The Canterbury Regional Schools’ Debating Championships were held at the University of Canterbury over the past weekend with 21 teams from 11 schools. It was a fantastic weekend and we’d like to give a huge thanks to the teams for attending, and to all of the adjudicators who judged the tournament. Thanks also to Ned Brougham and Thomas Kamo for their hard work as convenors.
After 5 rounds of preliminary debates, the two teams progressing to the finals were St Bede’s College and Burnside High School. Following an impressive final debate, Burnside High School were announced as the worthy winners of the Canterbury Regional Schools’ Debating Championships 2024!
Congratulations to everyone who took part, we are already excited for next year!
From left to right below: the 2024 Canterbury Regional team and the two teams that competed in the final.
Runners up - St Bede’s College:
Liam Speechlay
Thomas Richards
Hunter Heath
Winners - Burnside High School:
Thomas Brocherie
Sam Allan
Katie Horton
Highly Commended speakers: Millie White (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School), Thomas Brocherie (Burnside High School), Naomi Wilson (Cashmere High School), Anouk Hector-Taylor (Cashmere High School), Elizabeth Cox (Papanui High School).
Most promising speaker / Best Junior Speaker: Shefali Srivastika
Best speaker: Sam Allan (Burnside High School)
2024 Canterbury Regional Team
Angam Vraich (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Joni Lester (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Sam Allan (Burnside High School)
Reserves: Liam Speechlay (St Bede’s College) and Shefali Srivastika
Previous Regional Teams
At each Regional Championships, a team is selected to represent Canterbury at the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Championships. Previous teams since 2011 are listed below.
2024
Angam Vraich (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Joni Lester (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Sam Allan (Burnside High School)
Coaches: Ned Brougham and Meg Longley2023
Luke Wylie
Angam Vraich
Ethan Jackson
Coach: Ned Brougham2022
Luke Wylie
Ethan Jackson
Tom Edward
Coach: Megan Blackwood2021
Sophie Land (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Callum Hackston (Christ’s College)
Phoebe Jennings (St Margaret’s College)
Coaches: Daniel Maier-Gant and Will Miller2020
Lucy Jessep (St Margaret’s College)
Callum Hackston (Christ’s College)
Jamie Yee (Christ’s College)
Coaches: Vikas Shenoy and Will Miller
2019
Joshua Stevenson (Christ’s College)
Meg Longley (St Andrew’s College)
Hattie Compton-Moen (St Margaret’s College)
Coaches: Nic Wilson and Vikas Shenoy2018
William Wynn Thomas (Christ’s College)
Milly O’Brien (St Margaret’s College)
Megan Blackwood (St Andrew’s College)
Coaches: Richard D’Ath and Tom O’Brien2016
Canterbury Red
Madeleine Tilley (St Margaret’s College)
Chloe Goodsir (Papanui High School)
Harrison Smith (St Andrew’s College)
Coach: Sophie MaherCanterbury Black
Emily Wildy (Kāpiti College)
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Angus Dysart-Paul (Christ’s College)
Coaches: Richard D’Ath and Bill Dieckermann2015
Canterbury Red
Emma Clucas (St Margaret’s College)
Sasha Cuthbert (Cashmere High School)
Natalie Vaughan (St Margaret’s College)
Coach: Bill DieckermannCanterbury Black
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Isabella Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Samantha Crews (Villa Maria College)
Coaches: Tim Bain and Sophie Maher
2014
Canterbury Red
Vincent Curd (Christ’s College)
Daniel Maier-Gant (St Andrew’s College)
Isabella Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Coaches: Tom O’Brien and Tim BainCanterbury Black
Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Hanseul Nam (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Natalie Vaughan (St Margaret’s College)
Coaches: Sarah Hoffman and Sean Maskill2013
Canterbury Red
Daniel Maier-Gant (St Andrew’s College)
Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Ben Maguire (St Bede’s College)
Coaches: Tom O’Brien and Sean MaskillCanterbury Black
Jess Minehan Fitzgerald (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Vincent Curd (Christ’s College)
Christopher Cooper (St Bede’s College)
Coaches: Tim Bain and Megan Dickie2011
Canterbury Red
Sophie Boot (Christchurch Girls’ High School)
Timothy Robinson (St Bede’s College)
Andrew Carrell (Christ’s College)
Coaches: Erin Jackson and Jeremy Bell-ConnellCanterbury Black
Thomas Frost (Christ’s College)
Zoe Higgins (St Margaret’s College)
Billy Clemens (Papanui High School)
Coaches: Nicola Allely & Simon Inder
2023
The Canterbury Regional Schools' Debating Championships for 2023 were hosted at the University of Canterbury. Well done to St Andrew’s College White who took out the final in a very high quality debate against Cashmere High School Gold.
Congratulations to the following speakers who were named onto the Canterbury Regional Team for 2023:
- Luke Wylie
- Angam Vraich
- Ethan Jackson
Thanks to Ned Brougham and Jane Esperanza for their hard work as convenors.
2018
The Canterbury Regional Schools Debating Championships were hosted at the University of Canterbury on the 3rd-4th of March. 22 teams from 11 schools battled it out in an excellent exhibition of debating skills, with motions ranging from compulsory voting to the West’s response to Donald Trump.
After five preliminary rounds, four teams broke through to the semi-finals: St Margaret’s College, Christ’s College, Cashmere High School, and Marian College. After two close semis, Cashmere defeated St Margaret’s while Marian defeated Christ’s College.
The final was a though-provoking and high-quality debate on whether a tax should be placed on companies that replace workers with robots or automated systems. After a close debate, Cashmere High School were declared winners.
Over the course of the weekend, a regional team was also selected to represent Canterbury at the New Zealand Schools Debating Championship. Congratulations to the following students who received awards:
Runners Up – Marian College
Izzy Bloxham
Louise Daley
Katie Ryan
Winners – Cashmere High School
Jess Tater
Lilly Van Keulen
Charlotte Boyle
Promising Speaker Award: Joshua Stevenson (Christ’s College)
Most Promising Speaker Award: Charlotte Boyle (Cashmere High School)
Highly Commended Awards:
Maddi Halliday (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Izzy Bloxham (Marian College)
Reserve to the Canterbury Regional Team: Aisha O’Malley (St Margaret’s College)
Members of the Canterbury Regional Team:
Milly O’Brien (St Margaret’s College)
Wills Wynn Thomas (Christ’s College)
Megan Blackwood (St Andrew’s College)
Best Style: Wills Wynn Thomas (Christ’s College)
Best Speaker: Milly O’Brien (St Margaret’s College)
2017
The Canterbury Regional Debating Championships were held on the 4th and 5th of March this year at the University of Canterbury and again showed the depth and breadth of debating talent in the region.
Eighteen teams from twelve schools from around the Canterbury region competed in four preliminary rounds held on Saturday and Sunday morning and debated the merits of compulsory Te Reo Māori in primary schools, privacy on the internet, consuming art produced by immoral artists and Western intervention in the war against ISIS.
At the end of the fourth round the four top teams advanced to the semi-finals which were held on Sunday afternoon. Christ’s College Black advanced undefeated on four wins while St Margaret’s College Green, St Andrew’s College and Cashmere High School advanced on three wins. Christchurch Boys’ High School and St Margaret’s College White also finished on three wins but missed out on the break on speaker points.
The motion debated by teams in the semi-finals was “this House believes that New Zealand should not sign free trade agreements with undemocratic states.” Christ’s College Black beat Cashmere High School while St Margaret’s College Green defeated St Andrew’s College.
The final was debated on the government actively discouraging consumerist lifestyles and in a close debate Christ’s College Black (Wills Wynn Thomas, Henry Seaton and Fawzan Sugarwala) again prevailed over runners-up St Margaret’s College (Aisha O’Malley, Milly O’Brien and Ruby Anderson).
Selectors and coaches for the Regional teams were impressed by the quality of debates and selected two teams to compete at the New Zealand Debating Championships in May. Several speaker prizes were awarded to individual debaters who excelled throughout the tournament. Prizes were generously donated by Megan Woods MP and AMI Insurance.
Also awarded is the trophy for most promising team which goes to a team who have shown great promise at their first regionals. This year the trophy went to Cashmere High School which broke in fourth place and consisted entirely of year 11 speakers.
A huge thank to Bill Dieckermann who convened the tournament, Jo Hayes MP and Megan Woods MP for coming along to support the tournament, AMI Insurance who provided prizes and funding for the regional teams and all the adjudicators, parents and teachers that made the tournament possible.
Canterbury Black
Raphael Franks (Christchurch Boys’ High School)
Milly O’Brien (St Margaret’s College)
Fawzan Sugarwala (Christ’s College)
Coaches: Tim Bain and John-Brinsley Pirie
Canterbury Red
William Wynn Thomas (Christ’s College)
Henry Seaton (Christ’s College)
Madelaine Halliday (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Coaches: Bill Dieckermann and Connor Seddon
Reserves
Meg Longley (St Andrew’s College)
Callum Stewart (St Andrew’s College)
Best Speaker of the Tournament: William Wynn Thomas (Christ’s College)
Best Style: Anaru Shadbolt (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
Most Promising Speaker: Charlotte Boyle (Cashmere High School)
Promising Speakers
Megan Blackwood (St Andrew’s College)
Meg Longley (St Andrew’s College)
Callum Stewart (St Andrew’s College)
Lily van Keulen (Cashmere High School)
Jess Tater (Cashmere High School)
Nickol Crews (St Bede’s College)
Aisha O’Malley (St Margaret’s College)
Ruby Anderson (St Margaret’s College)
2016
The Canterbury Regional Debating Championships were held on the 12th and 13th of March this year at the University of Canterbury and again showed the depth and breadth of debating talent in the region.
Fifteen teams from ten schools from around the Canterbury region competed in four preliminary rounds held on Saturday and Sunday morning and debated the merits of unpaid internships, home schooling, the media’s focus on the personal lives of politicians and giving development aid to non-democratic governments.
At the end of the fourth round the four top teams advanced to the semi-finals which were held on Sunday afternoon. Christ’s College 1 advanced undefeated on four wins while St Andrew’s College 1, St Margaret’s College 1 and Papanui High School 1 advanced on three wins.
The motion debated by teams in the semi-finals was “this house believes that the state should be liable for the injuries and deaths of homeless people.” Christ’s College 1 beat Papanui High School 1 in a split decision while St Andrew’s College 1 defeated St Margaret’s College 1.
The final was debated on whether or not Donald Trump was good for United States politics and in a close debate Christ’s College 1 (Matthew Moore, Hamish Thomas and Angus Dysart-Paul) prevailed over runners-up St Andrew’s College 1 (April Oakley, Harrison Smith and Isabella Garbutt).
Selectors and coaches for the Regional teams were impressed by the quality of debates and selected two teams to compete at the New Zealand Debating Championships in May. A number of speaker prizes were awarded to individual debaters who excelled throughout the tournament.
Canterbury Black
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Angus Dysart-Paul (Christ’s College)
Emily Wildy (St Margaret’s College)
Canterbury Red
Harrison Smith (St Andrew’s College)
Madeline Tilley (St Margaret’s College)
Chloe Goodsir (Papanui High School)
Reserves
Isabella Garbutt (St Andrew’s College)
Sophie Harrison (Papanui High School)
Best Speaker: Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Highly Commended
Zachary Withers (Burnside High School)
April Oakley (St Andrew’s College)
Amy Huang (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
The trophy for the Most Promising Team was also awarded which is awarded annually to a team that does exceptionally well that is comprised of debaters who are not in Year 13. This year the award was awarded to St Margaret’s College 3 which consisted of Aisha O’Malley, Millie O’Brien and Ruby Anderson who are all in Year 11.
2015
Canterbury Regionals were held over the weekend of the 14th and 15th of March at the University of Canterbury. CSDC worked closely with the University of Canterbury College of Arts, who assisted us with booking debating rooms and a seminar room for the final. The College of Arts was also generous enough to provide gift bags for debaters and prizes for the winning speakers. We would like to thank them for their help in making Regionals a success and extend particular thanks to Paul Millar, who was on hand throughout the weekend.
This year we only had sixteen teams in attendance, which was less than we hoped for. However, the teachers that we spoke to over the weekend attributed this to the fact that Regionals clashed with a number of other school commitments. We were assured by these teachers that we could not have done anything more to increase registrations. Despite the lower-than-usual numbers, we had a fantastic group of enthusiastic debaters and witnessed some high quality debates.
St Margaret’s College, Villa Maria College, Cashmere High School and Papanui High School broke to the semi-finals, with St Margaret’s College and Villa Maria College progressing to the finals. The final topic was “This house believes that western media outlets should republish uncensored cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed when reporting on threats or attacks against their artists.” After a close debate, Villa Maria College won in a unanimous decision from the adjudication panel.
Thank you to all of the adjudicators who gave up their weekend to volunteer, and to Hamish Saunders and Corinne Marti for flying down to represent NZSDC.
Winners (Villa Maria College):
Samantha Crews
Olivia Nally
Isabella Walsh
Runners-Up (St Margaret’s College):
Emma Clucas
Rebecca Lilley
Nat Vaughan
Most Promising Team: Papanui High School
Best Speaker: Isabelle Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Most Promising Speaker: Harrison Smith (St Andrew’s College)
Members of the Canterbury Teams:
Emma Clucas (St Margaret’s College)
Nat Vaughan (St Margaret’s College)
Sasha Cuthbert (Cashmere High School)
Samantha Crews (Villa Maria College)
Isabella Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Matthew Moore (Christ’s College)
Reserve to the Canterbury Teams: Harrison Smith (St Andrew’s College)
Highly Commended:
Rebecca Lilley (St Margaret’s College)
Annemieke Krijgsman (Marian College)
Zach Withers (Burnside High School)
2014
Canterbury Regionals were held over the 15th and 16th of March. We were hosted by Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, who provided excellent facilities. We would like to thank Nicola Allely from Rangi Ruru for her hard work in ensuring that the weekend ran smoothly.
Twenty teams attended, which was slightly fewer than last year but was still a good turnout because of the early date. It was great to see a number of teams traveling from outside of Christchurch, and also the inclusion of a new school which has not participated in recent years.
All teams performed well, and both the break and the awarding of speaker prizes was very close. Christ’s College 1, St Andrew’s College, Burnside High School 1 and Villa Maria College 1 broke to the semi-finals. Burnside 1 defeated Villa Maria 1 and Christ’s 1 defeated St. Andrew’s 1 to proceed to the final.
The final topic was “This House would allow prisoners to raise their children from behind bars.” In a 4-1 split decision, Christ’s College 1 won the debate and the Championships.
Thank you to all of the adjudicators who gave up their weekend to volunteer, and to Josh and Desley for flying down to represent NZSDC.
Winners (Christ’s College)
Vincent Curd
William Warren
William Fulton
Runners-Up (Burnside High School)
Daniel Coats
Emily Moon
Natalija Petrovic
Most Improved Team: Cashmere High School
Best Speaker: Vincent Curd (Christ’s College)
Most Promising Speaker: Isabella Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Members of the Canterbury Teams:
Vincent Curd (Christ’s College)
Daniel Maier-Gant (St Andrew’s College)
Isabella Walsh (Villa Maria College)
Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Hansuel Nam (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Natalie Vaughn (St Margaret’s College)
Reserves to the Canterbury Teams:
Chris Cooper (St Bede’s College)
Madi Hughes (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Highly Commended
Aaron Millar (Shirley Boys’ High School)
Nora Maarleveld (St Margaret’s College)
Natalija Petrovic (Burnside High School)
2013
The Canterbury Regionals took place at Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti on the 18th/19th of May. 24 teams entered, the largest number of entries since the 2011 earthquake. The standard of the tournament was very high, and the adjudicators were impressed by all speakers.
The tournament consisted of four limited preparation rounds, covering topics such as religious education in state schools, whether medical decisions about children’s health should be made by doctors instead of parents, women comprising 40% of all boards in New Zealand, and the use of force by Western nations to intervene in humanitarian crises.
Breaking to the semi-finals were St Bede’s College One, Burnside High School One, St Margaret’s College One, and Villa Maria College One. Narrowly missing out on the break were St Andrew’s College, Burnside High School Two, and St Margaret’s College Two. The motion for the semi-final was “This House believes that religious officials who are opposed to gay marriage should be required by law to perform them if requested”. In a unanimous decision, Villa Maria College One beat St Bede’s College One, and in a 2-1 split Burnside High School One beat St Margaret’s College One.
The Grand Final was held in the University of Canterbury Undercroft Seminar Room, and it was great to see a large audience there to support the teams. In a closely fought debate, Burnside High School One successfully affirmed the motion “This House believes that the welfare system should aim to provide a comfortable lifestyle, rather than a lifestyle which is just above the poverty level” and took out the title.
Thanks again go to Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti for hosting us, particularly to Braden Faave for ensuring we had everything we needed. Thanks also go to Christopher Bishop, Steven Whittington, Mitchell Cooper, Tim Bain, Tom O’Brien, Sean Maskill, Sarah Hoffman, Jonathan Nicolle, Jeremy Bell-Connell, Nick Evans, Pete Harris, Ashleigh Ooi, Jennifer Smith, Cyrus Campbell, Laura Brenssell, Thomas Jordan and Bill Dieckermann for giving up their weekend to adjudicate. Special thanks go to George Mander and Sophie Maher for being absolute troopers over the weekend, and doing all the jobs that nobody wanted to do.
All in all it was a successful weekend – thank you to all the students, teachers and adjudicators that made it happen!
Winners - Burnside High School
Daniel Coats
Wan Zhi Tay
Natalija Petrovic
Runners Up - Villa Maria College
Savannah Smith
Holly Moffett
Penny McRandle
Lion’s Club Canterbury Cup for the Most Improved Team - St Andrew’s College
Daniel Maier-Gant
Anita Suryani
Ben Hurley
Most Promising Speaker: Daniel Maier-Gant (St Andrew’s College)
Best Speaker: Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Members of the Canterbury Regional Squad
Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Daniel Maier-Gant (St Andrew’s College)
Ben Maguire (St Bede’s College)
Jess Minehan Fitzgerald (Rangi Ruru Girls’ School)
Vincent Curd (Christ’s College)
Chris Cooper (St Bede’s College)
Holly Moffett (Villa Maria College)
Savannah Smith (Villa Maria College)
Savannah Adams (St Margaret’s College)
Members of the Canterbury Regional Development Squad
Nick Wilson (Shirley Boys’ High School)
Aaron Millar (Shirley Boys’ High School)
Emily Moon (St Margaret’s College)
Meghan Laing (St Margaret’s College)
Isabella Walsh (St Margaret’s College)
2012
The 2012 Russell McVeagh Canterbury Schools’ Debating Regionals’ Champs (“Press”) were held over the weekend of the 19th and 20th May at the University of Canterbury, with 14 teams and 10 schools participating. It was the first Press competition since 2010, due to the earthquakes of 2011.
There were five preliminary rounds with the first two rounds on the motion “This House would pay teachers based on their performance”. The weekend also saw limited preparation debates on “That we should legalise performance enhancing drugs”, “That we should farm endangered species” and that “That we should use the death penalty as a punishment for the worst crimes.”
Four schools reached the semi-finals: Christ’s College, Christchurch Girls’ High School, Villa Maria College and Burnside High School.
In the semis, on the motion “This House deplores the rise of internet activism”, Christ’s defeated Christhhurch Girls’ by 3-0 and Burnside bested Villa Maria by a 2-1 margin.
The Grand Final was on the motion “This House would abolish the Maori seats”. Christ’s College, affirming, won in a narrow 3-2 decision.
Winners: Christ’s College (Press Debate Cup)
Alex Gregory
Austin O’Brien
George Mander
Runners-Up: Burnside High School (President’s Cup)
Chris Brunt
Daniel Coats
Liam Boardman
Most Promising Speaker: Ben Maguire (St Bede’s College)
Canterbury Speaking Union Trophy for Best Speaker: Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
Highly Commended:
Nasif Azam
Brittany Rea (Rangi Ruru)
Victoria Rea (Rangi Ruru)
Reserves to the Canterbury Schools’ Debating Squad:
Laura Maskill (Villa Maria College)
Gen Rogers (Christchurch Girls’ High School)
Canterbury Schools’ Debating Squad:
Sophie Crews (Villa Maria College)
Daniel Coats (Burnside High School)
George Mander (Christ’s College)
Robbie Morrison (Christchurch Boys’ High School)
Austin O’Brien (Christ’s College)
Sophie Maher (Burnside High School)
2010
The 2010 Russell McVeagh Canterbury Schools’ Debating Regionals’ Champs were held over the weekend of the 15th & 16th May at St. Andrew’s College, with 22 teams participating.
There were five preliminary rounds with the first two rounds on the motion “This House would allow citizens to sell their vote”. The weekend also saw limited preparation debates on “That Obama did not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize”, “This House would bring back the death penalty” and that “Teachers should be paid on performance”.
The semi-finals were hotly contested, with Christ’s College debating St. Margaret’s College and Papanui High School taking on Christchurch Girls’ High, both on the topic of “That we support mining our national parks”. Christ’s College and Papanui High School emerged as the victors and faced each other in the final that evening.
“This House would refuse to negotiate with terrorists” was the motion for a highly competitive final, which took place in the Canterbury Provincial Council Chambers to an audience of about 100 people. A split panel saw Christ’s College win the debate on the negative, and thus win the Press Cup for 2010.
The final was kindly attended by our patron, the Dean of University of Canterbury’s Law School, Professor Richard Scragg. We were also privileged to have members of the English Speaking Union (ESU), Canterbury debating’s sponsor, in attendance.
Overall, the weekend was a great success.
Lions Club of Blenheim Pakeke / Christchurch North Pakeke Award for Most Promising Speaker: Billy Clemens (Papanui High School)
Lions Club, Christchurch Host Cup for Most Promising School: Linwood College
Highly Commended speakers
Ashleigh Ooi
Estelle Geach
Cassandra Rea
Canterbury Regional Schools’ Development team
Victoria Rea
Robert Cooper
Billy Clemens
Canterbury Regional Schools’ Debating Squad
Sophie Boot
Zoe Higgins
Tim Robinson
Michael Jones
Perry Carter
Alex Kendall
Canterbury Speaking Union Trophy for Best Speaker: Sophie Boot
2008
‘The Press’ Canterbury Regional Debating Championships were held on Saturday 29 March and Sunday 30 March at St Bede’s College with twenty teams from eighteen schools from Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru and the West Coast competing in the tournament. This year the speech times were increased to 7-8 minutes and points of information were introduced. These new challenges were met enthusiastically by all the students and they preformed exceptionally well.
In Rounds 1 and 2 the teams debated both sides of the motion “This House believes that the return of traditional lands is better for indigenous people than economic compensation”. In Round 3, the teams were given one hour to prepare the motion “This house would remove all government funding for the arts”. In Round 4, teams debated whether the United Nations had failed.
On the Sunday morning the teams debated whether social networking sites should be restricted to over 18s after which the semi-finalists were announced. St Bede’s College, Ashburton College, Papanui High School, and Rangi Ruru Girls’ School made it through to the semi finals where they debated the motion “This House believes the War on Terror has been counter productive”. St Bede’s College defeated Rangi Ruru while Ashburton College beat Papanui High School.
The Grand Final was held at the Provincial Council Chambers to a near capacity audience. The Grand Final topic “This House would allow individuals to sell their organs”, reflected the Bioethics Council’s continued support of the Championships as the Council’s Regional Partner. In a close debate Ashburton College (affirming) defeated St Bede’s College in a 2-1 decision. The winning team comprised James Chapman, Stephanie Lovelock and Scott Summerfield.
A number of awards were given out after the tournament. Highly Commended awards were given to Tim Bain (Shirley Boys’ High School) and Mark Bradley (Timaru Boys’ High School). The Most Promising Speaker of the Championships was Callum Galbreath (Shirley Boys’ High School), with Shirley Boys’ High School being named as the Most Promising School.
The six members of ‘The Press’ Canterbury Schools’ Debating squad were also named:
- Simon Inder (St Bede’s College)
- Josh Toohey (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
- Sean Maskill (St Bede’s College)
- Patrick Carroll (St Andrew’s College)
- Jayne O’Connell (Villa Maria College)
- Scott Summerfield (Ashburton College)
Claire Martin (St Margaret’s College) was named as a reserve.
A Development squad of promising speakers was also named: Callum Galbreath (Shirley Boys’ High School), Hannah Fallow (Christchurch Girls’ High School), and Jonothan Price (St Andrew’s College).
The best speaker of the Championships was Simon Inder (St Bede’s College).
Thank you to St Bede’s for hosting the Championships, and to all of the adjudicators who gave up their time: Jeremy Johnson, Julia Whitehead, Sarah Keast, Richard Flanagan, Hamish Silverwood, Erin Jackson, Hayden Ryan, Ben Lawless, Dave Turner, Nicky Alley, Jeremy Bell-Connell, and Vincent Jagers. Special thanks also to Christopher Bishop and Stephen Whittington who came down from Wellington to adjudicate. We would also like to thank “The Press” who have been sponsoring the competition since 1969.
2007
2007
Every year since 1969 ‘The Press’ Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Debating Championships have been held, and since 1988 they have been held under the auspices of the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Council. This year 18 teams, from Timaru, Ashburton, the West Coast and Christchurch, competed in the tournament.
The prepared topic, sponsored by the Bioethics Council, was ‘This House would ban the genetic screening of human embryos for disabilities’, followed by three limited preparation rounds on boycotting Beijing 2008, whether criminal trials should be televised and ‘This House believes that those who use more should be taxed more’. A quarter-final was held for the first time in a number of years, with St Bede’s College and Ashburton College debating ‘This House would withdraw from Iraq immediately’. In the semi-finals St Bede’s College defeated Villa Maria College and St Margaret’s College beat Papanui High School on the topic ‘This House would make religious studies compulsory in New Zealand schools’.
The final was held in the Grand Hall of the Canterbury Provincial Council Chambers, with awards presented by former Canterbury debater and past President of the Canterbury Schools Debating Council Dr Megan Woods, the Christchurch 2021 candidate for Mayor of Christchurch (www.megan4mayor.com). After a high quality debate, and with a 2-1 decision, St Margaret’s College, (Claire Martin, Becky Ardagh and Becky Gates), defeated St Bede’s College, (Paul O’Connor, Simon Inder and Vincent Jagers), successfully negating ‘This House would make tertiary education free for graduates who stay in New Zealand’.
Ashburton College, (Stacey Lavender, Sarah Clement, Scott Summerfield), were awarded the cup for the Most Promising Team, and Tom Wilkinson from Papanui High School was the Most Promising Speaker. Highly Commended speakers were Sarah McRae (Villa Maria College) and Paul O’Connor (St Bede’s College). Reserves for the Canterbury team were Jeremy Bell-Connell (Christchurch Boys’ High School) Jenna Donaldson (Villa Maria College) and Justyna Giejsztowt (Papanui High School). The teams selected to represent Canterbury at the National Championships were Becky Ardagh (St Margaret’s College) Simon Inder (St Bede’s College) Vincent Jagers (St Bede’s College) Ben Land Maycock (Christ’s College) Claire Martin (St Margaret’s College) and Anton Smith (Christ’s College). The winner of the CSU Trophy for Best Speaker of the Tournament was Becky Ardagh (St Margaret’s College).
Thanks to St Margaret’s College who hosted the tournament, and to the convenor and Canterbury Schools Debating Council President Jenna Rennie. Thanks also to those who adjudicated over the weekend, in particular Rose Austen, Jason Cooper, Dave Dewar, Richard Flanagan, John Foulkes, Jeremy Johnson, Sarah Keast, Ben Lawless, Amy Shakespeare, Monica Silverwood, Hamish Silverwood and Dave Turner.
Finally thanks to ‘The Press’, the New Zealand newspaper of the year, who are the longest running sponsors of secondary schools debating in New Zealand.
2005
The Canterbury Regional Schools’ Debating Championships were held over the weekend of 21/22 May this year at Christ’s College. We had fourteen teams from twelve schools competing, including the Nelson-Marlborough Representative team selected earlier in the year. All the usual suspects were there along with teams from further afield – it was great to see schools from the West Coast and South Canterbury competing.
The competitors stepped up to the mark to argue that NZ’s future is clean and green, that graduates should be bonded, that we care too much about sport and in two great semi-finals, that America deserves to lead the world.
The grand final was a showdown between old rivals Christchurch Boy’s High School and Christ’s College – the teams had met a few years ago in the final of the Junior Press competition! Boy’s High affirmed the moot ‘That the media serves us well’ and won the debate when the negative failed to really attack.
The six speakers selected to the Canterbury Squad are: Lyndon Rogers (Christ’s College); Erin Jackson (St Margaret’s College); Glen Mackie (Boy’s High); Liam Connell (St Andrew’s College); Heather Macbeth and Rezza Baghaie (both from Burnside High). The three reserves are Jess Murchison (St Margaret’s College), Jonny Smith (St Bedes College) and Jim Chong (Boy’s High). Best Speaker of the tournament was Erin Jackson.
The competition is always a big event on the debating calendar and all who competed, coached, adjudicated and organised things over the weekend are to be congratulated! We look forward to an even bigger competition next year.