This year the junior teams went on to prove that their coaches were better than the coaches of any other school, especially Columba.

Despite the somewhat smaller turnout at this year’s Dunedin Schools Debating Junior Tournament, the competition was still as fierce as ever before. Following some very interesting and thought provoking rounds, such as whether or not parents should vaccinate their children and do superheroes have the right to conceal their identity, two Logan Park teams (Logan Park 1 and 2) along with two teams from Columba, were left to battle it out in the semi-finals.

After a gruelling debate on raising taxes for the wealthy, Logan Park 1 (consisting of Ben Clayton, Clair Caird and Oscar McGuire), were left to face Columba in the final.

The final was a tight debate, with Logan Park 1 narrowly managing to defeat their rivals, convincing the panel of adjudicators that we shouldn't mine our national parks in a 3–2 decision. It should also be noted that two Logan Park speakers were placed in the top 5 speakers throughout the whole competition. Oscar McGuire was placed fifth and Ben Clayton third.

A huge thank you must be said to Connor Seddon, Helen Prime, Meran Campbell-Hood and of course to Ms Robins for your fantastic guidance.

Debating at Logan Park is an incredible opportunity, and we debaters would highly recommend it to anybody, regardless of prior knowledge and skill.