At the start of the 2022 debating year, we saw a massive rise in interest of new younger debaters. This was both exciting and so refreshing to see!

Thomas and I have been avid debaters and public speakers since we both joined the debating club in year 8. It has been a significant part of our St Bernard’s experience. The skills we have acquired from debating have spanned far more than just speaking publicly. It has allowed us to develop our expertise in research, communication, team work as well as allowing us to tackle important topical issues with nuance and impartiality.

We encourage anyone interested in debating or public speaking to join the debating team next year as well as apply for the ACC Intermediate and Junior public speaking and debating competitions which will occur in August and November respectively.

Each year, St Bernard’s College hosts the Essendon region for the Debating Association of Victoria that comprises of all schools in the surrounding Essendon area. Round one for debating occurred on Tuesday the 15^th of March.

• For the first round of debates, our D graders argued the topic ‘That sporting bodies should not accept the sponsorship from gambling companies’. St Bernard’s D grade teams 5, 6 and 3 all held the affirmative view on this debate. St Bernard’s teams 1,2 and 4 were appointed the negative side for this debate. Our D grade teams 1,3, and 5 all won their first debate! Best speakers for these debates were Lucas Ciavarella and Matthew Skidmore.
• The B grade team were given the topic ‘That artists should be held legally accountable for the deaths and injuries that occur in their concerts’. However, the B graders won by forfeit.
• The A grade team were tasked with exploring the intricacies of vaccination with the topic ‘That people who are unvaccinated for COVID-19 by choice should not have access to the public health system’. The A grade team were given the negative side to this debate and won by 5 points and the best speaker being appointed to Thomas Alessandrini.

The second round of debating occurred on Monday the 28^th of March. This one proved a little more arduous, with only one team securing a win that night. Round of applause to D Grade Team 1 for winning, but also a round of applause to all the debaters who poured a lot of time and effort into preparing well-constructed cases.

The D grade topic for the Round 2 debate was ‘That we should abolish the Australian citizenship test’, an insightful and complex topic that allowed the boys to flex their thinking skills. Congratulations to Joshua Zanella for winning best speaker, despite the near loss.

The B grade topic for the round 2 debate was ‘That only citizens and permanent residents should be able to own property in Australia. A challenging case, but our B graders lost to Maribyrnong College on that night.

The A grade topic for this debate was ‘That we prefer a hung parliament to a majority government’; a difficult topic that forced us to criticize our parliamentary system, ultimately to our downfall where we lost a fierce debate against Buckley Park.

A job well done to all those that debated, but all those that contribute to speech-writing and research. Your work does not go unnoticed! We wish the best of luck to all the teams entering the next rounds!