The Central North Island Regional Tournament was held on the 17th and 18th of March at Whanganui High School. 14 teams travelled from around the region; some coming from as far as Hawera to compete in the competition. It was a tournament of very high calibre, with the intense competition reflected by the possibility for any two, of six teams, being able to break for the final after the penultimate preliminary round.
The teams spent the first day debating motions including those requiring private schools to offer scholarships to ensure 20% of their rolls are students from low socio-economic backgrounds; whether or not special courts should be created across the country for alcohol and drug related offences giving out exclusively rehabilitative sentences; and whether developing countries should be exempt from international climate change obligations. They continued on the second day, with the final preliminary rounds covering whether there should be reserved places for Māori in medicine and law at university, and whether we should abolish the minimum wage. While the teams consistently came to grips with the core issues of the debates, only two teams were able to break for the finals.
The two teams that broke were Palmerston North Girls’ High School – five wins – and Nga Tawa Diocesan School – four wins, and narrowly beating out Whanganui Collegiate Grey based on win points.
The motion for the final was ‘that only LGBT+ people should play LGBT+ characters in film and television,’ with Nga Tawa affirming, and Palmerston North Girls’ negating. After an incredibly high quality debate, in a split decision, Nga Tawa were announced the winners of the Central North Island regional competition.
An additional thank you for all those adjudicators who travelled for the tournament.
Winners: Nga Tawa Diocesan School
Lydia Whyte
Lilly Bradley
Amelia Bryant
Runners-Up: Palmerston North Girls’ High School
Sophie Brokenshire
Tharushi Bowatte
Anna Dombroski
Best Speaker
Sophie Brokenshire (Palmerston North Girls’ High School)
Best Style
Sophie Brokenshire (Palmerston North Girls’ High School)
Most Promising Speaker
Merle Chante (Whanganui High School)
Promising Speakers
Leah Aiono (Whanganui High School)
Highly Commended
John Cole (Palmerston North Boys’ High School)
Aiden Berkahn (Palmerston North Boys’ High School)
Central North Island Team
Sophie Brokenshire (Palmerston North Girls’ High School)
Marseille Bowie (Whanganui Collegiate School)
Lydia Whyte (Nga Tawa Diocesan School)
Ronan Carroll – Reserve (Palmerston North Boys’ High School)
