Waikato Regionals 2015
Waikato Regionals was held at Waikato University on Saturday the 21st of March, and was attended by 18 teams from across Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
All teams competed in three preliminary rounds, discussing issues such as the merits of online activism, banning gambling, and setting aside places for women in STEM university courses. After this the top four teams – Hamilton Girls High School, Hamilton Boys High School, Tauranga Boys College, and Otumoetai College – competed in the semi-finals, on the motion “that popular fiction should be taught in schools instead of classical literature.”
The final was a closely contested debate between Otumoetai and Hamilton Boys High School on the motion “that poverty should be a defence to property crime.” Hamilton Boys ultimately won the tournament in a 5-2 split decision.
A massive thanks to Waikato University for providing both the venue and food for the tournament, and to teams who had to travel long distances to attend. It was an extremely high quality tournament this year, congratulations to the following prize winners:
Results:
Winners (Hamilton Boys High School):
Soumil Singh
Visharn Sathiyakumar
Stephen Burroughs
Runners Up (Otumoetai College):
Sophie Hubbard
Matt Plumpton
Ed Hardie
Best Speaker:
Cheska Saavedra (Hamilton Girls High School)
Members of the Waikato Team:
Soumil Singh (Hamilton Boys High School)
Hugo Thompson (Tauranga Boys College)
Cheska Saavedra (Hamilton Girls High School)
Highly Commended:
Sara Hansen (Hillcrest High School)
Megan Hemming (Cambridge High School)
Greer Broadley (Cambridge High School)
Kayla Grant
Convener 2015