GNS Claims Victory at Debate Regionals

On Saturday, January 25, the GNS Pemberton Woods Campus was bustling with energy and students from schools from all over the island including from Selkirk Montessori and Brentwood College. These students were here for the annual Vancouver Island Regional Debate Tournament. 

The day started off in lower Gudewill, with judges huddling in the learning commons with cookies and crackers, and debaters across the hall in the dining hall. While the junior debaters socialized with their peers, the senior debaters took it more seriously, practicing last minute rounds and finalizing their speeches. 

After Ms. Easton, the coordinator of the tournament and who is also our GNS Debate Coach (along with a multitude of other roles), delivered the debater’s briefing at 9:30 a.m., the chaos of the day began: debaters in a constant high-stress frenzy, as well as judges and timekeepers running back and forth delivering tabs—and also in an attempt to decode the Gudewill and Simpson hallways. 

Owen Krigolson ’25, who has been debating since Grade 6 and who has attended provincials every year since Grade 7, shared his thoughts on the day. “Jacob Tam ’25, my partner, and I worked hard at incorporating structure into our speeches. As in previous years, whilst we had good ideas, we lacked structure to our speeches. Seeing the effect of that was very rewarding.” 

Owen and Jacob tied for 2nd in the tournament and qualified for a spot to provincials. The team they tied with was, in fact, another GNS team: Finn Adamson ’27 and Noah MacAulay ’26. 

Finn and Noah also shared their thoughts about the tournament. 

“I think that for Noah and me, our greatest success was the degree to which we were able to work with one another and complement each other’s strengths,” said Finn, “ensuring that we were able to establish the foundation of trust was essential for achieving our goals within the round.” 

“The tournament was a fantastic experience,” said Noah, “and I’m so grateful for Ms. Easton’s contributions to both the tournament and the school, as well as the GNS debate team who placed very well this year!” 

Even though Brentwood College sent more than 13 teams and took nearly all spots to provincials, GNS still managed to come out on top: 

Middle School Success:
Our Middle School division had five teams competing and achieved remarkable results:

• Andre Nielson & Thomas Dong: 7th place as a team and second alternates for Provincials.
• Ainsley Pagett & Sydney Batemen: 3rd place overall and advancing to Provincials.
• Eryn Gage & Kamilah Kanji: 2024/2025 Regional Champions, finishing in 1st place!
  • Individually, Kamilah placed 3rd, and Eryn is the Junior Champion, placing 1st overall.

Senior Division Achievements:
Our Senior teams also had a phenomenal day, with five teams competing and three qualifying for Provincials:

• Jacob Tam & Owen Kirgolson: Tied for 2nd place as a team.
• Noah MacAulay & Finn Adamson: Also tied for 2nd place as a team.
• Luca Finn Storan & Ryan MacPherson: 2024/2025 Senior Regional Champions, finishing in 1st place!
  • Individually, Jacob placed 7th, Noah 6th, Finn 4th, Owen 3rd, Luca 2nd, and Ryan is the Senior Regional Champion.

“As a coach,” shared Ms. Easton, “I am proud of a lot of things, but beyond the results, I am proud that folks took risks. We had a number of newer teams and they did an amazing job. The leadership all the GNS folks displayed through showing people around campus and engaging with each other to cheer up or cheer on their team was exemplary.” 

Ms. Easton also shared why she thinks debate is an important skill to have: “In the world that we are living in now I think it is important for us to voice our views with passion and conviction. I also think it is our responsibility to use our voice, particularly in a time when so many folks don’t have the opportunity to.” 

Her sentiment was echoed by the debaters as well. Noah said, “For me, debate is a critical skill that can be applied to almost every aspect of life. Being able to express yourself clearly and convincingly will help you in every field imaginable.” 

It is also important to recognize that the tournament would not have happened as successfully as it did without the help of the judges and volunteers who donated their time and gave up their Saturday to help. We often don’t thank them enough but we could not run this tournament without them.