Seawolf debaters No. 11 in the world

The World Debating website has released the 2011 world rankings for university debating programs, and the Seawolves have inched closer to the top 10. Last year, the Seawolf Debate Team cracked the top 20 for the first time when they received a 12th place ranking, tied with Harvard University and St. Andrews University (Scotland). Last year's ranking also tied the UAA debate team with Harvard for second in the United States.

This year, the Seawolves are a little closer to breaking into the top 10, as they stand alone as the 11th ranked team in the world and second in the U.S. to Yale University. The top 15 places them among the world's best such as Sydney University, Oxford, Yale and Cambridge.

The rankings are based on an institution's performance over the past five years at the World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC). This competition attracts teams from around the world and these rankings take into account each university's sustained success over the career of the typical international debater, since many students compete throughout their undergraduate and graduate education programs.

This year's WUDC in Gaborone, Botswana, brought together 320 debate teams, representing 160 universities and more than 40 nations. The Seawolves -- for the second straight year -- had their most successful team showing in school history. Furthermore, two teams from UAA advanced to the elimination round phase of the competition, placing them in top 32 teams in the world or top 10 percent of the competition.

Rank - Team - Country

1 - University of Sydney - Australia
2 - Oxford University - England
3 - Yale University - US
4 - Cambridge University - England
5 - Monash University - Australia
6 - University of Queensland - Australia
7 - University of Toronto - Canada
8 - University of Alberta - Canada
9 - Australian National University - Australia
10 - Ateneo de Manila University - Philippines
11 - University of Alaska - US
12 - Melbourne University - Australia
13 - Colgate University - US
14 - University of New South Wales - Australia
15 - St. Andrews University - Scotland
16 - Queens University - Canada
17 - Princeton University - US
18 - National University of Singapore - Singapore
19 - Nanyang Technical University - Singapore
20 - University College Dublin - Ireland