The Russell McVeagh Canterbury Regional Debating Championships were held on the 12th and 13th of March this year at the University of Canterbury and again showed the depth and breadth of debating talent in the region.
Fifteen teams from ten schools from around the Canterbury region competed in four preliminary rounds held on Saturday and Sunday morning and debated the merits of unpaid internships, home schooling, the media’s focus on the personal lives of politicians and giving development aid to non-democratic governments.
At the end of the fourth round the four top teams advanced to the semi-finals which were held on Sunday afternoon. Christ’s College 1 advanced undefeated on four wins while St Andrew’s College 1, St Margaret’s College 1 and Papanui High School 1 advanced on three wins.
The motion debated by teams in the semi-finals was “this house believes that the state should be liable for the injuries and deaths of homeless people.” Christ’s College 1 beat Papanui High School 1 in a split decision while St Andrew’s College 1 defeated St Margaret’s College 1.
The final was debated on whether or not Donald Trump was good for United States politics and in a close debate Christ’s College 1 (Matthew Moore, Hamish Thomas and Angus Dysart-Paul) prevailed over runners-up St Andrew’s College 1 (April Oakley, Harrison Smith and Isabella Garbutt).
Selectors and coaches for the Regional teams were impressed by the quality of debates and selected two teams to compete at the New Zealand Debating Championships in May. The speakers selected were:
Canterbury Black
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Angus Dysart-Paul (Christ’s College)
Emily Wildy (St Margaret’s College)
Canterbury Red
Harrison Smith (St Andrew’s College)
Madeline Tilley (St Margaret’s College)
Chloe Goodsir (Papanui High School)
Reserves
Isabella Garbutt (St Andrew’s College)
Sophie Harrison (Papanui High School)
A number of speaker prizes were awarded to individual debaters who excelled throughout the tournament.:
Best Speaker
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Highly Commended
Zachary Withers (Burnside High School)
April Oakley (St Andrew’s College)
Amy Huang (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
The trophy for the Most Promising Team was also awarded which is awarded annually to a team that does exceptionally well that is comprised of debaters who are not in Year 13. This year the award was awarded to St Margaret’s College 3 which consisted of Aisha O’Malley, Millie O’Brien and Ruby Anderson who are all in Year 11.