Reigate Hill - Balloon Debate

Balloon Debate 2010

We, the Rotary Club of Reigate Hill are pleased to announce the 15 th annual Inter Service Club Balloon Debate Challenge which will be held on Wednesday the 10 th March 2010 at the Reigate Manor Hotel, Reigate.

For those not familiar with the format - after an excellent three-course dinner – we will be entertained by four volunteer speakers in the basket of a hot air balloon, each adopting the persona of a well-known celebrity of their choosing. Unfortunately the balloon is losing height rapidly and the only remedy is to shed some weight. Each celebrity has 4 minutes to argue their case to stay in the basket and not be thrown out. The audience then votes to decide who should be thrown out and the remaining speakers continue for two more short rounds until a winner emerges. The winner receives a prize but more importantly wins the Inter Service Cup for their club for the following twelve months.

There is an incentive for the speakers who dine free of charge and receive a commemorative plaque and the winner receives a bottle of Champagne.

Even if your club cannot put forward a speaker we hope that you will participate in this event which has the aim of promoting fellowship between the local service clubs. The cost of the evening is £22.50 per head to include the three-course meal and coffee. It is not a fund raising event and our objective is simply to have an enjoyable evening and to break-even. However we will also organise a raffle on the night, the proceeds of which will go to Rotary charities. We can organise club tables of 8, 10, or 12 or smaller numbers are welcome to join communal tables. It has worked out well in recent years and we achieved a full house last year so please apply early for your tickets.

We look forward to hearing from you soon and would be happy to talk to any prospective speaker about what is involved. Please contact me, Mike Legg on 01737 222595 or at mike.legg476@btinternet.com.

Debators' Brief

Adopt the persona / play the role of anyone you choose 5 contestants in the basket with two eliminated after the first round and one per round thereafter based upon open vote from the audience. The winner will have argued his / her case for staying in the basket for 3 rounds. The time allocated to each contestant to speak is: Round 1 4 minutes - Round 2 2 minutes - Round 3 1 minute In the third and final round, the last 2 contestants will be asked questions from the audience and responses will be taken into account for the vote. Each contestant must maintain the role adopted throughout the competition. Fancy dress is strongly encouraged. Props may be used but consider that up to 4 other people may be in ‘the basket’ at the same time. Prizes will be awarded to the contestants and the Inter-Service Club Cup presented to the winner to hold for 12 months. Audience of some 150+ anticipated: debaters encouraged to sell tickets to supporters (fellow club members, family, friends). Contestants will be fanfared in. Heckling will not be discouraged! NOTES: We would ideally like to achieve a mix of contestants from the worlds of (say) entertainment, business, politics and sport. It would be helpful to all if you could advise the organiser the persona you wish to adopt at least 2 weeks before the event. This will not be made public knowledge until the evening of the event but will eliminate any possible duplication. If we can achieve this it also permits us to advise each contestant the personas of his / her competitors in the basket so that jibes and reasons for staying in the basket can be tailored accordingly! Please note that you should prepare your comments in advance for 3 rounds of competition.

Last Years Contestants
	Persona	Played by...	Club
	Charles Darwin	John Widas	Redhill Redstone
	Mary of Alexandria	Margret Selby	Breakfast Club
	Kenneth Williams	Malcolm Newman	Coulsdon Manor
	Stephen Fry (as Jeeves)	Martin Fletcher	Coulsdon

Images from previous events