Debating Report
AAGPS Round 7 vs Newington College
Last Friday, Shore hosted Newington in the final round of GPS debating. Loaded up on sugar and excitement from American Tea, Shore affirmed topics on Australian politics, however, we suffered heavy losses across all age groups.
The Year 7 teams argued, “That police should not carry guns.” The 7A and 7B teams both managed victories while the 7C team fell valiantly. The 9A team secured the sole win across the Year 8 and Year 9 divisions, successfully proving, “That Australia should have a Bill of Rights.” After a near-perfect run in the ISDA for Years 7 and 9 and strong LND performances, the Junior Debaters have continued their strong form in the GPS season and can only get better from here! The Shore 10As enjoyed the only win in their age group, extending their remarkable success to finish with a 6-1 record. Strong analysis of both the environmental and political burdens in the preparation room meant they were able to construct a strong case and pre-empt Newington’s line of attack before the debate had even begun.
Shore started strongly with Max Kim characterising environmental policy outcomes as the most important consideration and providing five excellent mechanisms as to why this policy change would be politically popular. At second, Michael Kwak stressed the mechanisms and gave excellent strategical analysis of the burdens Newington needed to prove. Daniel Kang finished off with strong rebuttal and a questionable tangent about how miners hated their jobs (perhaps erring on the side of new substantive). Nevertheless, the result was a clear win for Shore. Although they finished 2nd in the GPS, behind Grammar’s perfect 7-0 record, the 10As enjoyed a highly successful season and will be a force to be reckoned with in coming years.
The Opens gave it their all, but were unsuccessful. The Seconds should be commended for their strong effort this season, which, if they had not lost, would have left them equal first in their competition, the perfect record of the Firsts and Thirds is perhaps a more impressive feat. After a mixed ISDA season, which saw us lose four, before rebounding with three wins a row, we were determined for a strong showing in the GPS competition. However, it was not to be, with seven losses from seven debates recorded for us and the Thirds.
In the Firsts, the promise of a crowd motivated an intense preparation room which unpacked mechanisms on both environmental policy and political ramifications. After being tunnelled into the Playfair, Will Defina opened our case in front of the biggest crowd seen at a debate for many years, unpacking why more ambitious policy would benefit the environment and the Labor Party. At second, I unpacked the geopolitical and economic ramifications and attempted to contain the Newington case before Tom Marshall masterfully summarised our own arguments and rebutted theirs.
Although we were left feeling slightly robbed, the crowd quickly buoyed out spirits. Being presented with the wooden spoon in front of a cheering crowd was the perfect end to a great six years of Debating at Shore. I am so proud of what the Debaters have achieved this season and I am honoured to have been the Debating Captain for 2022.
Mesake Taulawakeiaho
Captain of Debating
Top Image Credit: The 1sts Tom Marshall, Mesake Taulawakeiaho, Tim Barrett and Will Defina celebrate their 7-debate streak