New Zealand Schools’ Debating

The 2008 World Schools’ Debating Championships starts soon in Washington D.C. The New Zealand squad consists of:

- A team of five debaters (Maria English, Holly Jenkins, Jen Savage, Ben Kornfeld, and Tom Chen)
- Two coaches (Julia Fetherston and Kevin Moar)
- Two adjudicators (Claire Ryan and Jeremy Johnson)

The team leaves NZ this afternoon, and the tournament starts on September 5.

As news filters in from Washington over the next couple of weeks we’ll be updating the website with all the news.

New Zealand’s draw is below. Affirmatives on the left, negative on the right.

Round 1: This house supports military intervention to deliver emergency aid in humanitarian crises
Greece v New Zealand

Round 2: Impromptu
New Zealand v Estonia

Round 3: This house would ban the use of unethically obtained data in scientific research
New Zealand v Bangladesh

Round 4: Impromptu
Japan v New Zealand

Round 5: This house would make the directors of multinational companies personally liable for environmental abuses committed by their companies in the developing world
New Zealand v Scotland

Round 6: Impromptu
Singapore v New Zealand

Round 7: This house believes that governments have a duty to bail out failing financial institutions
Slovakia v New Zealand

Round 8: Impromptu
New Zealand v Indonesia

New Zealand has a pretty tough draw, with debates against last year’s winning team and runner-up team. Greece have also been strong performers in recent years, and some describe Indonesia as the sleeping giants of the schools debating world.

All the very best to the team!