Kerikeri retain Northland Regionals title
On a wet and windy Sunday 10 May six teams from around the Northland region gathered at Kerikeri High School to compete in the 2009 Russell McVeagh Northland Regional Schools Debating Championship. The teams debated three limited preparation rounds throughout the day, followed by a final in the evening.
Moots debated through the day included “This House would prevent Fiji from contributing troops to UN peacekeeping missions”, “This House would legalise all drugs” and “This House would introduce an opt-out system of organ donation”.
After the preliminary rounds two teams narrowly broke to the final: Whangarei Boys’ High School and Kerikeri High School. They debated the motion “This House would allow minority groups to form breakaway states” in a heated final showdown.
Ultimately though, the adjudication panel, chaired by NZSDC President Christopher Bishop, was unanimous in awarding the debate to Kerikeri High School, who were negating.
Prizes
Winners: Kerikeri High School (Corinne Marti, Rosie Sievers, Nita Sullivan, Michael Prendergast)
Runners Up: Whangarei Boys’ High School (David Budge, Terence Osmena, Dylan Heta)
2009 Northland Development Squad/Reserves: Michael Prendergast (Kerikeri High School), Nita Sullivan (Kerikeri High School), Vishakham Joseph (Whangarei Girls’ High School)
2009 Northland Regional Debating Team: Corinne Marti (Kerikeri High School), Emma Smith (Whangarei Girls’ High School), Thomas Scott-Smith (Otamatea College)
George Minton
2009 Northland Convenor