Wellington College win first ever Wellington Regionals
The 2011 Russell McVeagh Wellington Regional Debating Championships were held on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 May at Hutt Valley High School. Twenty teams participated from 15 schools.
Rounds 1 and 2 of the tournament on Saturday were prepared debates on whether voting should be compulsory. Limited preparation debates on whether university should be reserved for the best and the brightest and whether the death penalty should be reintroduced as a punishment for the most horrific crimes, rounded out the day.
Teams came back the following morning to debate in round 5, a limited preparation debate on whether free trade should be used as a means of economic development.
After five rounds, Scots College was unbeaten on five wins from five, and so went through to the semi-finals in first place. Two teams were on four wins each with one loss – Wellington College 1 and Wellington College 2. Seven teams were tied on 3 wins each, including two on 3 wins and the same number of win points (measuring strength of draw). Ultimately, St Catherine’s College took the final spot in the semi-finals, based on their cumulative speaker points over the rounds.
In the semi-finals, on the motion “This House believes individuals should be able to sell their organs”, St Catherine’s defeated Scots in an unanimous decision, and Wellington College 1 beat their schoolmates Wellington College 2.
The Grand Final was on the motion “That we should legalise performance enhancing drugs in sport” in front of a very good crowd at Hutt Valley High. After a lively debate, Wellington College, negating the motion, were declared the victors in an unanimous decision. It is the first time that Wellington College has won the Wellington Speaking Union Cup for Intercollegiate Debating, after many years of sustained success at the tournament.
Winners
Wellington College 1 – Winners of Wellington Regionals 2010
Ed Foley, Rayhan Langdana, Nick Fenton
Runners-Up
St Catherine’s College – Runners-Up
Julie Vidal, Lauren Holloway, Grace Jansen (Sophia Nisbet not pictured)
Prizes
Promising Speakers
Callum Brazier (Paraparaumu College)
Sophia Nisbet (St Catherine’s College)
Emma Leahy (Sacred Heart College)
Most Promising Speaker: Jemima Lomax (St Mary’s College)
Highly Commended Speakers
Robbie Fordyce (Hutt International Boys School)
Aaron Rama (Scots College)
Callum McPetrie (Tawa College)
Rowena Woodhams (Wellington East Girls’ College)
Reserves to the Wellington Regional Squad 2011
Jemima Lomax (St Mary’s College)
Michael Moore-Jones (Scots College)
Wellington Regional Schools Debating Squad (L-R)
Thomas Leggat (Wellington College)
Edward Foley (Wellington College)
Grace Jansen (St Catherine’s College)
Rayhan Langdana (Wellington College)
Nick Fenton (Wellington College)
Wendy Zhu (Sacred Heart College) – not pictured
Best Speaker at Wellington Regionals 2011: Nick Fenton (Wellington College)
Thanks
Thank you to Hutt Valley High for hosting the Championships, and to all of the excellent adjudicators who gave up their time: Christopher Bishop, Udayan Mukherjee, Paul Smith, Richard D’Ath, Jenna Raeburn, Jodie O’Neill, Asher Emmanuel, Daniel Wilson, Hugh McCaffrey, and Clodagh O’Connor-McKenna.
Stephen Whittington
Regional Convenor 2011