Premier's Debating Challenge for Years 7 and 8

Of the 345 teams who entered the Years 7 and 8 age division, only 10 made it all the way to the 3-day championships tournament hosted by The Women’s College of the University of Sydney from Wednesday 4 to Friday 6 December. Following 5 rounds of debating and 2 semi-finals the teams from Sydney Girls High School and Coonabarabran High School reached this state final debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes (with a warning bell at 4 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That we should offer a financial incentive for families to move to rural areas.’ Congratulations to both teams and to all the speakers and teachers who made 2024 such a success.

1st Affirmative – 0:01:27
1st Negative – 0:06:40
2nd Affirmative – 0:13:36
2nd Negative – 0:19:52
3rd Affirmative – 0:26:57
3rd Negative – 0:34:07
Adjudication – 0:41:19

After 342 teams competed in over 550 debates across the year, the final 10 standing headed to a 3-day tournament tournament hosted by The Women’s College of the University of Sydney from Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 December. Following 5 rounds of debating and 2 semi-finals the teams from Narara Valley High School and Byron Bay High School reached this state final debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes (with a warning bell at 4 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That students who receive unsatisfactory reports should have to do extra classes over the holidays.’ Congratulations to both teams and to all the speakers and teachers who made 2023 such a success.

313 teams across the state entered the Years 7 and 8 challenge in 2022, with just 10 of them winning their way to a state championships tournament held at The Women’s College of the University of Sydney from Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 December. Following 5 rounds of debating and 2 semi-finals the teams from Bellingen High School and James Ruse Agricultural High School reached this state final debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes (with a warning bell at 4 minutes) and the topic of the debate is ‘That the Australian government should block all online gaming sites and apps on weekdays.’ Congratulations to both teams and to everyone who competed in 2022. 

1st Affirmative – 0:01:45
1st Negative – 0:06:10
2nd Affirmative – 0:13:23
2nd Negative – 0:20:35
3rd Affirmative – 0:26:56
3rd Negative – 0:34:00
Adjudication – 0:41:11

This is the final of the Years 7 and 8 division of the challenge, which was held over Zoom on Thursday 10 December 2020. After three zone round-robin debates and five state-wide knockout finals, these teams from Armidale Secondary College and Callaghan College Waratah Campus (in Newcastle) reached this state championship debate. The speaking time is 6 minutes with a warning bell at 4 minutes.

The topic of the debate is 'That Australia should boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.'

Congratulations to both teams and a massive thanks to all the teachers and students in the 234 teams who worked so hard to make the 2020 competition a roaring success in the midst of a pandemic.