Hero photograph
(From left): Peter Gedye, Ella Mitchell, Travis Dunningham, Arcadia Wardley, Grace Baylis
 
Photo by Debating

Bay of Plenty Debating Takes on the Capital

Ella Mitchell —

From the 28-31 May, twelve of New Zealand’s top debating teams competed at the NZIER New Zealand Schools Debating Championships in Wellington. Representatives from ten regions battled it out at the lectern in hopes of making it to the grand final.

The Bay of Plenty team, made up of three speakers and two reserves from four different Bay of Plenty secondary schools, was one of the twelve teams competing for the title of top New Zealand debating team. Speaking first was Arcadia Wardley from Bethlehem College, second was Travis Dunningham from John Paul College, third was Ella Mitchell from Tauranga Girls’ College and the two reserves were Peter Gedye and Christina McCormack from Tauranga Boys’ College and Bethlehem College respectively. After going through a selection process at regionals in March, the team was selected and underwent extensive training to prepare for nationals. The team was incredibly privileged to be coached by Harper Smith and Grace Baylis from Auckland University, who were representatives of the 2019 New Zealand Debating Team.

Once in Wellington, competitors faced seven rounds of debates, held at Victoria University. Being in such close proximity to the Beehive had all of the teams feeling incredibly diplomatic and ready to take on the competition. Discussing a range of topics from education to the Olympics to the influence of the Girl Boss movement on feminism, the teams were certainly kept on their toes.

The Grand Final was held in the Legislative Council Chamber at Parliament and saw Wellington Black take on Hawkes Bay in a motion about reducing the party vote threshold to get a seat in Parliament from 5% to 1%. Wellington took out the win in a six-one split decision.

Ella Mitchell and Sophie Crozier receiving their award — Image by: Debating

Winning three out of seven rounds, the Bay of Plenty team placed seventh overall. Ella Mitchell was also awarded the Rosemary Dixon Cup for Most Promising New Zealand Speaker alongside Sophie Crozier from Onslow College, Wellington. Next year, the Bay of Plenty team hopes to make it to the semi-finals, which would be a first in BOP Debating history.