreed by both sides in the same way as before, but the two-week limit will not be enforced if by the agreement of both debaters. If one or both debaters cannot debate on a video-only site, the video-only site is excluded from eligability to host the final. If sites are tied in their final placement, a random coin toss will be used to determine which site is used to host the final.
There are no physical prizes in 2014's WODC, but for pride of winning the inaugral title.
 "If successful, the tournament will likely be repeated in future years, where prizes will be considered as an option." says the same webpage during the 2014 WODC.
PARTICIPANTS of 2014 WODC, as shown in round one pairings
nzlockie (Edeb8) vs CJKAllstar (DDO)
ArcTImes (DDO) vs Rebekah (Edeb8)
Ba'al Hamon (Edeb8) vs Ajabi (DDO)
Krit (Edeb8) vs LogicalLunatic (DDO)
Fanath (DDO) vs bsh1 (DDO)
9spaceking (DDO) vs jh1234l (DDO)
==References==
Category:Debate.org
Category:Edb8