12-13 February
Registration
The central competition will be run this year on the 12th and 13th of February, and there is a team cap of 80 with an institutional cap of 6 teams to begin with. After the initial registration period, once it is clear how many spots remain to be filled we will then contact all institutions and re-open registration, filling on a first come, first served basis. Currently, registration for IONA teams is set at €75 per team with judges registering for free. Registration for non-IONA teams is €40. In terms of adjudication, the n-1 rule applies. Additional judges are always welcome to register, and some funding is available for assisting experienced judges to travel to the competition.
Judging
It is our great honour to announce that the Chief Adjudicators of the competition this year will be Ross Frenett (former winner of the Law Debates, Best Speaker at the Trinity IV 2008, winner of Durham and Koc Opens, Irish Mace and Irish Times finalist, European Championship semi-finalist) and Gregg O'Neill (reigning champion of the Law Debates, winner of Durham IV 2009, former winner of World Masters Championships, former finalist and current co-convenor of the Irish Mace, and former finalist in many more Invitationals, Internationals, and IVs). A match made in heaven, without a doubt guaranteeing some of the most interesting and balanced motions to be seen in quite some time.
Tabmaster extraordinaire Stephen Goodman will join the team to ensure that the competition runs as smoothly as possible. Stephen has tabbed more competitions that most people would care to remember, including more recently the Cork IV, the Durham IV, the English Mace to mention but a few. Aside from the Galway Open, future projects include the Trinity IV, and the Galway Euros bid. Some say, (including Bob Nimmo) that he is the new Bob Nimmo. We just know he's great at his job, and are delighted to have him on board.