Debate – Live and Love it

February 3, 2023

Academics

GNS

Live and Love it. After two years of debate being online, the GNS Debaters have been excited for events to be back in person. Although with events this year still being a hybrid of online and live, the debaters have proven that they can excel at either. Debate is unique as students are not only expected to have a broad range of understanding but they had to be prepared for both the prepped and impromptu skills they displayed at regionals on January 28.

GNS organised and ran the regional event, while Brentwood hosted the space. With the help of Ms. Forth and some wonderful parent volunteers, we took seven teams to participate in the event where they competed against six other schools and completed four rounds of competitive debate. Students grappled with topics such as ‘regretting security alliances’, ‘universal childcare in Canada’, and ‘that we should prioritize rehabilitation vs retribution in criminal justice’. While many shy away from these topics our debaters embraced the 20-minute prep time and competed. A unique aspect of debate at GNS is that we have students taking part from Grades 6 to 12. Our teams did fantastically at regionals, with amazing results in both our Junior and Senior categories. We had three teams in the Junior category. All of them worked diligently before the event booking extra practice sessions and prepping a variety of topics. For some students, this was their first live event after being online. The results speak to the work these students did. The team of Ayden ’26 and Averi Kuo ’28 placed third overall, while Finn Adamson ’27 and his partner placed first overall as a team and Finn came first as an individual.

In the Senior category, there were equally impressive results. One of the most challenging elements of this event is that students do not know the topics or side of impromptu rounds beforehand. This requires them to think on their feet and use information from their personal readings and meetings to find connections to potential topics. Impressively all the Senior debaters ranked in the top 20 individually and excelled in their teams. The team of Ryan MacPherson ’25 and Jacob Tam ’25 came second overall, Luca Finn Storan ’26 and Owen Krigolson ’25 came fourth overall, while the team of Owen Twamley ’23 and Clair Emmerton came sixth. Individually Ryan came second overall and Owen T came third.

Beyond being competitive, debate at GNS is an inclusive activity. While only some teams choose to travel to tournaments, everyone is welcome to join. It can be a fantastic support for students who want to engage more with the world around them and work on their speaking skills. We are the only school on the island that allows students from Grades 6 to 12 to participate, while not having a debate as an offerable course. This is truly unique given our National and International ranking.

What’s next? Now five of our teams will have the opportunity to take on provincials in March. We are excited to hear from Vancouver to confirm dates and locations but have no doubt that the debaters will continue to excel.