Archive 2012-2013 (in reverse chronological order)

Junior National Debating Championships Quebec sent six teams to the junior national debating championships in Vancouver. We were represented by a team from ECS ( Athina Khalid and Maria Zimmermann ), a team from Royal West ( Isaac Harris and Logan Stack ), a team from Kuper ( Anthony Koch and Sara Masciotra-Milstein), a team from Loyola ( Connor Loeven and Gabriel Santaguida )and two teams from Lower Canada College ( Arianna Galbraith and Victoria Kalisky, along with RIley Cohen and Foster Salpeter ). It was a wonderful tournament, and all participants got to spend a day at Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We would like to thank Tracey Lee and the rest of the organizing committee for running an excellent event. The top Quebec team was Isaac Harris and Logan Stack, and the top Quebec speaker was Anthony Koch. Click here for team and individual results.

Senior National Debating Championships Quebec sent five teams to the national debating championships in Calgary. We were represented by two teams from Selwyn House ( Euirim Choi and Jeremy Herman, along with Karl Valentini and Sam Skinner ), the Kells team of Yasmeen Dajani and Clarissa Rengel, the WIC team of Catherine Preston and Jamie Borenstein-Laurie and the Study team of Stephanie Mauchbahani-Constance and Valerie Hladky. A wonderful weekend was had by all, and the Quebec team would like to thank Debra Miko and the rest of the organizers for a great event! The top Quebec team was Sam and Karl, who started with four wins before losing in the bubble round. The top Quebec speak was Yasmeen Dajani from Kells Academy. Click here to see the individual and team results.

Donahoe Cup Debating Tournament Results The annual Donahoe Cup was again hosted by Sacred Heart School of Halifax, and again was a first class event organized by Brian Casey. Schools represented five different provinces. A total of 24 teams competed in the Novice category ( which is for 1st year debaters in any grade, or grade 9 and below ). There were 38 teams in the Advanced Category. In the Novice final, the team of Andrea Davies and Jack Marshall from Lower Canada College, defeated the other LCC team consisting of Zachary Rosen and Spencer Albert. In the Advanced Final, the team from Cobequid consisting of Brie Dukeshire and Sarah Millman defeated the team from Sacred Heart consisting of Rory Flynn and Mattea Roach. In the Novice category the top speaker was Brayden Juras from Henry G. Izaat Middle School. The top Quebec speaker was Spencer Albert from LCC. In the advanced category the top speaker was Rory Flynn from Sacred Heart. Yasmeen Dajani from Kells was the top Quebec speaker, and the top Quebec team was Matthew Steinberg and David Rosenberg from LCC. Click here for the novice team and individual results. Click here for the advanced team and individual results.

Dawson Debating Tournament Results A total of 20 teams attended the annual Dawson College "April Fool's Tournament". There were four rounds of impromptu debate followed by a final round. The winning team was Andrew Hamilton and Victor Zhao from Lower Canada College. The finalist team was Yamseen Dajani and Clarissa Dengel from Kells Academy. The top junior team was Sophie Battat and Chloe Shahinian from the Study. The top speaker was Zawad Hassan from Vincent Massey. Click here for team and individual results.

McGIll Debate Tournament Results McGill University hosted a Canadian Parliamentary format tournament, their second high school tournament of the year. The tournament drew 50 teams including a large number from Quebec. Two Quebec teams made the quarter-finals. Zawad Hassan and Francesca Fragnoli from Vincent Massey finished in 7th place, while the LCC team of Karen Butt and Sarah Salzman finished 8th. Zawad Hassan was the top Quebec speaker in 6th place. The LCC team of Victoria Kalisky and Riley Cohen won the junior final. The overall tournament champions were from Northern SS in Toronto, and Janelle Tam from Waterloo CI was the top speaker. Click here for team and individual results.

QSDA Junior Provincials The Junior Provincials were held at Royal West Academy, and as always, two prepared rounds were followed by two impromptu rounds. The top 4 teams were selected to attend the National Championships, in Vancouver this coming May. The junior provincial champion team is Athina Khalid and Maria Zimmermann from ECS. The top speaker was Maria Zimmermann. Teams from ECS, Loyola, Royal West and Lower Canada College have qualified for the National Championships. Click here for team and individual results.

QSDA Senior Provincials The Senior Provincials were held at Vincent Massey, and as always, two prepared rounds were followed by two impromptu rounds. The top 5 teams were selected to attend the National Championships, in Alberta this coming April. The senior provincial champion team is Euirim Choi and Jeremy Herman from Selwyn House. The top speaker was Zawad Hassan from Vincent Massey. Teams from Selwyn House, Kells, The Study and Vincent Massey have qualified for the National Championships. Click here for team and individual results.

ECS Junior Debating Tournament The third QSDA junior tournament was held at ECS. A total of 16 teams competed, with 4 bracketed impromptu rounds. In the finals, the team from Lower Canada College consisting of Foster Salpeter and Riley Cohen defeated the team from Vincent Massey consisting of Davide Lento and Gabriele Iacampo. Davide Lento was top speaker. Click here for the team and individual results.

University of Ottawa Tournament A total of four Quebec teams attended the annual University of Ottawa tournament. The top Quebec speaker was Yasmeen Dajani from Kells Academy. The tournament was won was Lisgar CI. Click here for team and individual results.

Queen's University Debating Tournament The annual Queen's tournament drew 116 teams, which may be a record for a Canadian Parliamentary Style tournament, and certainly the largest in recent memory. Teams from across Canada were in attendance. A total of 6 schools from Montreal participated. After six rounds of debate, the quarter-finalists were announced. The Lower Canada College team of Andrew Hamilton and Victor Zhao were the top Quebec team, finishing in 8th place, and made it to the quarter-finals. The top team was Rory Flynn and Mattea Roach from Sacred Heart School of Halifax, who defeated Upper Canada College in the finals. They were also the top novice team on the tab. However, there were unable to participate in the novice final, where a team from University of Toronto Schools defeated a team from Crofton House. Those three novice teams have won the right to represent Canada at the International Competition for Young Debaters in the UK. Congratulations to the Queen's Debating Union for pulling off this exceptional event. Click here for individual and team results.

QSDA Public Speaking Tournament The Study hosted the annual QSDA Public Speaking tournament to select students for the national public speaking championships, both the junior and senior. Students competed in three events: Persuasive Speaking, Interpretive Reading and Impromptu Speaking. The top speaker in the senior division was Jeremy Herman from Selwyn House. Jeremy along with Yasmeen Dajani ( Kells ), Sam Skinner ( Selwyn ) and Hannah Sousa-Fronenberg ( The Study ) have qualified for the Senior PS Championships at St. John's-Ravenscourt in February. In the junior division, the top speaker was Rachel McKenzie from St. George's. Rachel, along with Erin Reim ( St. George's ), Gabriel Santaguida ( Loyola ), Julian Guidote ( Loyola ), Sophie Battat ( The Study ) and Petro Analytis ( Selwyn ) have qualified for the Junior PS Championships at Webber Academy in Calgary in May. Click here for results.

St. George's Debating Tournament The QSDA hosted its second junior tournament of the year at St. George's. There were 2 rounds on a prepared topic plus one impromptu round. The first place team was Chloe Shahinian and Sophie Battat from The Study. The top speaker was Chloe Shahinian. Click here for the team and individual results.

Carleton University Debating Tournament The annual Xerxes Cup was hosted by Carleton University in Ottawa. A record 46 teams were in attendance, with several Montreal schools ( 23 teams in total ) making the trip down. There were 5 rounds breaking to semi-finals. The top Quebec teams were two LCC teams who made the semi-finals: Jack Marshall and Andrea Davies finished 3rd, while Andrew Hamilton and Victor Zhao finished 4th. The top Quebec speaker was Kayleigh Holden from St. Thomas. The tournament final was won by Colonel By who defeated Lisgar. Click here for team and individual results.

Results from Oxford Cup The Oxford Cup was held at St. John's-Ravenscourt in Winnipeg. Quebec sent five teams - three from Selwyn House, one from Vincent Massey and one from The Study. The top Quebec team was Nikolas De Stefano and Karl Valentini from Selwyn House. The top Quebec speaker was Eurim Choi from Selwyn House. The tournament champions were Ryan Sherbo and Peter Koczanski from St. John's-Ravenscourt. Click here for the the team and individual results.

McGill Debating Tournament The annual McGill high school debating tournament drew a total of 94 teams, and was again held in BP style. Congratulations are in order to McGill for running an incredibly efficient tournament. The top team in the tournament was Tarang Marathe and Osmaan Yusuf from White Oaks. The top speaker was Rory Flynn from Sacred Heart Halifax.Rory and her partner Anya Friesen won the junior final. The ECS team of Athina Khalid and Maria Zimmerman were selected to compete in the junior final. The top Quebec team was Ben Libman and Sarah Battat from Lower Canada College. Click here for individual and team results.

CSDF Hosts National Debating Seminar in Toronto The CSDF ran a very successful National Seminar in Toronto on Oct. 12 to 14. It was the first Seminar run under the new format, and the first time Quebec sent students in a number of years. Congratulations to Rudi Lof and Kassie Dwarika for running a successful event! Students were involved in a model Parliament, tours of the city, and workshops followed by a mini-tournament in BP style held at Upper Canada College. While there were prizes, the competitive aspect was de-emphasized and the full results will not be posted. The top Quebec speaker was Phil Dubrofsky from Lower Canada College. The top overall speaker was Jyotish Khanna from British Columbia. Click here to read more about it on the CSDF website.

Marianopolis Debate Tournament The annual "Aristotle Cup" attracted some 30 teams for this year's event. Thanks go out to David Wagner for running an excellent tournament. As always, the event featured four impromptu rounds and an open final. In the final round, the Lower Canada College team of Arianna Galbraith and Victoria Kalisky defeated the Vincent Massey team of Zawad Hassan and Francesca Fragnoli. Zawad Hassan was the top speaker. The top teams will be invited to represent Quebec at the Oxford Cup in Winnipeg. Click here for team and individual results.

Trafalgar Thanksgiving Classic The first debate QSDA junior debating tournament of the year took place at Trafalgar the day before the Thanksgiving weekend. It was very well attended with 24 teams participating. The first place team was from ECS ( Marissa Hatzigeorgiou and Rana Gaffar ). The second and third place teams were from LCC and Kuper respectively. The top individual speaker was Athina Khalid from ECS. Many thanks to Mary Kate Jackson and Katie Rochford for their work in hosting. Click here for team and individual results.

Stanstead Debating Tournament The first senior tournament of the year took place at Stanstead College. The tournament featured three rounds of impromptu debate, and even welcomed teams from the U.S. A total of 14 teams attended. The top team was from St. Paul's school in New Hampshire, as were the top three speakers. The top Quebec team was Maxwell Wiltzer and Allie Mayers from Lower Canada College, and the top Quebec speaker on the tab was Euirim Choi from Selwyn House. Thanks to Audrey Langlois for hosting a great tournament. Click here for team and individual results.

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.