The 2013 Russell McVeagh Otago-Southland Regional Debating Championships were held on the 17th and 18th of May at Columba College. 22 teams from 15 different schools competed.
On the Friday afternoon teams debates both sides of the prepared motion: “This house believes that the welfare system should aim to provide a comfortable lifestyle, rather than a lifestyle which is just above the poverty level.”
On Saturday morning teams debated in two limited-prep rounds, on the topics; “This house believes that important medical decisions about children’s health should be made by doctors and not by their parents,” and “This house would require that women comprise at least 40% of the boards of all large New Zealand companies.”
Breaking to the semi-finals were Columba College 1, Bayfield High School 1, Logan Park High School and John McGlashan College. Narrowly missing out on breaking, but also on three wins, were St. Hilda’s Collegiate, Otago Boys’ High School, Columba College 2 and Bayfield High School 2. The semi-finalists debated the moot, “This house believes that religious officials who are opposed to gay marriage should be required by law to perform them if requested.” John McGlashan College successfully negated against Columba College 1 in a 3-2 split decision. Bayfield High School 1 successfully negated against Logan Park High School in a unanimous 7-0 decision.
The Grand Final was closely fought, and of a very high quality, reflecting what was generally considered to be one of the best Otago-Southland tournaments of the past five years. In the end, Bayfield High School 1 successfully affirmed against John McGlashan College in a 5-2 split decision on the moot, “This house believes New Zealand should not accept skilled migrants from developing countries.”
Thank you very much to all the students, parents, and teachers involved, as well as the 23 adjudicators who gave up their time to make the competition a success. Special thanks goes to Columba College for hosting the competition, and Rotary Dunedin and NCEA Eagle for proudly sponsoring the competition.
Congratulations to all the students who received prizes this year.
OUDS Cup (Winners) – Bayfield High School 1
Jessica Todd
Simon Williams
Maura Turner
Runners Up – John McGlashan College
Hamish Darling
Callum van-Dyk
Nick Robertson
Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker – Simon Williams (Bayfield High School)
Otago-Southland Regional Team
Courtney Cunningham (Columba College)
Simon Williams (Bayfield High School)
Connor Seddon (Logan Park High School)
Reserves
Ellen Gipp (Columba College)
Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Highly Commended Speakers
Jessica Todd (Bayfield High School)
Maura Turner (Bayfield High School)
Yang Li (Otago Boys’ High School)
Most Promising Speaker Cup
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Development Squad
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Amy Wright (St. Hilda’s Collegiate)
Sophie Ray (Columba College)
James Tocher
Otago-Southland Regional Convenor 2013
