Bayfield High School win Otago / Southland title for 2010
On the 30th and 31st of May fourteen teams from twelve schools braved some of the worst weather the South Island has seen in years to compete in the two day competition held at Otago Boys’ High School.
Rounds one and two were on the prepared topic that “teachers should be paid on the basis of their performance”, then on the Saturday afternoon teams debated whether or not “voting should be made compulsory”. On a slightly drier Sunday morning teams took part in the last round: “That this House would impose harsher penalties on celebrities than ordinary citizens”.
With a clean break the four teams that made the semi-finals were: Logan Park High School on four wins and Columba College, Bayfield High School and Otago Boys’ High School on three wins each. In the semi-finals the teams debated that “every state has the right to nuclear weapons”.
Progressing to the final were defending champions Otago Boys’ High School and Bayfield High School, who debated that “we should allow individuals to sell their organs”. Ultimately Bayfield High School took out the debate, winning the Otago University Debating Society Cup, with a unanimous panel of adjudicators.
This year we had two new cups donated by Mr Quentin Barry, a debating stalwart, from Otago Boys’ High School, one for best speaker and one for most promising speaker (see above). The winners of prizes at the tournament were:
Winners
Bayfield High School (Jake Duval-Smith, Emily-Kate Robertson, James Tocher)
Runners-Up
Otago Boys’ High School (Chanuka de Silva, Kasan, Edward Haslam)
Highly Commended
Emily-Kate Robertson (Bayfield High School)
Amy Kennerley (Mount Aspiring College)
Most Promising Speaker
Alyyn Robins (Logan Park High School)
Reserves to the Otago / Southland Regional Team
Allyn Robins (Logan Park High School)
Emily-Kate Robertson (Bayfield High School)
Otago / Southland Regional Team 2010 (L-R)
James Tocher (Bayfield High School)
Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School)
Ava Atkinson-Brown (Columba College)
Rachel Carrell Cup for the Best Speaker
Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School)
William Cheyne
Otago / Southland Convenor 2010