This past Tuesday evening, having grown bored of Adam Sandler’s Uncut Gems (Waterboy is more my style), I decided to call it a night around 11:30. Checking my email one last time, I saw a message from Ethics Olympiad director Matthew Wills from 9:55: “The Olympiad is beginning…”
I was confused. I’d been honored to be invited to serve as a judge for the online event. But it was scheduled for the following evening – Wednesday, May 27th at 10 p.m. Tennessee time, which would be 11 a.m. in Perth. My error became apparent when I realized that while it was still Tuesday, May 26th in Tennessee, it was in fact already Wednesday, May 27th in Australia…
I sent a quick apology, and wrestled with whether to hide or log on. My better side won the debate and I quickly joined the Zoom meeting (not taking time to change out of my blue jammies) to see if there was anything I might be able to do, and if nothing else, to apologize via video.
Matthew was all smiles and graciousness, per usual – not the nervous wreck that organizers sometimes devolve into, especially when their judges flake out…
Smartly, he’d pre-recruited a backup, just in case, and everything was progressing as planned. He asked if I’d like to sit in on one of the heats in a Zoom break-out room.
It was for a match between Santa Sabina College and St. Peters Girls Academy. The teams were together at their respective schools, judges Rosalind Walsh and Jennifer Duke-Wonge appeared to be in their offices, and so too was moderator Theo Stapleton.
Considering the NHSEB case, “Is it OK to Punch a Nazi?” the teams were both well-prepared, and quick on their feet. They were respectful and engaged, and did a nice job sharing the floor, taking turns to elaborate on and clarify their arguments. The judges asked excellent questions (homing in on key aspects of the teams’ positions, but doing so in a friendly way), and Theo did an expert job keeping everyone on track – a wonderful balance of professionalism and warmth.
Zoom proved a superb platform. The video quality was great, and as far as I could tell, hardly glitched at all. My own connection was via a smartphone hotspot, which I worried might not be able to keep up. But it did without issue, and so did everyone else’s – a mini miracle I’m still impressed to witness.
The result of the event, which featured 8 teams from 8 different schools, was that St Peters Girls Adelaide, Santa Sabina College Sydney and The Kings School Sydney advanced to participate in the China Australia Ethics Olympiad on June 25th. Congrats to all three, and to the other teams who were all very close in the final scores.
Kudos to Matthew for doing such a nice job with the event. The participants appeared to enjoy themselves and grow from the experience. And this COVID-driven transition to online Ethics Olympiads (and Bowls) will no doubt continue to expand opportunities for international collaboration. There’s something reassuring about seeing teams on the other side of the globe (made apparent by the fact that it’s midnight where I am, yet I can see sunlight out the classroom window behind a team) think through cases addressed next door. There’s also something special about how Australians can say “cheers” with such authenticity…
And if you yourself are invited to participate in an international Ethics Olympiad, pay special attention to not only the local time, but the date. Don’t get sucked into bad movies on Netflix. And maybe be on standby the day before and after with a polo and sports jacket, just in case.