Competitive Debating
Competitive debating is at the heart of the Phil. Every year, our speakers travel across Ireland, Europe, and the world to compete against some of the best debaters anywhere. In recent seasons, Phil teams have represented us in Panama City, Copenhagen, Vienna, Glasgow, and beyond - regularly advancing to knockout rounds at the world’s most prestigious tournaments. From winning the European Championship in 2022, to breaking at the World Championships, to earning an invitation to the exclusive HWS Round Robin in 2025, the Phil continues to make its mark on the global debating stage.
Successes
The Phil proudly fields delegations to major competitions each year. In 2025, our teams competed at the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) in Panama, where Hilary Vanni and Henrietta Vanni reached the partial double octo-finals. Their preparation included strong runs at Oxford IV, Western IV, and the Vienna Pre-WUDC, where Adrianna Mazur and Mark Heanue reached the quarterfinals.
Hilary and Henrietta also secured an invitation to the HWS Round Robin — one of the world’s most selective tournaments, featuring just sixteen of the very best teams globally. This marks only the third time in the Phil’s history that a team has earned this distinction.
Most recently, the Phil sent a delegation of five teams and four judges to the European Championships in Copenhagen. All teams remained live for the break until the final day of in-rounds, while every member of our judging contingent was upgraded from trainee to panellist. Along the way, our debaters also prepared by competing in Glasgow, Liverpool, Vienna, and London.
Closer to home, the Phil has continued to dominate on the Irish debating circuit. In the past year, our speakers reached the finals of nearly every major competition, including Trinity Open 2024, Trinity IV 2025, Earlsfort Open 2024, Peter Maguire IV 2025, and the Irish Times 2024/25.
Highlights include:
• Trinity Open 2024 Champions: Oisín Browne & Srishti Nautiyal
• Vienna Online Pre-WUDC 2024 Quarterfinalists: Adrianna Mazur & Mark Heanue
• WUDC 2025 Partial Double Octo-Finalists: Hilary Vanni & Henrietta Vanni
• Peter Maguire IV 2025 Finalists: Adrianna Mazur & Jack Palmer
• The Irish Times 2024/2025: Annika Ramani & Matilda Brewe
• Glasgow Summer Cup 2025 Pro-Am Finalists: Adrianna Mazur & Zoya Shahid
• Imperial IV 2025 Finalists: Oisín Browne & Dylan McCarthy
Trinity IV, Trinity Open & Trinity WGM
The Phil also co-hosts Ireland’s largest and most prestigious competitions — Trinity IV and Trinity Open — alongside the Hist. Each year, these tournaments bring over 100 debaters from across Europe to the GMB, with finals that are a highlight of the debating calendar. The most recent Trinity Open Grand Final, held on the motion “This House Prefers a World where Vladimir Putin dies tomorrow of natural causes”, was won by a team from UCD L&H.
In 2015, the Phil also launched Ireland’s first women-only debating competition. Now rebranded as Trinity Women & Gender Minorities (WGM), it remains a regular fixture on the Irish circuit.
Alongside this, we are committed to inclusivity in debating - running biweekly Udoma trainings for POC speakers and Eliz trainings for WGM speakers.
Training & Development
Beyond competitions, the Phil offers a comprehensive training programme designed for all levels of experience. Beginners can attend weekly sessions covering the fundamentals of BP debating, while intermediate speakers benefit from a co-learning model of shared practice and knowledge exchange. For advanced debaters, we host workshops with world-class coaches to prepare for major international tournaments.
Every week, speakers are welcome to join sessions exploring topics ranging from pop culture to international relations, psychology, and more - all while learning how to argue convincingly about them.
At its core, debating in the Phil is about more than just trophies. It is about building a community of speakers who challenge ideas, develop critical thinking, and engage with the world - one argument at a time.