Pippa Sussex, Lovinia Pluck & Ciara McLellan by Gaye Bloomfield

Nayland first-rate at impromptu debate

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Nayland College’s active and talented debating scene has done it again with it’s participation (and subsequent achievements) in the NZ Schools Debating Impromptu Cup. Seven students competed in this fun, fast-paced online competition. Student Journalist Finn Kerby-Pinguet reports.

The Nayland College Debating Club, coached by Ms. Bloomfield, is well accustomed to the standard form of debating in NZ, with involves three speakers per team and a generous amount of time to prepare their six-minute speeches. However, the NayCol team has again shown versatility and skill with seven of it’s members entering in the Kahurangi/Marlborough Impromptu Cup. The Cup is a series of whirlwind debates between teams of two, featuring a very limited preparation time. It was planned for Nayland to host the event in person, but for evident Covid related reasons the shift was made to Zoom.

On the 19th of September the students involved from Nayland met up at school, with teammates debating from the same room, but connecting to their opponents through Zoom. Unlike the standard format of debating used by NayCol, competitors were not permitted to interrupt their opponent's speech in the form of a question. This kept everything interesting and gave many speakers a different perspective on how to structure their arguments.

While debating over zoom presented it’s challenges, it was a refreshing experience, and gave Nayland students the chance to receive feedback from national level adjudicators. Another benefit was that some schools out of the area didn’t have to travel, and that the Kahurangi/Malborough could be joined by some North Island teams. The students involved were: Pippa Sussex, Lovinia Pluck, Stella Bloomfield, Thora Moffat, Finn Kerby-Pinguet, Ciara McLellan and Emmogen Brown. Another challenge faced by participants were the several teams from different regions, resulting in some competitors having to use Zoom breakout spaces to prepare their argument with a teammate they hadn’t worked with before.

Given that Nayland intended to host the tournament, the College had donated two cups. The cups donated were for Best Senior Speaker and Best Junior Speaker, and were named after Nayland’s most successful (to date) debater: Dr. Kimberley Savill. Incidentally, both cups were won by Nayland students.

The competition’s adjudicators awarded Best Senior Speaker(s) to Pippa Sussex and Lovinia Pluck, as well as Best Junior Speaker to Ciara Mclellan. The Nayland Year 11 team of Pippa and Lovinia represented us in the final against Hawkes Bay, and ended up second in the tournament.

The successful and fun event comes off the back of Nayland’s victories at the Regionals in term one, as well as two of our debaters competing at the Nationals tournament. While the style of debating (and the event itself) may have been a bit hectic for all involved, the competition was not only an achievement for Nayland, but a fun learning experience for all involved.