User:GratuitousPedantry/sandbox/Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships

The Australian Intervarsity Debating Championships (known colloquially as "Easters") is an annual debating tournament for teams from universities in Australia. It is the largest debating tournament in Australia and serves as both the country's national championship and as a pro-am development competition. It is held every year over or near the Easter long weekend under the auspices of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association (AIDA). The host university is selected a year before at a meeting of the Easter Council of the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Association.

History
Easters has traditionally been run under the auspices of AIDA. In 1993 a new constitution provided for standard rules of debate and adjudication.

Prior to the inception of the AIDA in 1990, there were occasional problems with the administration and rule-format for Easters, as the running of the tournament was left to the host university, with a meeting of all Universities at the end of the competition. There was little ongoing supervision of the hosts, and adjudication standards varied widely.

Gender and Diversity
Easters abides by the same affirmative action policy as Australs, as specified under the AIDA constitution.

Best Speaker Trophy
The Best Speaker Trophy is awarded to the debater with the highest total sum of speaker scores in the preliminary rounds of competition. It is considered to be the most prestigious individual award in Australian debating.