Queensland Debating Union (QDU) and QUT Law Society’s School Mooting Competition
While Term 2 may have been a quiet time for Debating, Term 3 and 4 are shaping up to be much busier. Students have been competing in and preparing for competitions for the past six weeks, and the intensity is set to increase.
Earlier this term, QDU held a mini-Senior A competition across three Sundays. As our Year 12 students’ Mock Exam block is fast-approaching, the School decided to enter a team of Year 11 students who aspire to hold Senior A positions in 2021.
Six girls entered and competed rigorously against several Year 12 Senior A teams in the preliminary rounds. Impressively, after winning three quarters of the short preparation debates, they reached the quarter-final stage where they were defeated when debating the topic ‘that we should abolish all school exit level rankings’. The girls are to be commended for their enthusiasm, energy and courage throughout the competition.
At the same time as the QDU competition, 15 Year 10, 11 and 12 students were preparing for 18 hours of mooting in last weekend’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Law Society Schools Mooting Competition. The five teams mooted four times across Saturday, resulting in four teams reaching the quarter finals which were held on Sunday morning. One team, comprising Caitlin Brittain (11R), Abigail King (11R) and Sierra Reza (11H), successfully reached the semi-final stage, where they defeated last year’s champion school, Hillbrook Anglican School, to earn a place in the Grand Final on Sunday 23 August.
The moot will be hosted in the Banco Court at the Supreme Court in the city with the Honourable Justice Walter Sofronoff, President of the Queensland Court of Appeal, chairing the judges’ panel. We congratulate the girls on this impressive achievement and wish them all the best for this Sunday.
Brisbane Girls Debating Association (BGDA) and QDU Adjudication Course
With the BGDA competition coming to an abrupt halt at the end of Term 1, the Executive decided to host a series of workshops, followed by a case construction competition which has been progressing since April. Two Girls Grammar debaters, Simran Mackrani (10H) and Sofia Cirino (10O), have reached the Grand Final where they must construct and speak to a case on Monday 31 August. We wish them all the best and congratulate them on the determination and skill that has brought them to this point in the competition.
In Term 4, more than 20 Year 10 and 11 debaters will complete a QDU adjudication accreditation course, in preparation for the 2021 competition where they will be eligible to adjudicate Year 7 and Year 8 QDU debates. They may wish to hone their newly minted skills on the Speed D(eb)ating Day for Years 8 and 9 on Saturday 24 October at BGGS. Information about these events will be available in the coming weeks.
Workshops and trials for future Year 12 debaters will be held late in Term 4. More information on these dates will be made available for the Year 11 students at the end of this term.
If you have any questions about Debating in 2020, please email me via abyrne@bggs.qld.edu.au.
Mrs Anne Byrne
Debating Coordinator
