GROUPS Debating
2020 was a momentous year for debating at College. It started with many boys at both junior and senior levels returning to debating, and some new faces as well, a great sign. Several junior and senior teams were entered into the Canterbury Schools’ Debating Council competition for weekly Thursday night debating. Each team began and ended their debates with a single mantra in mind: each boy at his zest . We formulated our 2020 strategy around the three key VIA character strengths of zest, creativity, and love of learning. We wanted our debaters to embody College virtues in every debate, with an emphasis on zestiness to create a point of difference. We see this as a key factor in our success this year.
College entered two teams in the senior Canterbury regional tournament early in the year: an “alpha team” of Jamie Yee, John-Paul Lay and Angad Vraich, and a “beta team” of Callum Hackston, George Gearry, Daniel Qi and Claude Tellick. This tournament was a great success, with the alpha team bouncing back from a weak performance the previous year to take second place against the champion premier St Margaret's College team. Jamie Yee and Callum Hackston displayed their prowess by earning positions in the Canterbury representative team to compete at nationals, while John-Paul Lay and Angad Vraich were commended speakers in the tournament.
Representing Canterbury at the online schools’ debating national tournament gave Jamie and Callum huge opportunities for growth and learning, which filtered through to the rest of the club. This knowledge and skill synergised the debating club at all levels, largely through the innovative Friday development sessions introduced this year. Ordinary English classrooms became thriving scenes of important conversations, where students frequently and intelligently answered generational questions such as “How far is too far?”, “How does it feel?”, “Has PC gone mad?”, and more. Among the serious competition debates of the year were a couple of exhibition debates, enjoyed by all.
143
Register 2020 Culture
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs