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For the second time in three years the IBSB Debate Team brought home the Winner’s Trophy from the Sir Winston Churchill International School Public Debating Competition. Debating Transylvania College (Cluj) in the final, arguing the side of the opposition for the motion “The House believes that money spent to host an international sporting event, such as the Olympics or World Cup, is a worthwhile investment”, Team IBSB, consisting of Zoe S.(Year 13), Andrei D. (Year 12), and Vlad S. (Year 12), built a convincing argument weaving together a mixture of historical fact with more recent current events to achieve a well-deserved 4-1 victory. Guest Judges for the Grand final included:
HE Ambassador Corr praised the international schools involved for the focus placed on debating skills and described this as an extremely valuable training in the use of persuasion and influence which can be a lifelong personal asset. The Ambassador said the growth of debating in Romania and elsewhere is an indication of the need for presentation skills in public outlining of points of view and perspectives and the Sir Winston Churchill debate showed the very high debating skill of all the schools involved.
HRH Prince Nicolae shared the following with all present in the closing ceremony:
The importance of debating is an invaluable skill that students during their school years will find challenging, exciting and rewarding. To be able to debate a topic that is prepared only moments before being tested by the opposition or proposition and having the skill to think on the floor and respond from the information gathered as a team is an invaluable lesson, skill and reward that will no doubt serve the students well in their future lives carrying them forward in their successful careers.
For the second year I have sat on the panel of judges where, and once again I have been impressed by the standard and quality that has not only reflected the depth of thought given by the participants, but also cause those present to take pause and reflect. Congratulations to all the participants and the finalists.
From the entire IBSB Community, we would like to say congratulations to the entire team, including Luiza R. (Year 9), with a special mention to Zoe S., voted as the best overall debater in the tournament.
A special thank you to Ms Blessy Savu and Mr Afzal Shaikh for all their work in preparing the team for this competition.
In February our debate team again draw their swords as they head to the COBIS World Debate Championships, and our hopes and best wishes go with then as the begin preparations for this event.
