It all went down on Saturday October 24th, 2015.
The STA Grade 9 Novice Debating team, comprised of eager contenders Saim Irfan, Ibrahim Hasan, Katie Power, and Michael Thomson were up bright and early last Saturday. By 7:30am, they were sitting on a bus in front of STA, ready to drive to Etobicoke, ON where they would participate in PROCON’s first debating tournament this season. They had been preparing meticulously under the help of English teacher Mr. DiDiodato in room 317, every Monday and Wednesday since mid-September. And now they had one goal in mind – place in the Top 3. The given resolution for the competition was whether or not Donald Trump is a good candidate for Presidency, so things were going to get interesting.
At 8:30am, the four debaters arrived at the Michael Power St. Josephs High School, accompanied by novice debaters Charlize Alcaraz, Lauren McCabe, Ethan Alvizo and Daniel Fassler. They also entered the competition alongside the STA Junior and Senior debaters.
Saim Irfan and Ibrahim Hasan defended the affirmative side of the argument, while Katie Power and Michael Thomson argued the negative side. After a brutal 5 hours of intense debating, the winners were decided.
Out of 11 schools, St. Thomas Aquinas placed 3rd overall in the Novice division – boasting a fantastic 5-1 record in 6 rounds. Congratulations to those hard-working debaters!
Another plus for STA is that fellow negative novice debater Michael Thomson placed 3rd overall individually out of 44 debaters in all, with a total score of 118 out of 150 after three rounds. Partner Katie Power finished only three points behind; at 115. The duo went 3-0!
As for the affirmatives, Saim Irfan and Ibrahim Hasan finished with a 2-1 record, and the one loss came off a very close battle.
So far, STA is on track to rack up enough points to make it into the final tournament at the end of the year. Will they continue this heated streak? With the envied coaching skills of Mr. DiDiodato and the awe-inspiring talent of everyone on the team, anything is possible. But only time will tell. This November, the other four novice debaters – Alcaraz, McCabe, Alvizo, and Fassler – will tirelessly compete in a debating tournament of their own. Let’s wish them luck and cheer them on!
Go Raiders!