ISDA Debating Report Round 6 vs St Catherine’s
M. D. Kwak
LAST FRIDAY, SHORE WAS HOME against St Catherine’s tackling debates on International Relations and dominated in five out of six debates (the scandalous, maybe even, bamboozling loss of the Senior Bs will be expounded upon in due course…). This now puts EVERY SINGLE SHORE TEAM in good standing for outrounds as teams seek to maximise the number of wins to secure a top seeding.
Our Primary teams affirmed ‘That parents should be responsible for their children’s crimes’, winning in the As and losing in the Bs. Congrats to Zac for his thematic rebuttal which successfully framed Shore for victory.
Our Year 7 L.N.D teams both won on the negative side of ‘That we should allow tourism in Antarctica.’ Shoutout to Lucas for his excellent analysis and rebuttal at third.
Our Year 8 L.N.D team negated ‘That the government should pay ransoms for citizens taken hostage overseas’, and with only two speakers in a somewhat curly motion, the team robustly proved the harm to the country and swept up their opponents.
S.D.C this week also saw three wins and three losses as teams continue to develop their skills and have fun over Zoom debating.
Year 7 S.D.C hard at work. Great job on the dub
Will their streak ever end!??!! Year 7 ISDA claimed their sixth straight victory, affirming ‘That developed countries should pay developing countries to preserve their rainforests’. The team, comprising Aaron, Ryan, Nicholas, and Patrick, presented a strong case with a clear model and ensuing impacts, while capitalising on their opponent’s lack of clarity and weighing. I’m extremely proud of these boys for their monster of a performance to launch their high school debating careers. The future of Shore debating looks bright indeed…
Year 7 ISDA nail the lighting for their picturesque shot yet again. More importantly, is Ryan flexing his calisthenics on us??
Year 8 ISDA affirmed the same debate and came away with an excellent win, claiming both major clashes and continuing their run to the out-rounds. Shoutout to Ed for displaying true Shore spirit and staying back after his debate to chair the Senior As – your support was greatly appreciated by our team.
Bro, the finger guns again – cringe… but at least it’s synchronised.
Year 9 ISDA also won, affirming ‘That Australia should prioritise relationships with countries from the Asia-Pacific region.’ In what was a tricky topic, the team presented diverse arguments that were well-executed but would benefit from more clarity and use of examples. Congrats to Lucas Zhou for being debater of the week!
Our Year 10s and Senior teams all affirmed the somewhat peculiar topic ‘That the international community should take control of essential shipping channels and sea lanes, like the Suez and Panama Canals.’ 🙄🥴 Wow…ISDA could have asked us to debate the fascinating workings of the C.C.P or explore complex policies to mitigate Mexican drug cartels. But no, shipping channels it is, yippeeee. Shoutout to ISDA for ruining my week of I.R. with a topic they’ve seemingly dug up from the archives (a paraphrase from Mr Lee).
Will Nicholas is starting to become a regular feature in my debating reports, no doubt a reflection of his stellar writing ability that his younger brother tried and failed to replicate last year in his tyrannous reign as captain. My sources tell me that Jimmy still reads these weekly reports as he reminisces about Shore – a pastime he has been condemned to as a result of living in Canberra (and peaking in high school).
“Coming out of the prep room, Year 10 had their fingers crossed for a weak opposition – never a good sign – affirming “that the international community should control essential shipping lanes and canals.” They got their wish, but the debate that ensued felt rather empty. The theatre of war was a barren, foggy landscape populated by blurred figures of pirates, terrorists and the ever-present “low S.E.S.” The stakeholders were dull, causal forces rather than complex things with souls and desires. Each speaker spoke well but short of their best, with Kevin ‘Let Me Cook’ Ma giving the speech of the night. St Catherine’s inexperience left 2nd and 3rd with little more to do than reinforce our main pushes. Although a better team might have hooked onto the several holes in Shore’s case, the adjudicator made quick work of the decision and awarded the debate to us. A win’s a win, but it did feel as though we had plundered rather than earned the booty.
Thanks Will, for an excellent write-up of the debate – this war motif is really becoming something that ought to be by future generations. Shore English Department, take notes.
This selfie angle is unnecessarily tough. Yukai is peak mogger 🔥🔥
Affirming the same motion as Year 10, the Senior Bs suffered the same tragic fate as the As last week and walked with a crushing loss. The team was sorely missing Gus Leslie, who was too rizzy for his own good and had shockingly forsaken debating to attend a formal.
However, the team was greatly rejuvenated by the expertise of self-professed ‘Houthis’ expert Rrrrramon Zhang who commanded the prep room with an iron fist and, according to Ms Wolsely, “was the only speaker who had any idea what he was talking about but was unfortunately too late to change the debate at third.” Following the debate, Ma’am also pulled out the classic “no-one should have won the debate” and in her report stated: “It became pretty clear that neither team, nor the adjudicator really understood how the U.N. functioned.” Unlucky for the Senior Bs, but I’m confident they’ll clutch up in Round 7.
But onto some better news: your Senior As are back – and they absolutely crushed it in their debate last Friday, with their W securing their place as one of the top seeds going into octos. The team began their case with debater of the week, D-Liu, who gave a cracking first-speaker speech and struck fear into the opposition’s hearts before they even got a chance to speak. Max, my pookie, followed up Shore’s ruthless campaign with a composed string of rebuttal that dismantled St Catherine’s weak attempts to analogise our proposed organisation to the “useless U.N.” At third, there wasn’t much left for me to do besides some rebuttal on state sovereignty and bringing back our arguments on common state interests.
Next week, Shore is away against Kincoppal. Good luck to all boys but more importantly – gain a deeper insight into our world, sharpen your skills, and have fun with your mates as you debate.
Senior As hard at work (while the adjudicator is deliberating)