GPS Debating

Round 4 vs The King’s School

Not only is it a long journey to The King’s School, but it’s a long way home, especially if you’re carrying the weight of a loss. Unfortunately, that was the story for several Shore debaters after a tough round negating debates on Media, Culture and Entertainment against Kings. Normally the jewel in the crown of Shore Debating, the Years 7 and 8 teams, who had recorded strong results against Sydney Grammar School, were swept by Kings, six debates to nil. Topics this round were less model focused and required the creation of a strong, principled argument. The Year 7 teams argued, “That parents should seek to significantly limit their child’s personal screen time” while the Year 8s tackled the difficult classic, “That social media has done more harm than good.” These debates will serve as a midseason wake-up call for some of Shore’s strongest performing teams.

There were better results among the Years 9 and 10 teams. The Year 9s debated the same topic as the Year 8s and, while the 9As went down to a strong opposition, the 9Bs managed to come away with a win, even from the harder side of the topic. An even better night for Year 10 saw both the 10As and 10Bs securing wins on the topic “That we regret the norm of children’s stories ending in ‘Happily Ever After.’” Such topics, especially “we regret” topics, are not common in the GPS competition and both teams did a good job at tackling it effectively. The 10As were eager for revenge against Kings after several prior defeats. At first, Max Kim presented strong rebuttal and emphasised the overwhelming benefit ‘Happily ever after’ stories bring in establishing simplistic moral guides as well as engaging children with entertaining and rewarding stories. At second, Daniel Kang provided excellent rebuttal of the Kings and extended his teams lead by highlighting the inability of children to understand and continue consuming stories in the counterfactual. Finally, Ramon Zhang excellently summarised the Shore case and reminded the judge of key flaws in the Kings’ case. The team was assisted by Michael Kwak who strategically observed the debate and provided insightful commentary in both preparation and the debate. An excellent effort and case were rewarded with an equally convincing victory.

The Opens faced another tough week, losing all debates on the topic “That we regret the rise of online investment platforms which allow everyday people to involve themselves in financial markets.” As revealed by our adjudicator, the topic was actually from the Australasian competition and thus demanded all the teams dig deep. Both the Seconds and Thirds debated well, with the Thirds falling just short of victory. In our debate, Will Defina utilised his strong knowledge of financial platforms to add depth to the case and sophistication to his rebuttal and our case. At second, Tim Barrett challenged the oppositions characterisation that it was low socioeconomic status, single parents who were buying shares and attempted to present our characterisation. At third, Tom Marshall did his best to tie up loose ends and bring us home, but it was too late. The adjudicator highlighted both sides’ lack of engagement with the other’s stakeholder characterisation, but deemed Kings closer to the mark, awarding them the win. Despite four losses, there’s one bright light that continues to shine from the Firsts team, with Tom Marshall selected to trial for the combined GPS teams. In every competition since Year 7, Tom has debated in the top team, mastering the art of third speaker and saving many debates from the brink of disaster. This latest achievement confirms his status as the incumbent debating GOAT, and I wish him the best of luck in beating the Grammar kids and making the highest team possible.

After two weeks away, the debaters return home to debate international issues against Scots. After a disappointing round for some, I urge all the debaters to keep their heads up and to keep pushing for more wins as we head into the final rounds of the GPS season.

Mesake Taulawakeiaho
Captain of Debating

Top Image Credit: L to R – Patrick Fischl, Thomas Hilmer, Euan Milne, Finn Herald