The Battle for Vancouver Island

7 February 2012Robin J

Rising prepared and alert, 7 pairs of Brentwood debaters set off for Victoria this past weekend to compete in the Regional Debate Championships. The region they were planning to dominate through their carefully tuned skills of persuasion and logic was not just Victoria, however, but the entire junior and senior Vancouver Island debating realm. Under the command of Mr. Bryant and Mrs. Day Reynolds, Brentwood arrived at Pacific Christian School with one clear advantage: strength in numbers.

The junior division was represented by 3 Brentwood teams, and in the senior division, 7 of the fourteen teams competing were from Brentwood. Not only are these figures a testament to the growth in popularity and prominence of the debate program at Brentwood, but they are also a testament to Brentwood’s highly competitive stance in the BC high school debating world.

The tournament was composed of four rounds, with the first two being prepared rounds and the second two impromptu. Remaining ever vigilant of current events, this year’s competitors were challenged in the prepared rounds to propose or oppose the criticism that “the occupy movement was a waste of time”. The topic was especially pertinent this year as the occupy movement was something that could be observed not just on national or international news but in nearby cities such as Vancouver and Victoria. Some of the arguments posed by Brentonians and other students alike were thus not only based on secondary sources, but on firsthand accounts. Ian M, for example, through the story of a discussion he had with a protester he met in Ottawa on the Eastern Canada University Tour, was able, on a personal level, to demonstrate the lack of cohesion in the movement.

Being the most important high school debate tournament of the year to date, and drawing talent from up and down the best schools on Vancouver Island, the competition was fierce. But Brentwood debaters managed to brave the onslaught of competitors and drove off that day with several victories in their hands. In the junior division, Liam K attained 3rd place of 24 debaters and one team won alternate qualification into the provincial tournament. In the senior division, Anastasia K came 5th out of 28 debaters and 2 Brentwood teams qualified for provincials, coming out 4th and 5th overall.

Weeks of preparation had gone into attaining these wins, and weeks more will go into the tournaments on the horizon such as the University of Victoria tournament and the ever important Provincial Championships in March. Those daring enough to join the debate program do not regret the hard work though, for few things surpass the satisfaction of winning an argument.

R. Jouini

Where Students Choose To Be