In previous years, teams received the fact complex (dealing primarily with the acquisition and termination of parental rights and other elements of family law) in early July and were expected only to hand in their respective Heads of Argument in September. This year, due to a rule change, the teams received the facts roughly eleven days before the Heads of Argument were expected to be submitted and 21 days before the oral rounds were to begin.  In spite of the short preparation time, the four TuksLaw teams were the first to submit their Heads, which were of an outstanding quality. It is pertinent to note at this stage that one of the Afrikaans teams consisting of Anri Erasmus and Rohann Eloff won the award for Best Heads of Argument, beating the other Tuks Afrikaans team by a mere point or two.

Oral presentations began on Friday, 2 October and in spite of having only a few weeks to prepare, all oralists advocated impeccably and upheld the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria's reputation with aplomb. Although the teams participated anonymously, i.e. they were not allowed to indicate which university they represented, the coaches noticed that both the judges and other competitors alike were very quick to assume that speakers of such a high calibre "must be a Tukkie."  TuksLaw’s mooting reputation is indicative of both the standard the Faculty has set at this competition and the eight TuksLaw team members did much to uphold it.

After the preliminary rounds, the scores were totalled and the teams progressing to the finals were announced. The Afrikaans team of Rohan Eloff and Anri Erasmus as well as the English team consisting of Lawrence-John Maralack and Rebecca Hill were through to the finals.  However, it is important to note thatduring an informal discussion with the tournament co-ordinator it became clear that the second English team, consisting of Devan Falconer and Arlien Greyling, were also eligible to enter the final, but owing to a newly implemented rule, only one team from each institution could progress to the final round and thus they were excluded.

The fact complex for the final rounds was delivered to the teams at 20:00 on Friday evening and the teams were scheduled to present their arguments at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Saturday at 11:00. The finals motion dealt largely with whether a court could intervene and grant an interdict to a male life partner, ordering that his pregnant female life partner's body be kept alive so that the fetus, a prospective saviour child (a child genetically modified in such a way so as to serve as a marrow donor to another child), could be born and utilised.

After a sleepless night the TuksLaw teams presented their arguments before a full bench in the SCA. Whilst the Afrikaans finals went off without a hitch, after the English final, the presiding officer requested that the team take an hour and a half recess and then return to address her on a matter previously unmentioned in the fact complex. The team was able to apply all their research skills and rose to the task.

At the prize giving ceremony that night, the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria once again reigned supreme and walked away with the following awards:

• Best Afrikaans oralist: Michelle Oelefse;
• Best Afrikaans Heads of Argument: Rohann Eloff and Anri Erasmus;
• Best English team: Rebecca Hill and Lawrence John Maralack; and
• Best English oralist: Rebecca Hill.
• Best overall junior team:  Lawrence John Maralack and Rebecca Hill.

Many thanks must of course be given first to our gracious sponsors Norton Rose Fulbright for their continued support.  The mooters also thank the staff in the Office of the Dean, and in particular Deputy Dean Anton Kok, Vuyisile Smith and Mornay Hassen, for their support.

And then finally to my fellow coaches, Shannon, Lize and Johan. It was an honour working with you all and it is because of moot members such as yourself that the society is able to be a continuing feather in the cap of the Faculty!

The delegation this year was comprised of a group of the most spectacularly dedicated individuals who worked as hard as need be to ensure that they presented the best possible arguments. Whilst they have achieved many trophies and prizes, the experiences and skills they have learnt will be the thing that will stay with them for the longest.

Thank you once again to all parties who made such a learning experience possible.