Archive 2011-12 (in reverse chronological order)

QSDA Hosts Senior and Junior National Debating Championships This past year, the QSDA hosted the Junior and Senior National Debating Championships in Montreal. This was the first time both nationals were hosted as one major event. The event was chaired by Chris George, with support from several other schools and members of the executive. Liana Palko and Jon Bracewell hosted debating at Selwyn House, Greg Louden with the support of the Vincent Massey debate team hosted debating at Dawson, and Lauren Shadley and Mary Kate Jackson hosted rounds at Trafalgar. We also had the “debates committee” of Lauren Shadley, Ed Becahrd - Torres, Caroline Wagner and Julia Wagner being involved in many aspects of the tournament. Isabelle Fahmy helped with many logistical details, especially the trip to Quebec City and the visit with the Lieutenant Governor. Thanks also go out to David Wagner, Zack Baker, Katie Rochford and Cynthia Siino for helping out with the tabs and hosting. We are also thankful for the many coaches who helped judge, and countless others for their support of this huge undertaking. There were 164 debaters in both divisions present at the Nationals. The event lasted a full four days, with out of town guests staying for five nights. There were over 50 coaches and adults who attended as well, making it perhaps the largest debate event of its kind. Quebec had 8 senior teams, and 6 junior teams present. A great time was had by all! You can find all of the results, pictures, etc. posted on the nationals website at www.nationals2012.ca.

Results from Junior Provincials The Junior Provincial Championships were held at Vincent Massey, which determined the teams to represent Quebec at the National Championships. There were 24 teams in attendance. The top team was Isaac Harris and Logan Stack. The top individual speaker was Sam Skinner from Selwyn House. Click here for the team and individual results.

Results from Senior Provincials The Senior Provincial Championships was held at Trafalgar School, which decided the top Quebec teams that will represent Quebec at the National Championships in April. The top team and provincial champions were the Vincent Massey team of Zawad Hassan and Francesca Fargnoli, who were also the top two speakers. Thanks to Mary Kate Jackson and Lauren Shadley for hosting the event! Click here for team and individual results.

Junior Public Speaking Competition Seven students participated in the Provincial Public Speaking Run-Offs at Royal West Academy on February 28, 2012. The top speakers from the tournament will attend the Junior National Public Speaking Competition that will be held in Calgary in April. The speakers competed in two events: persuasive speaking and impromptu speaking. The top speaker at the tournament was Sam Skinner from Selwyn House School. Congratulations to all competitors!

Results from Queen's Debating Tournament The annual Queen's tournament attracted a record number of about 80 teams to Kingston. Quebec sent 13 teams from five different schools including LCC, Vincent Massey, the Study and Stanstead. As always, it was an exceptionally run tournament. In the junior division, the team from the Study of Chloe Shahinian and Tamar Sifri was ranked third, and was won the right to represent Canada at the International Competition for Young Debaters. In the main break, the top ranked Quebec team was the LCC team of Megan Gagliano and Matthew Azrieli, who finished in 8th place after the preliminary rounds. They pulled an upset in the quarter-finals defeating the top ranked team, before losing in the semi-finals. Megan Gagliano was the top Quebec speaker. Click here for the individual results and preliminary round team results.

Bialik Tournament Results The third QSDA Junior tournament of the year was held at Bialik High School. A total of 24 teams participated. The top team was Jamie Borenstein-Laurie and Kaila Cencora-Mikutra from West Island College, with the team of Polina Fursa and Sara Masciotra-Milstein from Kuper finishing second. Click here for the team and individual results.

Results from Marianopolis Debating Tournament The annual "Aristotle Cup" was hosted at Marianopolis College. A total of 36 teams attended, including a number form new schools, and some from the Ottawa area. Four impromptu rounds were followed by a final. In the finals, the Vincent Massey Team of Zawad Hassan and Francesca Fragnoli defeated the LCC team of Andrew Hamilton and Victor Zhao. The top speaker was Jeremy Herman from Selwyn House. Click here for the team and individual results.

Oxford Cup Debating Tournament The 7th annual Oxford Cup Debating Tournament was held at St. Michael's College in Toronto. A total of 40 teams from 7 provinces participated in this prestigious event. There were a total of 6 rounds of debate followed by the semi-finals. The top 4 teams made it to the finals. The tournament champions were the Halifax Grammar team of Debi Ogunrinde and Oliver Bjornsson. They have won the right to represent Canada at the Oxford Schools competition, along with the Richmond Hill team of Tae-Hu Kim and Anson Kwok. The other finalist teams were Jessica Dorfmann and Liam Pederson from West Point Grey Academy, and the Upper Canada College team of Kaleem Hawa and Caleb Guthrie. Jessica Dorfmann was the top speaker. Special thanks to tournament host John Vella and his crew at St. Mike's, and also to Chief Adjudicator Steven Penner. Click here to see the team and individual result, and click here to see the motions debated.

ESU National Public Speaking Tournament Results The ESU Public Speaking tournament was held outside of Montreal for the first time, and was hosted by Branksome Hall in Toronto. A total of 27 students from six different provinces spoke on the theme "The Wisdom of Youth". The event featured a wide range of topics on interesting issues. Everyone participated in two preliminary rounds, and this was followed by the finals featuring the top five speakers who were: Joseph Worndl from De La Salle in Toronto, Aislin Flynn from Sacred Heart School of Halifax, Anisah Mahomed from Branksome Hall in Toronto, Simran Dhunna from Glenforest in Mississauga, and Tae-Hu Kim from Richmond Hill SS just north of Toronto. The final round was held after dinner, and the tournament champion was Anisah Mahomed from Branksome Hall. Anisah wins the right to be the Canadian representative at the International Public Speaking Competition next May. This is the 4th year in a year that a student from Branksome was won the tournament. SImran Dhunna and Aislin Flynn were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Quebec was represented by three students, including Dan Ton-That who was a finalist last year from Selwyn House. Special thanks to Tracy Dalglish for hosting a wonderful event, to Jim Allan for representing ESU Canada, to John Wright, ESU Canada President for his constant support, and to HSBC who are international sponsors of this event. Click here for the preliminary round results.

Kuper Tournament Results The second junior debating tournament of the year was held at Kuper Academy. A total of 24 teams participated. The top team was Lawrence Camponella and Gabriel Iacampo from Vincent Massey. The top speaker was also Lawrence Camponella. Second place speaker was Gabriel Santaguida from Loyola, and third place Jamie Denham from Selwyn House. Click here for the team and individual results.

McGill Debating Tournament Results Over 100 teams from across Canada attend the McGill Debating Tournament which was held in British Parliamentary Style. The top team was from Halifax Grammar School consisting of Debi Ogunrinde and Will Dawson. The top Quebec team was Sarah Battat and Sabrina Roy from The Study. They have qualified to represent Quebec at the Oxford Cup in November. The other Quebec teams who qualified are Stephanie Constance and Valerie Hladky ( The Study ), Liana Cusmano and Nicholas Lenart ( Vincent Massey ), Zawad Hassan and Francesca Fargnoli ( Vincent Massey ), as well as Karen Butt and Melissa Cape ( Lower Canada College ). Click here for the preliminary round team results and here for the individual standings.

Dawson Debating Tournament Results Dawson held it's annual high school tournament, which was the first senior event of the year, on October 15. A total of 24 teams competed. The top team was the LCC team of Megan Gagliano and David Marcovitch, who defeated the Vincent Massey team of Liana Cusmano and Nicholas Lenart in the finals. The top speaker was Liana Cusmano. Click here for the team and individual results.

Loyola Tournament Results The first junior tournament of the year was held at Loyola high school. Twelve schools and 22 teams participated in the event. Two prepared rounds were followed by one impromptu topic. The top team was from The Study - Chloe Shahinian and Tamar Sifri. Click here for individual and team results.

Results from World University Championships The 2011 World Championships were held in Dundee, Scotland this past week. Canada was represented by five debaters, including Sam Rappaport who has just graduated from Lower Canada College. The other members of the team were Nic Martin from St. John's-Ravenscourt, Debi Ogunrinde from Halifax Grammar, Liz Stratton from Branksome Hall and Ashley Bowron from West Point Grey Academy. Canada completed the preliminary rounds with a 7-1 record, and were ranked 7th out of 48 teams heading into the break. They defeated Pakistan in the octo-finals, but lost to Singapore, the eventual world champions, in the quarter-finals. The top Canadian individual speaker was Nic Martin in 7th place. Congratulations to everyone for their great results and immense level of preparation to prepare for worlds!! Click here to see the break round results summary, click here to see the preliminary round results, and click here to see the individual results.

Results from 2011 Junior National Championships The 2011 Junior National Championships were held in Estevan, Saskatchewan. Quebec was represented by four teams. The teams from Selwyn House were Jeremy Herman and George Perlman, as well as Eurim Choi and Jeremny Obrand. The LCC team consisted of Arianna Galbraith and Victoria Kalisky, and the Loyola team was Gabriel Santaguida and Connor Loeven. The top Quebec team was Jeremy and George at 4 wins and 2 losses, and the top Quebec speaker was Jeremy Obrand. Click here for the event summary, here to see the list of award winners, here to see the team results and here for the individual results.

Results from National Debating Championships A total of seven teams from Lower Canada College, Vincent Massey, and Kuper Academy traveled to Halifax for the annual National Championships. There was a record setting 72 teams in attendance, who debated a total of seven rounds plus break rounds. The event was hosted at Sacred Heart School of Halifax and we are grateful to tournament chair Brian Casey for running an exceptional event! After two intense days of debating, the LCC team of Sammy Rappaport and Emma-Rose Bienvenu were in a dead tie for 8th place, which meant a special run-off round to decide who would take 8th to be in the quarter-finals. Sammy and Emma won the round, before taking on, and defeating the number one seed from UCC who were undefeated. They then lost the semi-finals to the Branksome Hall team of Elizabeth Stratton and Anisah Mohamed. In the finals, the Branksome team defeated the Alberta team of Sam Kerr and Marsden Ashe. Sammy was the top speaker in 13th and Emma was 22nd. Cole Bricker from Upper Canada College was the top speaker. Congratulations to everyone. Click here for individual and team results.