The John Smith Memorial Mace (known as the Observer Mace from 1954 to 1995) is an annual
debating
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...
tournament (
British Parliamentary format) contested by
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
The equivalent competition for
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s is the
ESU Schools Mace
The English-Speaking Union Schools' Mace is an annual debating tournament for secondary schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The competition was founded in 1957 by the journalist Kenneth Harris of ''The Observer'' newspaper, and was ...
.
History
The competition was founded in 1954 by the journalist Kenneth Harris of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' newspaper,
The journalist who saved The Observer
''The Guardian'', 3 July 2005 and was sponsored by the newspaper until 1995. It was then renamed the John Smith Memorial Mace in honour of the British Labour Party leader John Smith, who won the tournament as a member of the Glasgow University
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team in 1962, and died in 1994.
The competition has been held annually since 1954, except for 1977, when no tournament was organised. In the early years, neither Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...
debating society (the Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
and Cambridge Union
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debatin ...
) participated. Glasgow University Union
Glasgow University Union (GUU) is one of the largest and oldest students' unions in the UK, serving students and alumni of the University of Glasgow since 1885.
The GUU organises social affairs for its members, provides catering and entertainm ...
has been the most successful institution in the competition's history, winning the tournament 16 times, most recently in 2018.
In addition to John Smith, other notable former winners include Charles Kennedy
Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...
, Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...
, John Nicolson
John MacKenzie Nicolson (born 23 June 1961) is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician.
Since the 2019 general election he has been the SNP Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire. He ...
, Lord Hunt of Wirral and Professor Anthony Clare.
Format
From 1993, the competition has been run by the English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...
, with assistance from regional convenors. Four regional tournaments are held each year for universities in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The Irish tournament is open to teams from both the Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. The winners of these four regional competitions then go on to face each other in the International Final, which is held each spring to determine the overall champions.
No International Final has been held since 2019 when the English-Speaking Union removed its sponsorship of the competition. Only the Scottish Mace (which served as the regional qualifier and national championship for Scotland) and the Irish Mace (which served as the regional qualifier and national championship for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) have continued.
All debates in the competition are held using the British Parliamentary debate format. Speeches in the International Final and regional finals are seven minutes long, which is similar to most other British Parliamentary format tournaments, where speeches are usually seven or five minutes long. Until 2001, speeches in the tournament's finals were ten minutes long.
The Mace is considered by many debaters to be effectively an overall championship for the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, with the regional qualifying tournament serving effectively as national championships for England, Scotland and Wales. The Irish Times National Debating Championship
The Irish Times National Debating Championship is a debating competition for students in higher education in Ireland. It has been run since 1960, sponsored by ''The Irish Times''. While most participants represent institutions in the Republic of ...
served as the Irish qualifier for the Mace in the 1960s, but is now run separately.
Past champions
Most victories
Glasgow University Union 16
Cambridge Union 6
University of Edinburgh 5
Lincoln's Inn 4
University College Dublin Literary & Historical Society 4
Inner Temple 3
Trinity College Dublin Philosophical Society 2
Trinity College Dublin Historical Society 2
Oxford Union 2
King's Inns 2
University College Dublin Law Society 2
Middle Temple 2
University College Cardiff 2
University College Cork Philosophical Society 1
University College Cork Law Society 1
Gray's Inn 1
University of Bristol 1
Ealing College 1
Birkbeck College 1
Ruskin College 1
University of Strathclyde 1
Victories by country
, Scotland 21
, England 21
, Ireland 14
, Wales 2
Winners of recent national qualifying tournaments
English Mace
Irish Mace
Scottish Mace
Welsh Mace
England & Wales Mace
Prior to the 2001-2 academic year, England and Wales held a combined qualifying tournament for the International Final of the Mace. At the time, the winners of the Irish, Scottish and English/Welsh tournaments qualified for the International Final automatically, while runners-up from the events qualified for a repechage
Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...
debate which determined the fourth team in the International Final. After the 2000-1 academic year, England and Wales began holding separate qualifying tournaments and the repechage was abolished.
See also
* English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...
* ESU Schools Mace
The English-Speaking Union Schools' Mace is an annual debating tournament for secondary schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The competition was founded in 1957 by the journalist Kenneth Harris of ''The Observer'' newspaper, and was ...
References
External links
Page on the John Smith Memorial Mace at the English-Speaking Union website
Page on the John Smith Memorial Mace at britishdebate.com
{{University debating
British debating competitions
Debating competitions in Ireland
1954 establishments in the United Kingdom
Recurring events established in 1954
Student events
Student organisations in the United Kingdom