The Waikato Regional Debating Competition was held on the 5th of March at Waikato University. 18 teams travelled from around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty to attend.
This year’s tournament was very high quality, with three preliminary rounds on topics such as racial quotas in film awards and the banning of climate change denial. Following these three debates, four schools progressed to the semi-finals: Waikato Dio, Hamilton Boys High School, Tauranga Boys College, and Hillcrest High School.
Waikato Dio and Hamilton Boys High School were the two teams in an entertaining and closely fought final on the motion that “this house regrets the media’s focus on the personal lives of politicians.” Congratulations to Hamilton Boys for winning the debate and the competition overall.
A big thank you to all the judges and teachers who gave up their day for the tournament, and to Waikato University who generously provided lunch and a venue.
Winners: Hamilton Boys High School
Jacob Cheatley
Tim Ng
Alex LeComte
Runners-Up: Waikato Diocesan
Emma Harris
Emma Fountaine
Amy Spittal
Promising Speakers:
Jonathan Tomlinson (Mt Maunganui)
Jonah Franke Bowell (Hillcrest High School)
Highly Commended:
Zara Olifent (Hillcrest High School),
Aneesha Dahya (John Paul College),
Emma Fountaine (Waikato Diocesan)
Reserves to the Waikato Regional Schools’ Debating Team:
Timothy Ng (Hamilton Boys High School)
Hugo Thompson (Tauranga Boys High School)
Waikato Regional Schools’ Debating Team:
Amy Spittal (Waikato Diocesan),
Alex Le Comte (Hamilton Boys High School)
Andrew Devitt (Tauranga Boys High School)
Best Speaker:
Amy Spittal (Waikato Diocesan)