The first ever Bay of Plenty Regional Debating Championships was hosted at Tauranga Boys College on the 3rd of March as part of NZSDC’s expansion into the Bay of Plenty region. 20 teams, from 11 schools across the region, including Tauranga, Thames, Katikati, Whakatane, Waihi and Rotorua were in attendance.
We were delighted to have Todd Muller, MP for the Bay of Plenty open the Debating Championships. As an alumnus of Tauranga Boys College Debating, he spoke of the importance of being persuasive and the lifelong skills that debating teaches you.
The tournament featured four preliminary rounds of debating on diverse topics including compulsory voting, artists performing in countries with human rights abuses and media reporting0 on criminal trials. Following these debates, two teams progressed to the finals: Tauranga Boys College 1 and Bethlehem College 1. The teams that narrowly missed out on speaker points were John Paul College 1, Otumoetai College 1, and Tauranga Boys College 2 and 3.
Audience members were treated to an entertaining and lively debating on the motion that “this house believes that politicians should not have public profiles on Twitter, Facebook and any other social media networks. Congratulations to Tauranga Boys for winning the debate and the competition overall.
Thanks must go to all the judges, teachers and parents who gave up their day for the tournament, and to Tauranga Boys College who generously provided a venue.
Congratulations to the following students who received awards:
Runners Up – Bethlehem College:
Catherine Grobler
Fraser McCallum
Jonathan McLeay
Winners – Tauranga Boys College:
Fletcher Oxford
Jonathan Coe
Kale Adair
Highly Commended Speakers:
Georgia Collins (John Paul College)
Samuel Taylor (Mount Maunganui College)
Most Promising Speaker:
Parvi Goundar (Tauranga Girls College)
Best Speaker:
Kale Adair (Tauranga Boys College)
Reserves to the Bay of Plenty Regional Team:
Catherine Grobler (Bethlehem College)
Fletcher Oxford (Tauranga Boys College)
Fraser McCallum (Bethlehem College)
Members of the Bay of Regional Team:
Jonathan McLeay (Bethlehem College)
Kale Adair (Tauranga Boys College)
Makayla Wadsworth (Otumoetai College)
