Results - Southland

The Mee & Henry Law Southland Schools’ Debating Championships were held at James Hargest College on 14 March 2024 with 25 teams from eight schools participating. It was a very high quality competition and we would like to extend a warm thank you to every school for
attending, the teachers who came and supported the students, and to all of the adjudicators who judged at the tournament.

Thanks as well to Hon Penny Simmonds MP for coming and saying a few words to the Southland debaters at the opening ceremony. Penny spoke of the value of public speaking and critical thinking skills for the students’ future careers. It was inspiring for the students to hear about the value of the skills that they were practising at the tournament.

We also extend our immense thanks to Mee & Henry Law for sponsoring the competition and the regional team. Their support enabled us to run such a successful tournament and grow the tournament from last year, and it was so lovely to have Mee & Henry Law Director Liz Henry join us on the day.

Finally, thank you to Lara Seaton and Alice McIntosh for their hard work as convenors.

After three rounds of preliminary debates and semi-finals, the two teams progressing to the finals were James Hargest College and Wakatipu High School. Following an entertaining final debate, James Hargest College were announced as the winners of the Mee & Henry Law Southland Regional Schools’ Debating Championships.

Left to right: the two teams speaking in the final; the Hon Penny Simmonds speaking to the participants; and the Mee & Henry Law Southland Regional Schools' Debating Team for 2024.