Archive 2015-2016 (in reverse chronological order)

ECS Junior Debating Tournament On March 16th, ECS held a St. Patrick’s Day themed Junior Debating tournament. In total, 16 teams attended from WIC, Selwyn House, ECS, LCC, St. Georges and Vincent Massey. Students debated in 3 impromptu rounds. The students on the winning team of the tournament were Zoe Heffring and Mia Delnegro from Vincent Massey. In addition, Zoe Heffring was awarded top speaker at the tournament.

QSDA Provincial Championships at LCC On February 19th and 20th, the QSDA Provincials were hosted as a two-day event, with six rounds of debating, and both the junior and senior provincials were held at the same time. This tournament was hosted by Lower Canada College. On Friday, there were two prepared rounds. The seniors debated the topic: “This House Would require judges to be selected by election in Canada.” The juniors debated: “This House Would privatize Canada Post. On Saturday, there were four impromptu rounds. The Junior champions were the ECS team of Frances Chambers and Tara Mintzberg. The other teams in the top five that qualified for Nationals were from Selwyn House, ECS, Vincent Massey, and LCC. Lauren Kim from ECS was the top speaker and Alexa Shamie from LCC was the 2nd place speaker. In the senior division, the provincial champions were Michael DiGiorgio and Dylan Theriault-Harris from LCC, who were also the top 2 speakers at the tournament. The other teams in the top 5 also came from LCC, Selwyn House, and Royal West. Special thanks to all of the coaches and judges!

Report from the Senior National Public Speaking Competition Congratulations to Rachel McKenzie of St. George's School. Rachel won the Interpretive Reading Category of the Senior National Public Speaking Competition in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She read from The Kite Runner.

Report from Marianopolis Aristotle Cup The annual "Aristotle Cup" tournament was hosted by Marianopolis on Saturday, November 7th. There were a total of 32 teams in attendance, and they debated four impromptu rounds. Two teams from LCC made it to the open final round. In the end, the team of Riley Cohen and Foster Salpeter defeated the team of Joseph Wiltzer and Michael Di Giorgio. In addition, the top speaker of the tournament was Michael Di Giorgio from LCC.

QSDA Junior Tournament at Kuper Academy On Friday, October 30th, the QSDA held its first Junior tournament of the year. It was a competitive tournament showcasing the future of debating in Quebec. After two prepared rounds and one impromptu round, the results were as follows: The Selwyn House team of Felix St. Onge-Tavchandjian and Gabriel Trottenberg took first place, with other Selwyn House teams finishing in 2nd and 3rd places. Joshua Cohen from Selwyn House was first place speaker. Thank you to the team at Kuper for making it a great day.

Report from McGill High School Tournament This year’s annual British Parliamentary tournament at McGill University drew 103 teams from across Canada. Congratulations to the McGill Debating Union for running another great event! A total of 13 teams from Quebec participated this year, including students from LCC, Selwyn House, ECS, and Kuper Academy. The top Quebec speaker at the tournament was Michael Di Giorgio from LCC, who placed 12th out of the 207 debaters in attendance. Also, two teams from LCC made it to the hidden quarter final round. The team of Joseph Wiltzer and Julia Leb placed 12th at the tournament and the team of Dylan Theriault-Harris and Michael Di Goeorgio placed 15th. The winners of the tournament were Rory Flyn and Alex Wu of the Sacred Heart/Northern Hybrid team. Last but not least, the ECS team of Lauren Kim and Olivia Anderson, were the 3rd place Junior Team at the tournament and as a result, made it into the Junior Final. This tournament was the qualifier for the Oxford Cup, which will be taking place in Calgary in November. The top 6 Quebec teams from the McGill tournament qualify to attend this event. Three teams from LCC qualified, the team of Julia Leb and Joseph Wiltzer, the team of Dylan Theriault-Harris and Michael Di Giorgio, and the team of Matthew Tabet and Zac Bensemana. From Selwyn House School, the teams of Nabeel Ahmed and Jarren Fefer and Felix St. Onge and Gabriel Trottenberg qualified. Also, the team of Olivia Anderson and Lauren Kim from ECS school also qualified. Congratulations to all our Quebec teams for a great tournament!

Stanstead Debate Tournament On a brilliant Sunday at Stanstead College, eighteen teams competed in the first QSDA tournament of the year. In the end, Marissa Hatzegeorgeou from ECS was the first-place speaker, and the tournament was won by Jarren Fefer and Nabeel Ahmed from Selwyn House. Congratulations to all debaters and thank you to Audrey Hamilton and the staff at Stanstead College.

Welcome Back Hello debaters and coaches of the QSDA, and welcome to the 2015-16 debating season. We are looking forward to seeing you all at events throughout the year. Over the next few days, I will be updating the calendar section of the website, so please check back frequently. Whether you are a long-time member of the QSDA, or looking to start a debating club at your school, please feel free to check the Debating Resources section on the website for information about debating and public speaking. You can also follow us on Twitter via the link above. I look forward to seeing everyone at the debates this year. Sincerely, Jonathan Bracewell, President, QSDA