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NSW Schools Debating 2014

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blastblastbronco

Frank Nicholson (4)
Like Grammar and James Stratton, Newington and Seb Rees seem to have a similar reliance. Does any one have any info regarding the other members of the Newington side?
 

Sam Wallace

Frank Row (1)
As a member of the Newington 1sts I believe it is my time to enter the conversation.

I am Sam Wallace and it is only proper that I dismiss the glaring assertion above. I will concede, Seb is certainly strong but by no means far above myself. In fact, more than anything else, he has been an opportunist of circumstance. It is me and Ben Adams that provide the backbone of the side.

Newington will be strong this year, no doubt. James Stratton beware!
 

Scythe

Larry Dwyer (12)
As a member of the Newington 1sts I believe it is my time to enter the conversation.

I am Sam Wallace and it is only proper that I dismiss the glaring assertion above. I will concede, Seb is certainly strong but by no means far above myself. In fact, more than anything else, he has been an opportunist of circumstance. It is me and Ben Adams that provide the backbone of the side.

Newington will be strong this year, no doubt. James Stratton beware!
Aha hahahah


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Paul Williams

Bob McCowan (2)
There's no place on these forums for big noting yourself Sam (regardless of how good you might be). We kicked the troll accounts off the rugby forums and I don't want to see them start cropping up here.

Anyway, all this talk of a two horse race between Newington and Grammar has got me thinking: are we neglecting the other historic powerhouses of GPS Debating (Kings, St Ignatius and Shore)?

I don't think it's as settled as some of us may think but I'm not on ground level so I'll leave it up to the experts (here's looking at you aka_the_think)

Paul
 

blastblastbronco

Frank Nicholson (4)
As a member of the Newington 1sts I believe it is my time to enter the conversation.

I am Sam Wallace and it is only proper that I dismiss the glaring assertion above. I will concede, Seb is certainly strong but by no means far above myself. In fact, more than anything else, he has been an opportunist of circumstance. It is me and Ben Adams that provide the backbone of the side.

Newington will be strong this year, no doubt. James Stratton beware!

well you certainly seem to have a lot of confidence in your own ability, but what about this Ben Adams character?
 

aka_the_think

Jimmy Flynn (14)
Grammar won Senior A and Senior B ISDA, defeating Knox and Abbotsleigh, respectively.

I don't think this year's GPS comp. is a two-horse race, both Newington and Grammar have weaknesses, but I still think Grammar will be difficult to beat. Both teams also have other good debaters (e.g. Pacino in the case of Grammar and, as has been identified, Wallace for Newington).
 

Wallaby97

Stan Wickham (3)
Was anyone in attendance at the Senior A Final?

I'd be interested to know how the two teams performed, topic etc.
 

aka_the_think

Jimmy Flynn (14)
Was anyone in attendance at the Senior A Final?

I'd be interested to know how the two teams performed, topic etc.

Yes I was there.

Sydney Grammar were quite evidently the better team, but the standard wasn't as high as I had hoped.

The topic was "That we should get rid of university regulation", or words to that effect, with Knox receiving the difficult side of the topic imo - the aff.

Both sides were quite technical, but it felt more like they were reading essays than actually debating. Rebuttal and substantive were too caught up in layers of weird structure, and university-esque rhetoric was plentiful. These aren't necessarily bad things, when they're done well, but in this instance it wasn't. Both sides also had pretty poor timing, with all but two speakers getting the continuous bell.

James Stratton was by far the speaker of the night, the first 30 seconds of his speech pretty much destroyed their case.

I think these teams have weaknesses coming into GPS/CAS, so their opposition should do their homework, because I think an upset could be on the cards.
 

Wolfey

Stan Wickham (3)
Spot on, aka_the_think. Where were you in the audience? I was in the front-left in the Knox side of the room. I was incredibly disappointed by the other two Grammar students. The fact that they had to reschedule the debate vs Joeys just so that they could have Stratton shows how reliant the team is this year. Next year they'll become beatable and very vulnerable.
 

aka_the_think

Jimmy Flynn (14)
Spot on, aka_the_think. Where were you in the audience? I was in the front-left in the Knox side of the room. I was incredibly disappointed by the other two Grammar students. The fact that they had to reschedule the debate vs Joeys just so that they could have Stratton shows how reliant the team is this year. Next year they'll become beatable and very vulnerable.

Who knows Wolfey, glad to see you've joined the forums, what do you think of Aloys' chances in the CAS?
 

BrozTit

Frank Row (1)
What did you guys think of the MacDonald debate this year if you happened to see it? I heard it was close and a split decision that went to Riverview again.

For debating standards, I think Archdale and GPS are overall better debater quality than ISDA.
 

Marcus

Bob McCowan (2)
Hi All
As a keen Yr11 debater from a Sydney school (although for privacy reasons I have chose to post under a pseudonym) this is a highly informative and interesting forum for me, and this level of analysis of the current state of major competitions and teams is a great addition to the debating world!

I was hoping to start a discussion surrounding the selections and competition details for the Reps season coming up, as I would like some more information on the CHS, CAS, GPS and Archdale Teams. The CAS website says that the team will be selected at the end of the season - any tips on who might be strong? They lost a good speaker in Harry Roger - who was on the NSW team, and is the strongest CAS speaker I am aware of, although some have suggested that Robbie Ferguson is a strong speaker. The CHS Trials according to the Arts Unit website are at the end of this term. I would assume that the four Yr 11 debaters last year (Marcus McCullogh, Janek Drevikovsky, Theodora von Armin and Riley Irwin) will comprise the firsts.

I am interested in other forum members picks for the teams? How are the Archdale and GPS Squads selected? I would also suggest James Stratton and Seb Rees would be on the firsts reps team, as well as Sophia Large and Imogen Harper, for Archdale, given that they are all listed as on the NSW state debating team.

Look forward to your thoughts!
 

Wolfey

Stan Wickham (3)
Rumour mill is that Hosea is repping Riverview as 3rd speaker this coming Jesuit debating due to lack of team members. Can someone confirm?
 

aka_the_think

Jimmy Flynn (14)
What did you guys think of the MacDonald debate this year if you happened to see it? I heard it was close and a split decision that went to Riverview again.

For debating standards, I think Archdale and GPS are overall better debater quality than ISDA.

Incorrect mate, Riverview went down to a strong Aloys side - Lorenzo Benitez's performance was particularly meritorious.

This year GPS is probably slightly better standard than ISDA, though in general ISDA is the cream of the crop.

Hi All
As a keen Yr11 debater from a Sydney school (although for privacy reasons I have chose to post under a pseudonym) this is a highly informative and interesting forum for me, and this level of analysis of the current state of major competitions and teams is a great addition to the debating world!

I was hoping to start a discussion surrounding the selections and competition details for the Reps season coming up, as I would like some more information on the CHS, CAS, GPS and Archdale Teams. The CAS website says that the team will be selected at the end of the season - any tips on who might be strong? They lost a good speaker in Harry Roger - who was on the NSW team, and is the strongest CAS speaker I am aware of, although some have suggested that Robbie Ferguson is a strong speaker. The CHS Trials according to the Arts Unit website are at the end of this term. I would assume that the four Yr 11 debaters last year (Marcus McCullogh, Janek Drevikovsky, Theodora von Armin and Riley Irwin) will comprise the firsts.

I am interested in other forum members picks for the teams? How are the Archdale and GPS Squads selected? I would also suggest James Stratton and Seb Rees would be on the firsts reps team, as well as Sophia Large and Imogen Harper, for Archdale, given that they are all listed as on the NSW state debating team.

Look forward to your thoughts!

For CAS Robbie Ferguson is strong, and Liam Thorne, of Aloys, made the state top 12. I've seen Aloys a number of times, and all 3 of them are strong, including the aforementioned and Lorenzo Benitez - a 2nd speaker - I wouldn't be surprised if they push Knox for the title and also get a few into the rep side.
For GPS Seb Rees and Stratton are guaranteed (they were both in the side in both 2012 and 2013). The other speaker will be interesting - I don't believe any other GPS reps made the state squad (top 12), though a few including Alex Babbidge made the top 24. State squads aren't necessarily the best indicators of these things though, as it's often the case that certain people won't try out, so who knows - there could be a few speakers from kings, scots, riverview, sbhs or any of the less favoured schools that might make it.
For CHS the aforementioned will surely be contenders, though NSW reserve Eden Blair would also have to be up there. Brendan Ma, from Ruse, is also a strong speaker, having been named best speaker at the CHS Junior state champs (or a name to that effect).
For Archdale, again, the aforementioned will be up there.

On a side note, the USU Senior Schools day is next Friday, and the Australian Jesuit Debating Carnival (featuring Aloys, Riverview, Xavier and others) is in melbourne later in the holidays. Should be some interesting high school results over the break, with Aloys shaping as firm favourites in the latter.
 

Wolfey

Stan Wickham (3)
Incorrect mate, Riverview went down to a strong Aloys side - Lorenzo Benitez's performance was particularly meritorious.

This year GPS is probably slightly better standard than ISDA, though in general ISDA is the cream of the crop.



For CAS Robbie Ferguson is strong, and Liam Thorne, of Aloys, made the state top 12. I've seen Aloys a number of times, and all 3 of them are strong, including the aforementioned and Lorenzo Benitez - a 2nd speaker - I wouldn't be surprised if they push Knox for the title and also get a few into the rep side.
For GPS Seb Rees and Stratton are guaranteed (they were both in the side in both 2012 and 2013). The other speaker will be interesting - I don't believe any other GPS reps made the state squad (top 12), though a few including Alex Babbidge made the top 24. State squads aren't necessarily the best indicators of these things though, as it's often the case that certain people won't try out, so who knows - there could be a few speakers from kings, scots, riverview, sbhs or any of the less favoured schools that might make it.
For CHS the aforementioned will surely be contenders, though NSW reserve Eden Blair would also have to be up there. Brendan Ma, from Ruse, is also a strong speaker, having been named best speaker at the CHS Junior state champs (or a name to that effect).
For Archdale, again, the aforementioned will be up there.

On a side note, the USU Senior Schools day is next Friday, and the Australian Jesuit Debating Carnival (featuring Aloys, Riverview, Xavier and others) is in melbourne later in the holidays. Should be some interesting high school results over the break, with Aloys shaping as firm favourites in the latter.

Dunno what's up with the sudden praise for this Lorenzo who hasn't been mentioned till now. Did he make state? If not, then why're we even talking about him? It's clear that you're spruiking him because you're either his father, brother, or best friend.
 

Marcus

Bob McCowan (2)
Incorrect mate, Riverview went down to a strong Aloys side - Lorenzo Benitez's performance was particularly meritorious.

This year GPS is probably slightly better standard than ISDA, though in general ISDA is the cream of the crop.



For CAS Robbie Ferguson is strong, and Liam Thorne, of Aloys, made the state top 12. I've seen Aloys a number of times, and all 3 of them are strong, including the aforementioned and Lorenzo Benitez - a 2nd speaker - I wouldn't be surprised if they push Knox for the title and also get a few into the rep side.
For GPS Seb Rees and Stratton are guaranteed (they were both in the side in both 2012 and 2013). The other speaker will be interesting - I don't believe any other GPS reps made the state squad (top 12), though a few including Alex Babbidge made the top 24. State squads aren't necessarily the best indicators of these things though, as it's often the case that certain people won't try out, so who knows - there could be a few speakers from kings, scots, riverview, sbhs or any of the less favoured schools that might make it.
For CHS the aforementioned will surely be contenders, though NSW reserve Eden Blair would also have to be up there. Brendan Ma, from Ruse, is also a strong speaker, having been named best speaker at the CHS Junior state champs (or a name to that effect).
For Archdale, again, the aforementioned will be up there.

On a side note, the USU Senior Schools day is next Friday, and the Australian Jesuit Debating Carnival (featuring Aloys, Riverview, Xavier and others) is in melbourne later in the holidays. Should be some interesting high school results over the break, with Aloys shaping as firm favourites in the latter.

Hmm, interesting aka_the_think. I believe James the Second (Pacino) was also on the state squad? Surely he would then be a contender, however I have not personally seen him debate, so I couldn't say for sure. And with regard to CHS, they apparently only allow year 11 and 12 debaters on the team, and I though the Eden Blair was only in Year 10? Perhaps I am mistaken on that front, however I have not seen her in any senior tournaments. Anticipating a strong Rep season this year, the 2014 field is, in my opinion particularily outstanding, with a handful of up and comers from Year 11, so looking good!
 

aka_the_think

Jimmy Flynn (14)
Dunno what's up with the sudden praise for this Lorenzo who hasn't been mentioned till now. Did he make state? If not, then why're we even talking about him? It's clear that you're spruiking him because you're either his father, brother, or best friend.

I have no connection to him - we go to different schools - I've just seen a few of his performances and thought he was pretty good. No harm done. He didn't make state, but that can sometimes be a misleading indicator - he's got talent.

Hmm, interesting aka_the_think. I believe James the Second (Pacino) was also on the state squad? Surely he would then be a contender, however I have not personally seen him debate, so I couldn't say for sure. And with regard to CHS, they apparently only allow year 11 and 12 debaters on the team, and I though the Eden Blair was only in Year 10? Perhaps I am mistaken on that front, however I have not seen her in any senior tournaments. Anticipating a strong Rep season this year, the 2014 field is, in my opinion particularily outstanding, with a handful of up and comers from Year 11, so looking good!

Yea that's right actually, put Pacino down as a contender. I've seen him speak a few times, and he's definitely a better 2nd than 3rd, but he's very good. The GPS team will probs be: 1. Rees (he spoke there for NSW); 2. Pacino; 3. Stratton.

That's interesting about CHS - she'll get her chance.

Who are you specifically thinking of in regards to the year 11s? I don't think the class of 2015 are nearly as strong as 2014, although I'll concede that in ISDA the competition will be aggregately higher next year than this year with a narrower range of talent and a higher median, but perhaps not as high a top end.

You're right though, should be a great rep season. Probably best not to speculate given that at least 2 of the comps haven't even started yet.

On that note, what do people think in terms of results for CHS, GPS, and CAS? Team info. would be good too.
 

Wallaby97

Stan Wickham (3)
I've spoken to a few colleagues at various other schools over the last few months and everyone seems to have totally different opinions on who will be strong (and weak) for this coming GPS season. One from Scots who I spoke to is adamant that their 1sts side is the best they've had in a long time but others seem to totally disagree..... and it's a similar story for predicting the performance of many of the other schools.

I'd be interested in some real information on how teams are expected to fair- aka_the_think you obviously know a lot about the current speakers/teams for this year. I'd like to know your specific expectations- if you were offering odds on each of the teams' chances this year what would they look like?
 

Paul Williams

Bob McCowan (2)
Good to have you back Wallaby97. Between Pacino and Stratton, Grammar seem to have put together a formidable outfit this year (expected from the College Street lads). When does the season start? I've been meaning to get along to a debate for a while now and it sounds like this is the year to start.

If history has taught us anything its that the Jesuits are often the ones to really bring it on a Friday night. Riverview tend to be a real dark horse in this competition and it will be interesting to hear how they get along.

Newington are clearly this year's wild card but if memory serves me correctly pre-season talk doesn't often match results for the boys in black and white.

Scots, Joeys, Shore, Kings? aka_the_think? Scythe?
 

Wolfey

Stan Wickham (3)
Speakign of the Jesuits what are people thinking about the upcoming Jesuit Debating? I know it's technically outside of NSW but just spoke with an old mate from Xavier and he said that their team is looking mighty fit this year. Dan Vaughan who's the Xavier school captain is supposedly a force to be reckoned with.

btw who won last year and the year before?
 
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