New Zealand Schools' Debating

Regionals 2012 Information

NZSDC — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 03:47:09 +0000

All schools in New Zealand will soon be sent the 2012 NZ Schools Debating Brochure which contains information on the nine Russell McVeagh regional tournaments that will be held around New Zealand in April and May.

You can download a copy of the brochure here.

The dates of the regional tournaments are as follows (note that the brochure downloadable above lists Hawke’s Bay as taking place on 19/20 May; the correct date is as below – 12/13 May).

Northland
28 and 29 April at Kerikeri High School.
Contact: Corrine Marti

Kahurangi / Marlborough
28/29 April at Nayland College
Contact: Max Harris and Kimberley Savill

Wellington
5/6 May at a venue TBA
Contact: Stephen Whittington and Duncan McLachlan

Otago / Southland
4/5 May at Otago Boys’ High School
Contact: Kurt Purdon

Auckland
12/13 May at St Kentigern College
Contact: Stephanie Thompson

Hawke’s Bay
12/13 May at Karamu High School
Contact: Jodie O’Neill and Cameron Price

Canterbury
19/20 May at a venue TBA
Contact: Sean Maskill

Central North Island
26/27 May at Palmerston North Boys’ High School
Contact: Aric Shakur

Waikato
27 May at Waikato University
Contact: Joshua Baxter

New Zealand loses Quarter-Final

NZSDC — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:30:55 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating team narrowly lost to England in the quarter-finals of the World Schools’ Debating Championships. New Zealand affirmed the motion that “This House believes that the gay rights movement should ‘out’ gay celebrities.” In a 3-2 decision, in a debate descibed as of exceptional quality and excruciatingly close, New Zealand unfortunately lost.

Well done to all the team members – Nick Orr, Ed Foley, Rayhan Langdana, Thomas Simpson, and James Penn – for their performance at Worlds. Also well done to the two coaches - Clodagh O’Connor-McKenna and Udayan Mukherjee.

The grand final will take place this evening between Scotland and Wales.

New Zealand through to Quarter-Finals

NZSDC — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:22:15 +0000

New Zealand defeated Hong Kong in a 2-1 split decision, opposing the motion that “This House would create schools to teach endangered indigenous languages.”

They face England in the quarter-finals. The result should be coming out about 11 PM this evening.

Good luck!

New Zealand through to Octo-Finals

NZSDC — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:11:31 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team is through to the octo-finals, after winning all eight preliminary rounds.

The final day saw them beat Swaziland in a 2-1 split decision, proposing that “This House believes that developing countries should be allowed to use child labour.” They also beat Greece in a 3-0 decision, negating the motion that “This House would entrench legally actonable socio-economic rights.”

New Zealand is one of three teams to reamin unbeaten – along with South Africa and Singapore. I am unsure precisely where they have finished, but it will be either 2nd or 3rd, meaning they will face either 15th or 14th placed respectively in their Octo-Final.

Update: New Zealand break third, and will face Hong Kong in the Octo-Final. The result for this debate should come through around 4 AM on Wednesday (New Zealand time).

Day 3 at Worlds

NZSDC — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:54:14 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team remains undefeated going into round 7 of Worlds, after winning both their debates on the third day.

They won their fifth debate against Wales, who are typically a strong team, in a 2-1 decision, opposing the motion that “This House would allow the police to use racial profiling to help fight crime.” They won their sixth debate against Sweden in a 3-0 decision, arguing in favour of the motion that “This House believes that the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography.”

New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa remain the only teams which are unbeaten.

Good luck for the final day of debating!

Worlds after four rounds

NZSDC — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:15:28 +0000

For those who are interested, the teams for the first four rounds have so far been made up of:

Round one – Rayhan Langdana, James Penn, and Ed Foley
Round two – Rayhan Langdana, Thomas Simpson, and Nick Orr
Round three – James Penn, Thomas Simpson, and Nick Orr
Round four – Rayhan Langdana, Thomas Simpson, and James Penn

Will post the results for the next two rounds when they are available. The official blog is also updating results fairly promptly.

Day 2 at Worlds

NZSDC — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:12:15 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team has continued their excellent performance on day two at the World Schools’ Debating Championships, winning both of their debates.

They won their third debate against Slovenia in a 3-0 decision, proposing the motion that “This House would allow single parents to care for their children while in prison.” They won their fourth debate against Thailand in a 3-0 decision, arguing against the motion that “This House would place restrictions on rural to urban migration.”

New Zealand is now one of 6 teams to remain unbeaten after four rounds. Well done!

Day 1 at Worlds

NZSDC — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:09:07 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team has had an excellent first day at the World Schools’ Debating Championships, winning both of their debates.

They won their first round against Botswana in a 3-0 decision, negating the motion that “This House would ban alcohol.” They won their second debate against Israel in a 2-1 split decision, arguing in favour of the motion that “This House believes that newly democratised Arab nations should not allow religious parties to participate in elections.”

We will be updating the website with results every day. Good luck for the coming rounds!

NZ off to World Champs

NZSDC — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 05:11:02 +0000

The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team has left New Zealand for the 2012 World Schools’ Debating Champs in Cape Town, South Africa.

The team comprises Nick Orr (Captain), Thomas Simpson, Rayhan Langdana, Edward Foley and James Penn.

They are coached by Udayan Mukherjee and Clodagh O’Connor-McKenna.

NZSDC President and Vice-President Christopher Bishop and Desley Horton are also attending the tournament as adjudicators.

The draw for the team is below. Results will be posted on here as soon as they are to hand. You can also follow the NZSDC twitter account for up to date news: @nzsdc

Round One: Thursday 19 January
Negating against Botswana (impromptu motion)

Round Two: Thursday 19 January
Affirming against Israel
Motion: This house believes that newly democratised Arab nations should not allow religious parties to participate in elections

Round Three: Friday 20 January
Affirming against Slovenia (Impromptu motion)

Round Four: Friday 20 January
Negating against Thailand
Motion: This house believes that developing nations should place limits on internal rural-urban migration

Round Five: Sunday 22 January
Negating against Wales (impromptu motion)

Round Six: Sunday 22 January
Affirming against Sweden
Motion: This house believes that the feminist movement should seek a ban on pornography

Round Seven: Monday 23 January
Affirming against Swaziland (impromptu motion)

Round Eight: Monday 23 January
Negating against Greece
Motion: This house believes that states should enshrine legally actionable socio-economic rights

The octo-finals are on Tuesday 24 January, the quarter and semi-finals on Wednesday 25 January and the Grand Final is on Thursday 26 January.

New Council takes office

NZSDC — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 09:38:19 +0000

At the Annual General Meeting of the NZ Schools’ Debating Council in May, a new executive was elected. The new executive took office on October 1 and comprises:

President: Christopher Bishop
Vice-President: Desley Horton
Treasurer: Stephen Whittington
Executive Officers: Clodagh O’Connor-McKenna and Udayan Mukherjee

Yogesh Patel has stepped down after two years in the important role of Treasurer. Yogesh has also convened and coached the Central North Island region for a number of years. The Council thanks Yogesh for his hard work over the past few years and looks forward to his continued involvement in schools debating.