Archive 2008-2009 (in reverse chronological order)

Results from Junior High Nationals Six Quebec debaters participated in the Junior High National Debating Championships on May 22-24 at Halifax Grammar School. We were represented by the team of Cynthia Siino and Megan Gagliano from Vincent Massey, the team of Sophie Berube (The Study) and Janna Shapiro (Royal West), and the team of Zachary Baker (Lower Canada College) and Katie Rochford (Trafalgar). It was an outstanding tournament, and Quebec teams did very well, with all three winning four of six rounds and all finishing in the top ten. The team of Sophie and Janna made it to the quarter-finals, where they lost a very close 2-1 decision and finished 5th overall. The top individual speaker was Sophie who finished 6th. Click here for individual and team results.

Results from Junior Provincials The Junior Provincials were held at Trafalgar School, and 22 teams attended to debate four rounds. Two teams went undefeated at 4-0, with the Vincent Massey team of Cynthia Siino and Megan Gagliano beating out the LCC team of David Wagner and Zachary Baker for the provincial title. Cynthia Siino was the top speaker, and along with Megan Gagliano, Zachary Baker, Sophie Berube (The Study), Janna Shapiro (Royal West) and Katie Rochford (Trafalgar) have qualified to represent Quebec at the Junior Nationals in Halifax later this month. Click here for individual and team results.

Nationals Results The 2009 Senior National Championships were held in Regina, Saskatchewan, with 46 teams competing. Quebec was represented by Howard Cohen and Richard Minzberg (LCC), Celina Toia and Daniel Del Balso (Vincent Massey), Jesse Carmichael and Ariel Shapiro (Royal West), along the two teams from The Study; Jessica Magonet and Kiara Kaminski, as well as Sophie Berube and Madison McLeod. The top Quebec speaker was Jessica Magonet, and the Royal West team was the highest ranked Quebec team. Click here for individual and team results.

Dawson Tournament Results A total of 22 teams competed in the annual Dawson high school tournament. There were two impromptu rounds plus two squirrelling rounds, followed by the finals. The topic for the finals was that "Parents should be required to get a license to have children". The government team of David Wagner and Scott Ostrin from LCC was defeated by the hybrid LCC / Selwyn team consisting of Michael Zimmerman and Howard Cohen. Michael Zimmerman was the top speaker. Click here for individual and team results.

Results from Provincial Championships A total of 22 teams competed in the 2009 Quebec Provincial Championships. There were 2 prepared rounds on the topic of commidifying water, and two impromptu topics. The 2009 Champions are the Royal West team of Ariel Shapiro and Jesse Carmichael. They went undefeated at 4-0, narrowly beating the LCC team of Sammy Rappaport and Sam Gurman. The top 6 teams have qualified to go to Nationals in Regina at the end of April. The top speaker at the tournament was Helen White of Stanstead College.

York University Tournament Results York University in Toronto hosted its largest ever tournament with 72 teams in attendance. Quebec was represented by Lower Canada College and Vincent Massey with 10 teams in total. The VMC team of Cynthia Siino and Megan Gagliano made it to the novice finals, were they finished second to a team from Richmond Hill. Two LCC teams made it to semi-finals. The team of Richard Minzberg and Trevor Rajchgot lost a very close 3-2 decision in semis, while the team of Howard Cohen and Sammy Rappaport were defeated in the Championship round. The top Quebec debater was Howard who finished 2nd, while Cynthia was the top novice at the tournament.

Willis S. McLeese Award Every year the QSDA, in conjunction with the Canadian Student Debating Federation, awards the Willis S. McLeese Award for "outstanding service to student debate in Quebec." This year's winner is Antonia Zannis from The Study. She has been involved with debate for many years. Originally she was teacher, as well as debate and public speaking coach, at Villa Maria. She also helped organize a very successful 1995 CSDF National Seminar, and served on the QSDA executive for several years around this time. For the last seven years she has helped coach a successful debating programme at The Study. On behalf of the QSDA, congratulations and thank you for your contributions.

Queen's High School Tournament Results Almost 60 teams from across Canada competed at the prestigious high school tournament. Quebec was represented by LCC, The Study and Queen of Angels. The first place team was Howard Cohen (LCC) who team up with Scott Stirett from Halifax Grammar. They won an impressive 8 out of 9 rounds of debate to capture the title. The Study team of Jessica Magonet and Kiara Kaminski finished in 12th place. The top Quebec speaker was Jessica Magonet in 8th place.

ESU National Public Speaking Tournament Lower Canada College hosted the annual HSBC National Public Speaking Competition on behalf of the English Speaking Union of Canada. There was a solid representation of top public speakers from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. Each speaker delivered a speech on the theme "New Horizons, New Frontiers". The top five speakers advanced to the championship round. After some outstanding speeches, the top speaker went to Zeenia Framzore from Branksome Hall in Toronto. Second place went to Lia D'Abate from Marianopolis College. Both will, assuming the accept, attend the International Public Speaking Competition in London, England in May. Third place went to Julia Deutsch, also from Marionopolis. The other finalists were Nick Di Giorgio from Lower Canada College and Daniel Knight from Selwyn House. The awards were presented by John Wright, ESU Canada President. Congratulations to everyone for an outstanding performance.

Westwood Tournament Results The first senior tournament of 2009 took place at Westwood High School on snowy day. Twenty teams competed in this three round tournament. In a very close final round, the Selwyn team of Michael Zimmermann and Daniel Knight defeated the team from Vincent Massey consisting of Celina Toia and Daniel del Balso. Click here for individual and team results.

Bialik Tournament Results The first junior tournament of the year was held at Bialik High School. Almost 50 debaters competed in 3 rounds of debate. The first place team was Olivia Kostin-Cohen and Natalie Vineberg from St. George's. The 2nd place was from Royal West consisting of Janna Shapiro and Chris Laett-Babcock, while the third place team was Cyntia Siino and Megan Gagliano from Vincent Massey. There was a three way tie for first on the individual tab, and using the tie-breaking criteria of strength in the prepared rounds, first place individually went to Lara Antebi from Trafalgar. Click here for individual and team results.

Loyola Public Speaking Tournament Results On Monday, December 1, the annual QSDA Qualifier for the National Public Speaking Championships was held ay Loyola. The results were: 1st- Grace Lauzon, John Rennie; 2nd- Lindsay Richardson, Lake of Two Mountains H.S.; 3rd - Vandana Rawal- Centennial Regional H.S.

Marianopolis Tournament Results A record 32 teams competed in the annual Marianopolis high school tournament. The team from St. George's consisting of Arik Parnass and Alex Chalk defeated the team of Sarah Battat and Sophie Berube (The Study) in the final round. Sophie Berube was the tournament's top speaker. The semi-finalists were Howard Cohen and Michael Zimmerman (LCC - Selywn) as well the team from The Study of Alysha Hales and Kate Mikula. Click here for team and individual results.

McGill High School Tournament Almost 90 teams competed in the 49th annual McGill High School tournament. The top team was Sacred Heart ( Halifax ) with Deirdre Casey and Allison Ghosn defeating the team of Tim Abdulla and Tommy Prendivilly from SJR. The top speaker was Andrew Morrison from Sacred Heart Boys School in Halifax. Click here for team and individual results.

First Tournament Results The first QSDA event of the 2008-09 season was held at John Rennie. We debated three separate impromptu topics. The top team was the LCC team of Howard Cohen and Sam Gurman. The top four teams qualified for the North American Championships and also included the Royal West team of Ariel Shapiro and Jesse Carmichael, the LCC team of RIchard Minzberg and Sammy Rappaport, and the Stanstead team of Helen White and Colin Delabruere. It is unknown if all four teams will attend, and since the tournament has ended the Vincent Massey team of Celina Toia and Daniel Del Balso have been invited as well. We will update the actual teams who confirm their attendance at a later date. The top individual speaker was Helen White. Click here for team and individual results.

Reminder about deadline to apply for Worlds Qualifier and National Seminar For all of those wishing to be considered for the CSDF Worlds Qualifier and the CSDF National Seminar, this is a reminder that the deadline to apply is Friday, September 19. Click here to download the file that was sent to all schools in June. These tournaments take place in November, and more detailed information about dates and invitations are available on the calendar page.