The Otago Regional Schools’ Debating Championships were held at the University of Otago’s Hunter Centre on the 9 and 10 March 2-24, with 17 teams attending. It was a very high-quality competition. We’d like to extend a warm thanks to every school for attending and to all of the adjudicators whose judging made the tournament possible. We would like to thank the Hon Rachel Brooking for coming to say a few words to the Otago debaters. Her answers to student questions about politics (and parliamentary procedure) were enlightening!
We would also like to thank RPB Law for providing financial support to the tournament. Finally, thank you to Annabel Rhodes and Samuel Blackwood for their hard work as convenors.
After 6 rounds of preliminary debates and semifinals, the two teams progressing to the finals were King’s High School 1 and Columba College 1. Following a topical final debate, Columba College were announced as the winners of the 2024 Otago Regional Schools’ Debating Championships.
Winners: Columba College 1
Jessica Mundy
Clara Ballantyne
Emily Roy
Runners-Up: King’s High School 1
Samuel Mitchell
Ted Menzies
Benjamin Paton
Highly Commended Speakers
Bianca Van der Haegen (Logan Park High School), Rohan O’Shea (Otago Boys’ High School), Ted Menzies (King’s High School), and Tessa Smith (Columba College)
Best Speaker: Clara Ballantyne (Columba College)
Most Promising Speaker: Phoebe Ashdown (Otago Girls’ High School)
Best Style: Joanne Brock-Smith (Taieri College)
Otago Team 2024
Samuel Mitchell (King’s High School)
Clara Ballantyne (Columba College)
Che McGivern (Trinity Catholic College)
Reserves: Emily Roy (Columba College) and Joanne Brock-Smith (Taieri College)
Previous Regional Teams
Teams from Otago / Southland have competed in the New Zealand Schools’ Debating Championships since 1988, although Southland has been its own region since 2022. Team members are listed below.
2024
Samuel Mitchell (King’s High School)
Clara Ballantyne (Columba College)
Che McGivern (Trinity Catholic College)
Coaches: Julia Randerson and Tony Huang2023
Alexander Sun (Logan Park High School)
Clara Ballantyne (Columba College)
Jordan Hannon (Logan Park High School)
Coaches: Julia Randerson and Tony Huang2022
Cam Fraser (Bayfield High School)
Lily Knox (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Sophie Bowmar (Columba College)
Coaches: Colby Allen and Seth Whittington2021
Robert Donohoe (Bayfield High School)
Sophie Bowmar (Columba College)
Caleb Oakley (John McGlashan College)
Coaches: Joe Garry and Georgie Lomax-Sawyers2020
Isobel Fraser (Columba College)
Abby Bowmar (Columba College)
Penelope Hare (Columba College)
Coaches: Connor Seddon and Georgie Lomax-Sawyers
2019
Abby Bowmar (Columba College)
Colby Allan (Otago Boys’ High School)
Isobel Fraser (Columba College)
Coaches: Connor Seddon and Georgie Lomax-Sawyers2018
Lydia Joseph (Columba College)
Sabrina Swerdloff (Otago Girls’ High School)
Bridget Scott (Columba College)
Coaches: Joe Ascroft and Emily Williams2017
Lydia Joseph (Columba College)
Paddy Hantler (John McGlashan College)
Sabrina Swerdloff (Otago Girls’ High School)
Coaches: Joe Ascroft and Emily Williams2016
Selena Ballantyne (Columba College)
Joe Garry (John McGlashan)
Grant McNaughton (Logan Park High School)
Coaches: Joe Ascroft and Emily Williams
2015
Emily Williams (Columba College)
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Selena Ballantyne (Columba College)
Coaches: John Brinsley-Pirie and Patrick Dawson2011
James Tocher (Bayfield High School)
Joe Ascroft (John McGlashan College)
Patrick Dawson (Logan Park High School)
Coach: Paul Hunt
2010
Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School) [Best Speaker, Captain]
Ava Atkinson-Barclay (Columba College)
James Tocher (Bayfield High School)
Coach: Nick Gavey2009
Alice Waterman (Columba College)
Alice Marsh (Columba College)
Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School)
Coach: William Chisholm2008
Alec Dawson (Logan Park High School)
Kim Hannah (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School)
Coach: Nicholas Gavey2007
Emma Hutton (Columba College)
Hana Nyhof (Otago Girls’ High School)
Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School)
Coach: William Chisholm2006
Sashika Samaranayaka (Otago Girls’ High School)
Kate Lawson-Bradshaw (Otago Girls’ High School)
Shaun Musuka (Bayfield High School)
Coaches: Laura Fraser & Jesse Wall2005
Rachel Laing (Columba College)
Kate Lawson-Bradshaw (Otago Girls’ High School)
Shaun Musuka (Bayfield High School)
Coaches: Renee Heal & Victoria Olds2004
Polly Higbee (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Emma Peart (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Blair Hughson (Bayfield High School)
Coaches: Holly Walker & Kate Wevers2003
Polly Higbee (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Emma Peart (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Blair Hughson (Bayfield High School)
Coaches: Holly Walker & Kate Wevers
2002
Victoria Olds (Bayfield High School)
Alissa McKeagg (Southland Girls’ High School)
Laura Fraser (James Hargest High School)
Coaches: Rosy Perry & Max Johns2001
Renee Heal (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Helen Lindsay (James Hargest High School)
Ben Naylor (Dunstan High School)
Coach: Rachel Carrell2000
Renee Heal (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Steven Sutton (James Hargest High School)
Helen Lindsay (James Hargest High School)
Coach: Rachel Carrell1999
Jarrod Clyne (Otago Boys’ High School)
Kiri Griffin (Columba College)
Helen Lindsay (James Hargest High School)
Coach: Andrea Pannell1997
Emma Bennett (Columba College)
Rachel Carrell (Southland Girls’ High School)
Alan Clark (Otago Boys’ High School)
Coaches: Liz Hall, Andrea Pannell, Greg Gimblett1996
Nicholas Gillies (Waitaki Boys’ College)
Chris Curran (Kavanagh College)
Virginia Marshall (Columba College)
Coach: Liz Hall1993
Tara Thurlow (Otago Girls’ High School)
Nicola Mutch (Otago Girls’ High School)
Andrea Pannell (James Hargest High School)
Coach: Elizabeth Hall1992
Sacha Barber (Southland Girls’ High School)
Virginia Fenton (Kavanagh College)
Nicole Joseph (Queen’s High School)
Coach: Jenny Cooper1991
Claudia Farry (Kavanagh College)
Josephine Johnston (Queen’s High School)
Simon Anderson (Otago Boys’ High School)
Coach: James Palmer1990
Renee Garner (Queen’s College)
Elana Geddis (Otago Girls’ High School)
Katherine (Otago Girls’ High School)
Coach: James Palmer1988
Brenda Thom (Moreau College)
Leonie McCombie (Moreau College)
Pauline Lerooy (Moreau College)
2023
The Otago Regional Schools' Debating Championships for 2023 were hosted in the University of Otago’s Hunter Centre. Well done to Logan Park High School who took out the final in a very high quality debate against Otago Girls’ High School.
Congratulations to the following speakers who were named onto the Otago Regional Team for 2023:
- Alexander Sun (Logan Park High School)
- Clara Ballantyne (Columba College)
- Jordan Hannon (Logan Park High School)
- Reserves: Jomana Moharram (Otago Girls’ High School) and Sophie Davis (Columba College)
Thanks to Cam Fraser and Samuel Blackwood for their hard work as convenors.
2021
Otago-Southland Regionals 2021 saw 24 teams from 12 schools compete across 6 in-rounds. The competition was won by Otago Boys High School (Luke Geddes, Michael Crosson, and Boudewijn Keenan) in a 4-1 decision against Bayfield High School (Matthew Gray, Robert Donohoe, and Rayner Tee), affirming the motion “THW not require professionals to provide services in instances where they object on religious grounds”.
Congratulations to Robert Donohoe (Bayfield High School) for being named the Best-Speaker of the competition, Michael Crosson (Otago Boys High School) for being awarded Best Style, and Matthew Gray (Bayfield High School) for being Most Promising speaker.
The following students were also selection for the Otago-Southland regional team:
- Robert Donohoe (Bayfield High School)
- Sophie Bowmar (Columba College)
- Caleb Oakley (John McGlashan College)
- Reserves: Jody Syme (Columba College) and Luke Geddes (Otago Boys High School)
Congratulations also to the following students, who were selected for development squads:
- Development squad – Matthew Gray (Bayfield High School), Zara Geddes (St Hildas Collegiate School), Zoe McElrea (Columba College), Matthew Bolter (Otago Boys High School), Loji Moharram (Otago Girls High School), Sophie Davis (Columba College), Cam Fraser (Kings High School), Lily Knox (St Hildas Collegiate School), and Jordan Hannan (Otago Boys High School).
- Gold squad – Jody Syme (Columba College), Luke Geddes (Otago Boys High School), Michael Crosson (Otago Boys High School), Angela Fu (Columba College), Boudewijn Keenan (Otago Boys High School), Rayner Tee (Bayfield High School), Archie Dunn (John McGlashan College), and Helena Fitzgerald (St Hildas Collegiate School).
- Southland development squad – Ashley Phillips (James Hargest College), Dylan Lee (Southland Boys High School), Ruby Anderson (Central Southland College), Nicole Lina (James Hargest College), Heather Warren (Southland Girls High School), Ben Elder (James Hargest College), Charlotte White (Central Southland College), Meadow Bodkin-Ellen (Southland Girls High School), Ruby Bath (James Hargest College), Kaylee Anderson (Central Southland College), Alice McIntosh (James Hargest College), Benjamin Stiengier (Southland Boys High School), Hunter Jennings (Southland Boys High School), and Mia Hollingworth (Verdon College).
Thanks to Selena Ballantyne and Ollie Meikle for all their hard work convening Otago-Southland Regionals 2021! Huge thanks also to Anna Roberts for running the tab and our team of judges!
2020
The Otago-Southland Regional Championships were held at the University of Otago on 29th of February and 1st of March 2020.
22 teams participated in 6 preliminary rounds, with Columba College and James Hargest College reaching the Grand Final where they debated the motion “This house believes New Zealand should allow immigrants based on a random ballot rather than on skills”. Congratulations to Columba College who won the final and are the Champions for Otago-Southland for 2020.
Winners: Columba College
Abby Bowmar
Jody Syme
Isobel Fraser
Runner Up: James Hargest College
Samaria Aruru Hill
Liam Barnes
Donald McIntosh
Highly Commended
Maita Mackenzie
Donald McIntosh
Rosa Latton
Liam Connolly
Jody Syme
Regional Team
Isobel Fraser (Columba)
Abby Bowmar (Columba)
Penelope Hare (Columba)
Reserves to the Regional Team
Samuel Blackwood
Liam Barnes
Dev Squad Junior
Sophie Bowmar
Hetty Finney-Waters
Ben Hawke
Angela Fu
Charlotte Werner
Michael Crossen
Dev Squad Senior
Samuel Blackwood
Maita Mackenzie
Lara Seaton
Jody Syme
Rosa Latton
Liam Connolly
Ben Monaghan
Robert Donohoe
Liam Barnes
Most Promising: Sophie Bowmar
Best Style: Penelope Hare
Best Speaker: Isobel Frase
2015
The 2015 Russell McVeagh Otago-Southland Regional Debating Championships were held on the 6th and 7th of March at the University of Otago College of Education. 24 teams from 17 different schools competed, which is the most schools ever to attend an Otago-Southland Regionals.
The following motions were debated across the preliminary rounds; “This house would legalise voluntary euthanasia”; “This house would tie parents’ welfare payments to their children’s educational outcomes”; “This house believes that New Zealand should not have joined the military effort to fight the Islamic State”; “This house believes that gay rights organisations should publicly ‘out’ gay celebrities”; and “This house would abolish the 90-day trial period in employment agreements”.
Breaking to the semi-finals were Columba College 1, Logan Park High School 1, Logan Park High School 2 and Bayfield High School 1. The semi-finalists debated the moot, “This house believes that political parties should allow their members to elect the party leader, instead of MPs from their party.” Columba College 1 successfully affirmed against Bayfield High School 1 in a unanimous 3-0 decision. Logan Park High School 1 successfully affirmed against Logan Park High School 2 in a unanimous 3-0 decision.
The Grand Final was on the topic, “This house believes that western media outlets should republish uncensored cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed when reporting on threats or attacks against their artists.” Logan Park High School 1 successfully affirmed against Columba College 1 in a 4-1 split decision.
Thank you very much to all the students, parents, and teachers involved, as well as the 20 adjudicators who gave up their time to make the competition a success. Special thanks goes to Rotary Dunedin for proudly sponsoring the competition for the third year in a row.
Congratulations to all the students who received prizes this year.
OUDS Cup (Winners) – Logan Park High School 1
Jacobi Kohu-Morris
Grant McNaughton
Meran Campbell-Hood
Runners Up – Columba College 1
Shanti Girande
Selena Ballantyne
Emily Williams
Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker: Emily Williams (Columba College)
Otago-Southland Regional Team
Emily Williams (Columba College)
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Selena Ballantyne (Columba College)
Reserves
Beth Clearwater (Bayfield High School)
Meran Campbell-Hood (Logan Park High School)
Highly Commended Speakers
Kelly Stitely (Otago Girls High School)
Louis Jennings (John McGlashan College)
Oscar McGuire (Logan Park High School)
Most Promising Speaker Cup: Grant McNaughton (Logan Park High School)
Development Squad
Ben Clayton (Logan Park High School)
Beth Clearwater (Bayfield High School)
Grant McNaughton (Logan Park High School)
Kelly Stitely (Otago Girls High School)
Louis Jennings (John McGlashan College
Oscar McGuire (Logan Park High School)
Shanti Girande (Columba College)
2014
The 2014 Otago-Southland Regional Debating Championships were held on the 14th and 15th of March at the University of Otago College of Education. 18 teams from 11 different schools competed. For the first time all the preliminary rounds were limited-prep, ending the tradition of beginning the tournament by debating both sides of a prepared topic. This year also saw the addition of a fifth preliminary round.
The following motions were debated across the preliminary rounds; “This house supports government employees such as teachers, the police and doctors, having the right to strike,” “This house believes that graduates from New Zealand universities should be required to work in New Zealand for a number of years after graduating,” “This house believes that environmentalist organisations are justified in breaking the law,” “This house would, as a school student, delete its social network accounts,” and “This house believes compulsory religious education should be taught in all state schools.”
Breaking to the semi-finals were Logan Park High School 1, John McGlashan College 1, James Hargest High School 1 and Columba College 1. The semi-finalists debated the moot, “This house would require that women comprise at least 45% of the seats in Parliament.” Logan Park High School 1 successfully negated against Columba College 1, winning in a 4-1 split decision. James Hargest High School 1 successfully negated against John McGlashan College 1 in a unanimous 5-0 decision.
The Grand Final was on the topic, “This house would grant amnesty to oppressive dictators in return for them stepping down.” James Hargest High School 1 successfully affirmed against Logan Park High School 1 in a close 4-3 split decision.
Thank you very much to all the students, parents, and teachers involved, as well as the 16 adjudicators who gave up their time to make the competition a success. Special thanks goes to Rotary Dunedin for proudly sponsoring the competition for the second year in a row.
Congratulations to all the students who received prizes this year.
Otago University Debating Society Cup (Winners) – James Hargest High School 1
Hannah Brown
Claire Boniface
Matilda Phillips
Runners Up – Logan Park High School 1
Jacobi Kohu-Morris
Connor Seddon
Helen Prime
Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker: Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Otago-Southland Regional Team
Amy Wright (St. Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Connor Seddon (Logan Park High School)
Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Reserves
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Yang Li (Otago Boys’ High School)
Highly Commended Speakers
Matilda Phillips (James Hargest High School)
Holly Barclay (Columba College)
Emily Williams (Columba College)
Most Promising Speaker Cup – Louis Jennings (John McGlashan College)
Development Squad
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Emily Williams (Columba College)
Louis Jennings (John McGlashan College)
Claire Boniface (James Hargest High School)
Joe MacKay (John McGlashan College)
2013
The 2013 Otago-Southland Regional Debating Championships were held on the 17th and 18th of May at Columba College. 22 teams from 15 different schools competed.
On the Friday afternoon teams debates both sides of the prepared 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.”
On Saturday morning teams debated in two limited-prep rounds, on the topics; “This house believes that important medical decisions about children’s health should be made by doctors and not by their parents,” and “This house would require that women comprise at least 40% of the boards of all large New Zealand companies.”
Breaking to the semi-finals were Columba College 1, Bayfield High School 1, Logan Park High School and John McGlashan College. Narrowly missing out on breaking, but also on three wins, were St. Hilda’s Collegiate, Otago Boys’ High School, Columba College 2 and Bayfield High School 2. The semi-finalists debated the moot, “This house believes that religious officials who are opposed to gay marriage should be required by law to perform them if requested.” John McGlashan College successfully negated against Columba College 1 in a 3-2 split decision. Bayfield High School 1 successfully negated against Logan Park High School in a unanimous 7-0 decision.
The Grand Final was closely fought, and of a very high quality, reflecting what was generally considered to be one of the best Otago-Southland tournaments of the past five years. In the end, Bayfield High School 1 successfully affirmed against John McGlashan College in a 5-2 split decision on the moot, “This house believes New Zealand should not accept skilled migrants from developing countries.”
Thank you very much to all the students, parents, and teachers involved, as well as the 23 adjudicators who gave up their time to make the competition a success. Special thanks goes to Columba College for hosting the competition, and Rotary Dunedin and NCEA Eagle for proudly sponsoring the competition.
Congratulations to all the students who received prizes this year.
OUDS Cup (Winners) – Bayfield High School 1
Jessica Todd
Simon Williams
Maura Turner
Runners Up – John McGlashan College
Hamish Darling
Callum van-Dyk
Nick Robertson
Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker – Simon Williams (Bayfield High School)
Otago-Southland Regional Team
Courtney Cunningham (Columba College)
Simon Williams (Bayfield High School)
Connor Seddon (Logan Park High School)
Reserves
Ellen Gipp (Columba College)
Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Highly Commended Speakers
Jessica Todd (Bayfield High School)
Maura Turner (Bayfield High School)
Yang Li (Otago Boys’ High School)
Most Promising Speaker Cup – Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Development Squad
Jacobi Kohu-Morris (Logan Park High School)
Nick Robertson (John McGlashan College)
Amy Wright (St. Hilda’s Collegiate)
Sophie Ray (Columba College)
2012
The 2012 Russell McVeagh Otago-Southland Regional Schools Debating Championships were held on May 4/5 at Otago Boys’ High School. 25 teams from 14 schools competed. This was a strong increase on the 14 teams from 10 schools in 2011.
On the Friday afternoon, teams debated both sides of the prepared motion “This house would ban home schooling”. On Saturday morning teams debated in two limited preparation rounds, “This house would legalise marijuana” and “This house believes that beauty pageants are bad for society”.
After four rounds, John McGlashan College 1 and St Hilda’s Collegiate 2 broke first equal (equal win points) on four wins. Breaking in third equal (equal win points) from a pool of six teams on three wins were Bayfield High School 1 and Bayfield High School 2. The semi-final motion “This house would pay teachers on their performance” was won by John McGlashan 1 and St Hilda’s 2 (beating Bayfield 2 and 1 respectively). John McGlashan 1 won the final on the topic “This house would prevent prisoners from raising their babies behind bars”
Otago University Debating Society Cup (Winners): John McGlashan College 1 (Hamish Darling, Jack Miles, Joe Ascroft)
Runner’s Up: St Hilda’s Collegiate 2 (Alicia Skeaf, Amy Wright, Isabella Shields)
Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker: Joe Ascroft (John McGlashan)
Most Promising Speaker Cup: Charlie Ruffman (Logan Park)
Otago-Southland Regional Schools Debating Team:
Joe Ascroft (John McGlashan)
Amy Wright (St Hilda’s)
Larissa Hinds (Bayfield)
Otago-Southland Regional Schools Debating Squad (three selected to compete at National Champs):
Kasun Kumarasinghe (Otago Boys’)
Charlie Ruffman (Logan Park)
Simon Williams (Bayfield)
Sophie Worner (James Hargest)
Hayley Botha (James Hargest)
Joe Ascroft (John McGlashan)
Amy Wright (St Hilda’s)
Larissa Hinds (Bayfield)
2011
The 2011 Otago/Southland Regional Debating Championships were held on the 25th 26th of March at Logan Park High School. 14 teams from 10 different schools competed.
On the Friday afternoon teams debated both sides of the prepared motion: “That the environmental movement should use violence to advance their agenda.” Returning for an early start on Saturday morning teams took part in two limited preparation rounds. First , “That we should abolish all forms of affirmative action” and then “That we support the use of the death penalty as the harshest criminal punishment”.
After four rounds Logan Park was on four wins and Bayfied, Columba, John McGlashan and Otago Boys were on 3 wins. Otago Boys narrowly missed out on the semi-finals due to having the lowest number of win points (a measure of strength of draw).
In the semi-finals the teams debated “That we should abolish the Maori Seats”. Progressing to the final were Logan Park High School and last years’ winners Bayfield High. The teams debated “That we should refuse to negotiate with terrorists”. Ultimately Logan Park won the debate and the Otago University Debating Society Cup with a four-one split panel.
Over the course of the weekend the adjudicators had a difficult task of awarding a number of prizes. The winners of the various awards were:
The Otago University Debating Society Cup for the winners: Logan Park High School (Patrick Dawson, Rowena Rushton-Green and Allyn Robins)
The Runners’ Up: Bayfield High School (Emily Robertson, Jake Duval-Smith and James Tocher)
The Most Promising Speaker Cup: Kasun Kumarasinghe (Otago Boys High School)
Highly Commended: Emily Robertson (Bayfield) and Rowena Rushton-Green (Logan Park)
2nd Reserve to the Otago/Southland Regional Team: Allyn Robins (Logan Park)
1st Reserve to the Otago/Southland Regional Team: Penelope Couper (Columba)
The Otago/Southland Regional Team: Patrick Dawson (Logan Park), James Tocher (Bayfield) and Joe Ascroft (John McGlashan)
The Rachel Carrell Cup for Best Speaker: James Tocher (Bayfield)
2009
On the 30th and 31st of May fourteen teams from twelve schools braved some of the worst weather the South Island has seen in years to compete in the two day competition held at Otago Boys’ High School.
Rounds one and two were on the prepared topic that “teachers should be paid on the basis of their performance”, then on the Saturday afternoon teams debated whether or not “voting should be made compulsory”. On a slightly drier Sunday morning teams took part in the last round: “That this House would impose harsher penalties on celebrities than ordinary citizens”.
With a clean break the four teams that made the semi-finals were: Logan Park High School on four wins and Columba College, Bayfield High School and Otago Boys’ High School on three wins each. In the semi-finals the teams debated that “every state has the right to nuclear weapons”.
Progressing to the final were defending champions Otago Boys’ High School and Bayfield High School, who debated that “we should allow individuals to sell their organs”. Ultimately Bayfield High School took out the debate, winning the Otago University Debating Society Cup, with a unanimous panel of adjudicators.
This year we had two new cups donated by Mr Quentin Barry, a debating stalwart, from Otago Boys’ High School, one for best speaker and one for most promising speaker (see above). The winners of prizes at the tournament were:
Winners: Bayfield High School (Jake Duval-Smith, Emily-Kate Robertson, James Tocher)
Runners-Up: Otago Boys’ High School (Chanuka de Silva, Kasan, Edward Haslam)
Otago / Southland Regional Team 2010:
James Tocher (Bayfield High School)
Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School)
Ava Atkinson-Brown (Columba College)
Rachel Carrell Cup for the Best Speaker: Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School
Highly Commended
Emily-Kate Robertson (Bayfield High School)
Amy Kennerley (Mount Aspiring College)
Most Promising Speaker: Alyyn Robins (Logan Park High School)
Reserves to the Otago / Southland Regional Team
Allyn Robins (Logan Park High School)
Emily-Kate Robertson (Bayfield High School)
2009
Over the weekend of 16/17 May the Otago Regional Schools’ Debating Champs were held at Columba College in Dunedin. Fourteen teams took part.
Rounds one and two were on a prepared topic: That we support the Government’s changes to NZ Aid. Saturday was rounded out with a limited preparation debate on the topic, “That cigarettes should be banned”.
Round four, the final preliminary round, saw the teams on a wintry and wet Sunday morning debating the motion “That learning a second language should be compulsory in NZ schools”. After four rounds there were five teams in contention for the semi-finals. Unfortunately Bayfield College missed out, with Otago Boys’ High School, Mt Aspiring, St Kevin’s College and Columba College advancing.
In the semi-finals, on the motion “That denial of global warming should be a crime”, Otago Boys’ beat Mt Aspiring and Columba defeated St Kevin’s.
The Grand Final was on the motion “That vaccinations should be compulsory” and was an interesting and close debate. Ultimately a 3-2 split decision saw Otago Boys’ lift the Otago University Debating Society Cup for the first time ever.
A series of awards were given out after the Grand Final.
Winners: Otago Boys’ High School (Sehan de Silva, Kurt Purdon, Borom Blaikie)
Runners-Up: Columba College (Ava Atkinson-Brown, Alice Waterman, Alice Marsh)
Highly Commended
Harry Fellows (James Hargest)
Crystal Diong (Otago Girls’ High School)
Otago Regional Development Squad
Kieran Bunn (Logan Park High School)
James Tocher (Bayfield College)
Anna (Mount Aspiring College)
Amy Kennerley (Mount Aspiring College)
Reserve to the Otago Regional Schools’ Debating Team Kim Hannah (St Hilda’s Collegiate School)
Otago Regional Schools’ Debating Team 2009
Alice Marsh (Columba College)
Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School)
Alice Waterman (Columba College)
2008
The 2008 Otago/Southland Championships were held on Saturday 8 March at Logan Park High School. 16 teams made their way through four rounds and a semi-final before St. Hilda’s Collegiate 1 emerged victorious over Otago Boys High School 1.
In the first two rounds the teams debated both sides of the prepared motion ‘This House would ban the sale of spray paint to minors’. The students came up with very creative arguments about the merits (or otherwise) of tagging, and some fine debating talent was put on display. The following two rounds were limited preparation debates, and the teams had only half an hour to create cases on the motions ‘This House would raise the school leaving age to 18’ and “This house supports the execution of war criminals.’
After a break which was decided on win-points four teams emerged on top to proceed to the semi-finals. Waitaki Boys High School was unlucky to miss out after tying with three other teams on three wins.
The semifinal motion was ‘This House would make dairy farmers pay a pollution tax.’ James Hargest College were narrowly edged out by St. Hilda’s College 1 in a split decision, and John McGlashan College were defeated by Otago Boys High School 1. In the final St. Hilda’s College were successful in negating the motion ‘This house would abolish government subsidy of IVF.’
The tournament also saw the selection of the Otago/Southland Regional Debating Team to represent the region at Nationals later this year. Kim Hannah (St Hilda’s College) and Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School) managed to repeat their feats of 2007 and gain reselection to the team. Alec Dawson (Logan Park High School) was selected for the first time. Ben Winter (James Hargest College) was named as reserve. Extra congratulations are due to Kurt Purdon, who was also named best speaker of the entire tournament.
A very big thank-you to Logan Park High School for hosting the tournament, as well as to the coaches of the teams and the adjudicators.
2007
The 2007 Otago/Southland Championships were held on Saturday 5 May at Otago Girls’ High School. 16 teams made their way through four rounds, a semi-final before James Hargest College won the final against Colomba College.
The first two rounds were devoted to consideration of bioethical issues at teams debated both sides of the moot ‘This House would allow parents to design their babies’. The students handled the complex issues involved in the topic well, as they did the issues raised in the two limited preparation topics, the first ‘That this House would withdraw from Iraq immediately’, the second ‘This House would ban fast-food advertising’. After close semi-finals on the topic ‘This House would cut personal income tax’ James Hargest College and Colomba College faced each other in the final on ‘That consumers should refuse to buy anything produced in a sweatshop’, with James Hargest emerging as Otago/Southland Champions.
The tournament also saw the awarding of a number of speaker prizes. Jenny Lander (St Hilda’s College), Karishma Zabour (James Hargest College), and Ben Winter (James Hargest College), received promising speaker awards. Susan Smirk (Otago Girls’ High School) and Emma Brand (James Hargest College) were Highly Commended. The Otago-Southland Schools Debating Squad was also named, comprising Emma Hutton (Colomba College), Hana Nylof (Otago Girls’ High School), Kim Hannah (St Hilda’s College), Kurt Purdon (Otago Boys’ High School). Emma Hutton of Colomba College was named speaker of the tournament.
A very big thank-you to Otago Girls’ High School for hosting the tournament, as well as to the coaches of the teams and the adjudicators.
2005
Due to many other commitments and a nasty dose of the flu, the 2005 Otago-Southland Regional Schools’ Debating Championship was a small affair this year, with only 10 schools competing at the tournament, which was held on Saturday 28th May.
The tournament was held at St Hilda’s Collegiate School, who were last year’s winners. Throughout the day teams debated both sides of the prepared topic, “That it should be compulsory to vote in New Zealand General Elections”, and two impromptu motions regarding NCEA and the drinking age.
Although the tournament was small there was of a high standard of debating and the break to the semi-finals was very exciting. The semi saw Otago Girls’ High School, James Hargest, Bayfield and Columba College debate, “That Schapelle Corby should serve her time in Australia”, and produced two extremely high quality debates on a very controversial and recent topic. In the final, Columba beat James Hargest, affirming “That the New Zealand cricket team should not tour Zimbabwe.”
At the conclusion of the day, the speakers chosen for the Otago-Southland team were: Rachel Laing (Captain) from Columba College, Kate Lawson-Bradshaw from Otago Girls’ High School, and Shaun Musuka from Bayfield. The reserves and development squad are: Martha Hackshaw (Columba), Sashika Samaranayaka (OGHS) and Helen Mather (James Hargest.) Shaun Musuka was named as the Most Promising Speaker, and the best speaker of the day was Kate Lawson-Bradshaw.
Special thanks must go to all of the adjudicators who gave up their Saturday to attend the tournament, and especially to those schools who travelled from out of Dunedin to compete. It is difficult to run a tournament across such a large geographical region, and the dedication of students and teachers who travel for several hours to attend the tournament is commendable.