No Vice for the Novice Debate Tournament

12 October 2014Toby CH, Privett ’15, Heath Miller aficionado

It has been said that debate is the highest form of art, above even painting, pottery, and sandwich making. Because of Brentwood College’s profound interest and pursuit of the arts complemented with the Emily Carr and Michelangelo of debate themselves making appearances (Mrs. Steele-MacInnis and Mr. Bryant respectively) fewer places in the world would be better venues than this aforementioned waterfront campus to host 2014’s October Novice Debate Tournament. There would be laughter. Tears. Nausea. All that good stuff. And it would all be experienced by each and every student from schools such as Shawnigan Lake, Pacific Christian, Glenlyon Norfolk, Duncan Christian, and our very own Brentonians; they were ready to debate, and debate was ready for them. As their first task, contestants would have to be the first to get one of the ladders put in the center of the wrestling ring, climb to the top, and gain possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase all whilst fighting off opponents. No. Sorry. That is about something else. But seriously, WWE and CEO Vince McMahon, if you are reading this please hire me I will be your most devoted about excited reporter ever. Long live Hulkamania. Back to debating. As their first task, debaters brought to the table their personal take and painstakingly researched statistics to the prepared resolution: Be it resolved that pharmaceutical companies should provide free anti-infection drugs to developing countries. This topic would be debated by both duos for two rounds, giving a chance for their opposition points and proposition points to be heard. Whether it was Jordan S, Whittall ‘15 eloquently utilizing rhetoric to skew the opinions of judges or fiercely fact-filled Rebecca D, Allard ‘15 firing off information to persuade all in the room, each debater had their own tactics. This is one of the many reasons why debate is such an interesting art form, as no two members of this craft can sculpt a perfectly similar argument. Novices dipped their hairless toes into the debating waters and although some may have found the liquid slightly too chilly, many found themselves being sucked into the debating whirlpool, its engaging undertows too irresistible to ignore. To end the night of fun a world class debate took place for all to watch, revolving around the topic of international security. Three Shawnigan debaters took on an intrepid Brentwood trio of cogent Maria F, Allard, ‘15, diplomatic Ibrahim S, Whittall ‘15, and moving Garey G, Whittall ‘15. After many fiery rebuttals and concisely constructed speeches, all in the room could tell that there was talent on both sides and what debating for years can amount to; it was a fantastic show for all novice debaters there to see. Brentwood College School would like to sincerely congratulate three of our teams who achieved remarkable success that night. Tiffany B, Allard ‘15 and Bobbie D, Allard ‘15 received second place in the senior division, while Georgia P, Allard ‘16 and Wyatt T Allard ‘16 earned the coveted first place. Last but not least, Ender M, Whittall ‘16 and Teagan M, Alex ‘16 also received acknowledgement in the junior division, earning a well-deserved second place. Finally, all of the novice debaters would like to thank once more our debate coaches Mr. Bryant and Mrs. Steele-MacInnis for their hard work, dedication, and unique hairstyles. Study hard. Toby CH, Privett ’15, Heath Miller aficionado

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