The 39th New Zealand Schools' National Debating Championships were held over the weekend of the 22 – 25 May in Wellington. Forty-two competitors and eighteen reserves, representing fourteen regional teams, descended upon Wellington for a weekend of debating. We were honoured to open Nationals at the Supreme Court, hosted by our wonderful Patron, Sir Stephen Kós KNZM KC. Our participants appreciated the opportunity to hear from Justice Kós and have a tour of the Supreme Court Chamber. It is always valuable for our students to see where debating can take them, and the value of rigorous argumentation and adjudication on New Zealand. Seven preliminary rounds were held over the weekend at Victoria University's Pipitea Campus. The motions were as topical as ever, ranging from ID verification on social media, to the use of improperly obtained evidence in court trials.
The breaking teams were announced at the Championship dinner, held at the Basin Reserve on Sunday evening. The four teams which progressed to the semifinals (in breaking order) were the Bay of Plenty (sponsored by Cooney Lees Morgan), Auckland Blue (sponsored by Bankside Chambers), Auckland White (sponsored by Bankside Chambers), and Otago.
On Monday morning, the four breaking teams debated the motion "This House believes that mineral-rich African states should form a collective bargaining cartel for critical minerals." After two closely fought semi-finals, the teams that advanced to the Grand Finals were Auckland Blue and Otago.
The Symbai Grand Final was hosted by the Hon. Chris Bishop in the Legislative Chamber of Parliament. The motion for the final was "This House believes that emphasising the importance of institutional scepticism in civics education undermines social trust more than it strengthens democracy." Esteemed audience members included Hon. Chris Bishop, Ms Rosemary Dixon MNZM, and our Patron, Sir Stephen Kós. After a passionate debate, Otago were named the national champions – a repeat of their 2024 success.
The following students received speaker prizes:
- Best Speakers of Nationals: Emily Roy (Otago) and Cerisa Gu (Bankside Chambers Auckland Blue)
- Captain of the New Zealand Team: Oliver Larson (Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty)
- 2026 New Zealand Team: Oliver Larson (Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty), Emily Roy (Otago), Cerisa Gu (Bankside Chambers Auckland Blue), Pearl Vahey-Bourne (Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty), and Michael Cash (Wellington Gold)
- Reserves to the New Zealand team: Beth Elder (Otago), and Malachi Ayre (Kahurangi-Marlborough)
- Most Promising Speaker of Nationals: Bella Chen (Bankside Chambers Auckland Blue)
- Highly Commended Speakers: Lucy Yin (Bankside Chambers Auckland White), Orla Miller (Canterbury English Speaking Union Trust Canterbury), and James Blackmore (Wellington Gold)
- Promising Speakers: Layla Clarke (Cooney Lees Morgan Bay of Plenty), and Thomas Dean (Wellington Black)
We wish the New Zealand Team all the best at the World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2026. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Judy Fong and James Boland for their appointment as the 2026 New Zealand team coaches.
The New Zealand Schools' Debating Council is very grateful to Symbai for its generous support of the Grand Final. Symbai's Connor McFayden spoke before our prize-giving, explaining how debaters across the country can use Symbai's tools to enhance their debating and critical thinking skills. Built by educators, Symbai is an AI-powered debate and argument-mapping platform where students build and test arguments visually, debating an AI opponent while constructing claims, evidence, and rebuttals. Symbai believes that critical thinking should be taught with the same rigour and consistency as literacy and numeracy, and that debate is one of the most powerful frameworks for getting there.
We are also grateful to Victoria University of Wellington who hosted the Championships during the weekend, and Fujifilm for printing all of our competition materials. Thank you also to Henderson Reeves, Bankside Chambers, Kayes Fletcher Walker, Cooney Lees Morgan, Sainsbury Logan and Williams, Canterbury English Speaking Union Trust, and Mee & Henry Law for their support of our regional tournaments and teams in 2026.
And finally, a thank you to everyone who put in the hard mahi to make the Championships such an excellent weekend – adjudicators, coaches, chairpeople, and our conveners, Isobel Fraser, Hannah Sema, and Olivia Simpson. An enormous amount of work and care goes into making Nationals the tournament it is, and the New Zealand Schools' Debating Council is deeply appreciative of all of our supporters, participants, and volunteers.