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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
On 24 September the grand final of the Ford debating competition was
held at the ANU. The topic of the debate was 'that Australia should boycott
the 2008 Beijing Olympics.' The panel of seven adjudicators unanimously
awarded the debate to CGS1: Miles Greenberg Year 10, Joshua Robertson-Elliott
Year 8, and Tom Morrison Year 8. Thanks to the parents and the Year 11s who have
coached and supported this team all year, and Anthony Tridgell, Yudhish
Shakespeare, Anthony Lieu and Nakul Legha in particular. Thanks also to
Mr Ball and Mr Nockels who attended the grand final on Monday night to
support the boys.
Also on Monday night the ACT Debating Union
awarded prizes for the best speakers in their competitions.
Congratulations to Joshua Robertson-Elliott who received the best
speaker award for the Ford competition, and Robert Selth Year 11 who received
the best speaker for the senior Douse competition.
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Thursday, 30 August 2007 |
Canberra Grammar is currently finishing the main competitions of the debating calendar strongly with teams reaching far into the finals ladder. In the Ford Trophy we had two teams in the finals with CGS3 of Peter Clynes, David Cribb, Thomas Hobson, Abi Prakash and Vincent Tran reaching the Octofinals before failing to enforce a ban on gangster rap, and going down to a stronger Karabar outfit. With stronger fortunes CGS1 of Josh Robertson-Elliott, Miles Greenberg and Tom Morrison continue in the competition and last week came out victors over a competitive Radford in the semi-finals by a 2-1 Adjudicator split ruling. They will carry the Grammar standard into their second consecutive Grand Final on September 24 where they will defend the Trophy they won in 2006 against a team from Girl's Grammar.
In the Murray trophy CGS1 of Derek Bayley, Max Cooper, Andreas Sherborne, Nic Cassella, and Peter Young fought strongly into the Semi-final after defeating Alfred Deakin High School and Merici. Unfortunately Last Tuesday they lost to a stronger Lyneham team in a secret topic debate but should nevertheless be congratulated for moving so far in the competition and being counted amongst the top four teams.
In the Douse trophy Grammar was the dominant school at the beginning of the final series, with all teams scoring a spot in the elimination rounds. CGS1 of Brad Carron-Arthur, Josh Crowther, Richard Dear and Boyd Whalan, was knocked out after losing to a team from Narrabundah in the Octofinals.
Meanwhile CGS2 of Solaimon Fahiz, Marwan Jamiel, Alex McConachie and Hari Sekhar; CGS3 of Anthony Lieu, Yudhish Shakespeare, Robert Selth and Anthony Tridgell; and CGS4 of John Archinal, Bill Clear, Daniel Loudon and Patrick McCawley; progressed into the quarterfinals however failed to hold momentum and were all eliminated while arguing both in favour of, and against the disbanding of the World Trade Organisation.
On 11 August the trials for the ACT representative debating team to travel to the national competition in Sydney in 2008 were held with Grammar sending a large number of potentials to try out. All participants should be congratulated on a strong performance and are encouraged to return for trials when they come about next year. Robert Selth and Anthony Tridgell were selected for their second and third year respectively and we wish them luck in next year’s competition.
Over the next few weeks we will witness the beginning of the Junior and Senior Crime Prevention Debating competitions within the ACT. And closer to home, the beginning of the annual Timpson Trophy for House Debating with the first round to be held on 28 August. Garran currently holds the cup.
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Debating Report - 28 May 2007 |
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Monday, 04 June 2007 |
Last Friday saw the Kitchen and Tyrell debating evening. These debates are held annually between CGS and the Girls' school. Representing CGS in the Tyrell debate were Hayden Lee, Alex Tridgell, Meraz Mostafa and Zac Neulinger. The topic for the debate was 'that media controls the world', and the Year 9 boys won the debate. Later in the evening for the Kitchen debate, Brad Carron-Arthur, Joshua Crowther, Boyd Whalan and Alex McConachie argued the negative of the topic 'that education begins after school'. Special mention to Brad Carron-Arthur who based his speech on the alphabet song, and even had the audience sing along at one point. The adjudicators found their argument persuasive and awarded them the debate. This is the second year in a row that CGS has won both debates. Prior to this, it was 1995 that we held both trophies.
On behalf of the speakers, thank you to the students and staff who attended the debates on Friday night. Thank you also to the boys who assisted with the running of the evening, especially Marwan Jamiel as chairperson, Kanish Oberoi as timekeeper, and the year 11 boys who managed the serving of food and drinks.
Meanwhile two students from Canberra Grammar School, Anthony Tridgell and Robert Selth, travelled to Melbourne to represent the ACT in the National Schools Debating Championships. The ACT finished fifth, narrowly missing out on the semi-finals. Both boys were instrumental in the team’s success.
Public Speaking
Alvin Chan of Year 10 recently entered the Plain English Speaking Competition. His speech on the differences between schooling in Hong Kong and Australia earned him a place in the ACT finals, to be held at the British High Commission next month.
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Friday, 25 May 2007 |
As the first major competition of the debating season begins to draw to a close CGS is pleased to report that a good number of teams are in contention for spots in the finals of all three age divisions.
Ford Trophy. After a strong showing last Monday night from all teams CGS won all of their debates on the hotly contested whaling topic. All teams should be congratulated for their efforts and should feel confident moving into the final round with three teams seeking out spots in the final. Special mention to Miles Greenberg, Tom Morrison and Joshua Robertson-Elliott as their team is currently undefeated.
Murray Trophy. Congratulations to CGS1, comprising Derek Bayley, Max Cooper, Andreas Sherborne and Peter Young as their team has won all of their debates. Last Tuesday night saw mixed results, with some teams experiencing their first secret-topic debate.
Douse Trophy. CGS presents four teams in this competition, and all teams are near the top of the competition ladder. Congratulations to Daniel Loudon, Bill Clear, John Archinal and Patrick McCawley. Some members of this team are new to debating this year, yet their team is one of only two undefeated teams in the competition.
National Debating Championships. This week the National Debating Championships are being held in Melbourne. Representing the ACT are Anthony Tridgell and Robbie Selth. Early indications are good as they won both of their debates yesterday.
Kitchen / Tyrrel Debates. This Friday night at 7:30 in the Tim Murray Theatre the annual Kitchen and Tyrrel debates against the Girls’ school will be held. The best debaters in Years 9 and 12 from CGS and CGGS will face off in a battle of wits and humour. We are defending both trophies this year, and the boys involved would appreciate your support.
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