Points of Information VOLUME 1

Welcome to the first edition of Points of Information, the newsletter for alumni of the New Zealand Schools Debating Champs. This is the first of HOW TO JOIN four newsletters that will be published in 2010. Membership for a year is only $50 The purpose of the newsletter is to keep alumni up to date with what is for those in paid employment and $20 for students. happening in New Zealand schools debating, as well as publish news about what schools debating alumni are up to all around the world. The easiest way to pay is using a credit card via PayMate, an online The newsletter is published by the Friends of New Zealand Schools payment system. Your credit card details are protected by industry Debating Trust, which was formed to help alumni stay connected to standard SSL encryption, and are schools debating in New Zealand, organise events, and solicit financial never passed on to us or any other support for debating. party. Simply head to The Trust was formed in 2008 when the Council celebrated twenty years www.debating.org.nz/alumni and of organising regional and national debating tournaments. follow the link! In this issue: Alternatively, you can deposit $50 or $20 into the following bank account: • About the Friends of NZ Schools • Alumni News 03-0502-0637829-00 and send an email to [email protected] to Debating Trust – how to join and let us know you’ve joined. profiles of the trustees • Editorial The Friends of NZSDC Trust is a • Qatar Worlds – • How will Friends of New Zealand Registered Charity (CC42751) so how did New Zealand do? Schools Debating Trust money be your contribution is tax-deductible in spent? New Zealand. The Treasurer of the • Regional Championships 2010 Trust will send you a receipt.

About the Friends of NZ Schools Debating Trust

In 2008, the NZSDC celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark this milestone, the NZSDC established its official alumni organisation, the Friends of Trustee Profiles NZSDC Trust. Hayden Ryan (Chair) The Friends of NZSDC Trust has two Hayden is a Life Member of the NZ Schools Debating Council and is Managing roles, both of which are designed to assist Broker, Life and Health at FMR Risk. He was in the 1994 New Zealand alumni with staying connected to schools Schools’ Team that won the 1995 World Championships. He later served in a debating: variety of capacities on the Council, including as President (2002-2004). Rosemary Dixon • To arrange and coordinate alumni activities, including networking events. In Also a Life Member of the Council, Rosemary coached the New Zealand 2010 the Trust is planning to hold official teams that won the 1991 and 1992 World Championships. She was President alumni events in Auckland, Wellington, of the Council from 1991 to 1994, convened the 1994 World Champs held Christchurch, and London. Other centres in New Zealand, and later served as Treasurer. Rosemary works as Special may be available on request. Counsel (Environment) for Contact Energy. Tim Stephens • To enlist financial support from our alumni so that the activities of the Tim is a former Officer and Vice-President of the Council who has convened NZSDC in furthering debating in New the National Champs and adjudicated at the World Champs. He is a Partner Zealand schools can be strengthened and at Simpson Grierson in Wellington. enlarged. The Trust is independent of the NZSDC, with three alumni – Rosemary Dixon, Contact: The Trustees can be contacted via [email protected] Hayden Ryan, and Tim Stephens – acting as Trustees (see sidebar). Qatar Worlds New Zealand make the quarter-finals The Russell McVeagh New Zealand Schools’ Debating Team recently returned from Qatar, where they were competing at the World Schools’ Debating Championships.

The New Zealand Team comprised: Maria English (Captain, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School), Jasmin Moran (Chilton St James School), Josh Baxter (Auckland Grammar School), Nick Cross (Scots College) and Aria Newfield (St Cuthbert’s College). Team member Jasmin Moran describes the tournament: Thee team was coached by Clodagh O’Connor-McKenna, a champion university The two weeks spent in Qatar by the New debaters, various coaches and support debater. Also accompanying the team were Zealand Schools Debating team was an staff and adjudicators, it was massive. We adjudicators Rosemary Dixon, Christopher amazing experience. Qatar, located in the were lucky enough to get to meet debaters Bishop, Kevin Moar, and Claire Ryan – the Gulf and with its culture and traditions, was from all over the globe, competing against largest New Zealand contingent in many an interesting country to visit. When not teams from Australia, to Israel, to Nigeria, years. preparing or debating, we soaked up local and during our down time, becoming good culture in the Souq Wakif, a market selling friends with Team United Arab Emirates. all from Pashminas (which we brought It was such an honour to represent New in large amounts) to household pots and Zealand. Going into the tournament as pans. We also enjoyed an exciting desert defending champions we were determined safari where we travelled in four wheel to do our best and with our days before the drive vehicles through the sand dunes to tournament spent prepping madly and our a camp set up in the middle of the desert. holidays in New Zealand spent training, we There we experienced Qatari culture with were poised to do this. With the support camel rides, henna drawings and trying on of our dedicated coach Clodagh and our the local dress. sheep mascot Basil (Baz for short), and The tournament itself was extremely well remembering to speak extra slowly (a run and our stay at the Marriot Doha, challenge for New Zealand debaters), we where we were treated to three course gave our all in every debate. buffets and various functions and parties In the end we were narrowly beaten in was a memorable one. The majority of the quarter finals by a very good Team debates took place in local Qatari schools Canada who went on to win the World and we were amazed by their hospitality, Title. None-the-less we were thrilled to which ranged from performing a traditional finish with the second highest speaker Qatari sword dance, to keeping us points of all teams at the break and to entertained by singing Simple Plan, to have all our five speakers ranked in the presenting us with mementos. top 25 speakers in the World. The sheer size of the tournament is also worth a mention – with 57 teams of

Worlds 2011 The next World Champs are in Dundee, Scotland, in August 2011 - meaning the NZ Team selected at this year’s Nationals will not attend a Worlds. The Council is looking to arrange an international tournament for the team to attend in New Zealand, Australia, or further afield.

Alumni News We’re very keen to bring you news about what NZSDC alumni are up to all around the world. We’re acutely aware of the fact that NZSDC alumni are regularly winning scholarships, law and debating competitions, being promoted, and doing amazing things. Please send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll include it in the next newsletter. Don’t be shy!

World Universities’ success Congrats to the NZSDC alumni who Regional participated at the recent World Championships 2010 Universities’ Debating Champs in Turkey held over the 2009/10 new year period. By the time you read this, the Two teams of all-NZSDC alumni fought first Russell McVeagh Regional their way through 388 teams and made tournament for the year (Nelson it to the octo-finals before being knocked / Marlborough) will have already out: been held. There are eight more around the country in the coming • Victoria University of Wellington A – weeks: Stephen Whittington (NZ Team 04) and Northland Polly Higbee (NZ Team 04) – broke in 29th – Sunday 25 April at place. Kerikeri High School Contact: George Minton Auckland – Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May at St Kentigern College Contact: Stephanie Thompson Waikato – Saturday 22 May at the University of Waikato Maria speaks in last year’s Contact: Akif Malik Nationals Grand Final Central North Island – Sunday 16 Scholarship success for May at St Peter’s College Contact: Yogesh Patel NZ Team Captain Hawke’s Bay – Saturday 24 and Maria English, recently returned from Sunday 25 April at Lindisfarne Qatar where she captained the NZ Team, College has been awarded the prestigious Girdlers’ Contact: Udayan Mukherjee Scholarship. Maria will study towards a Wellington Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS) – Saturday 8 and degree at Cambridge University. Sunday 9 May at a venue TBA Victoria A - Polly and Stephen Contact: Stephen Whittington Administered by the New Zealand Vice- Canterbury – Saturday 15 and • University of Auckland A – Ben Milsom Chancellors’ Committee, the Girdlers’ Scholarship is funded by the Worshipful Sunday 16 May at a venue TBA (Nationals 03) and Stephanie Thompson Contact: Erin Jackson (Nationals 07) – broke in 32nd place. Company of Girdlers which traces its foundation back to medieval times as Otago / Southland – Saturday Congrats also go to the following Victoria a craftsmen’s guild. The award, worth 29 and Sunday 30 May at Otago teams who narrowly missed the break: £25,000 per annum, is offered to one New Boys’ High School • Victoria B – Seb Templeton and Ella Zealand “all-rounder� each year Contact: William Cheyne Edginton (NZ Team 07) who finished 48th; Maria consistently performed at the top Please feel free to turn up and cheer • Victoria C – Kathy Scott-Dowell (NZ of her year level across all subjects at on your former school. Results of Team 05, 06) and Richard D’Ath (NZ Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in each tournament will be posted at Team 06) who finished 43rd. Wellington and her Cambridge AS English www.debating.org.nz in the days Literature mark of 99% earned her a “top after the tournament, and there’ll be NZSDC alumni were also active on the of the world� award. a full round-up in the next “Points of judging front. Current President of the Information�. Council, Christopher Bishop, judged the Congrats Maria! Grand Final of the tournament. Sayeqa Islam (NZ Team 98) judged the ESL Grand Final. Jonathan Orpin (NZ Team 01) judged the main break semis and Jesse Wilson (NZ Team 98, 99) judged the ESL semi-finals. Gareth Richards (Nationals 01) also broke as a judge. How will the $$$ be spent? Editorial: Hayden Ryan As the Friends of NZSDC has made (Chair of the Friends of NZSDC Trust) contact with alumni, a few people have responded with interest about As old as the hills… an emotive debate how the Trust is going to spend the subscriptions and donations received When I was observing at Nationals last year, I attended part of the AGM and from alumni. The best answer we can discovered that the NZSDC was again considering an issue that has been with give is that: us (I suspect) since the very beginning of the organisation – namely, whether the organisation is best to focus our resources on the core regions and schools • For at least the first year, the that tend to be most committed to and successful with debating, or whether Trustees have made a commitment extensive efforts should be made to encourage debating in more remote that none of the subscription money regions and less traditional schools. will be spent on any administration or Trust expenses. This is because the Those who favour the first position often cite the fact that the NZSDC has Trustees want all the alumni money to limited resources and that the energy and expense spent in some areas could be available for projects that benefit be directed to where it would arguably achieve a better result; that some regions young debaters. In order to achieve and teachers do not seem to value or support the time and effort invested by this, the Trustees have, to date, met the NZSDC; and that (sometimes) little is achieved by sending weaker teams the Trust’s expenses out of their own to Nationals simply to be easily beaten by stronger regions. pockets. Those favouring the second position often argue that the role of the NZSDC • The Trustees can only support is to encourage debating throughout New Zealand and not merely in the main the type of projects that fall into the centres or the highest achieving schools. If debating is seen as a good and objects of the Trust. The principal important skill, then the NZSDC should be trying to make its coaching and charitable object of the Trust is “To competitions available to as many pupils as possible. Also, good debaters foster debating and public speaking often emerge from outside the traditional powerhouses and the organisation, in among school pupils in New Zealand�. any case, needs to avoid the trap of elitism. • The Trustees have agreed that, Other arguments abound on both sides, but I am sure you get the general idea! unless the NZSDC faces a major This debate is an emotive one and (as noted above) has been with the NZSDC financial crisis, alumni subscription for its 22 years. Although it has been raised only a small number of times, this monies and donations will not be used issue has also surfaced in our contact with alumni as we have received just a to fund standard NZSDC events and few comments that could be summarised as either: expenses (eg, airfares for Nationals). Instead, these costs are properly • “I will support the Trust, provided the money isn’t wasted on the regions�; or covered by corporate sponsorship • “I will support the Trust, provided the money isn’t spent sending already arrangements (such as the on-going privileged teenagers to Worlds�. relationship the NZSDC has with Russell McVeagh). All the Trustees can say is that we are very aware of this issue and that we have a strong desire that, in the funding choices we make, we will try to represent the • Instead, the Trust would look to views of all alumni as best we can. In other words, if the NZSDC and alumni support new projects or extensions to give us the opportunity, we will look to support a range of programmes. We the services currently offered by the are very conscious that we are spending your money and we want you to be NZSDC. The Trust might also look pleased and proud of what your subscription / donation achieves. to support aspects of the NZSDC’s activities which have not previously received financial support. Ultimately, what the Trust can support is limited to the debating projects for which either the NZSDC or alumni formally Alumni Functions in 2010 request funding. • It is also possible that the Trust Two functions are already planned and Auckland is in the works. Watch this space! may look to build up capital to Alumni function in Wellington: help ensure the long-term financial 7pm, Thursday 20 May 2010 at the Wine Loft viability of the NZSDC, particularly A chance to have a drink and a casual catch up with old debating friends. if corporate sponsorship were to be Anyone associated with New Zealand schools' debating is encouraged to come withdrawn at some point in the future. along, whether it be regionals, nationals or worlds as a chair person, coach, Unfortunately, there is no guarantee judge or participant. that corporate sponsorship will always No admission fee. be available and many alumni believe Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/event. the Trust could have a role providing php?eid=109278879108875 “crisis funding� if the survival of the National Championships was ever Alumni Function in Christchurch: 6pm-8pm, threatened. Tuesday 27 April at the Christchurch Club Free for subscribed members, $10 for non- The Trustees are available to discuss subscribed alumni. their views on the subscriptions and Contact: Jeremy Johnson [email protected] donations. Feel free to e-mail them at [email protected] with any questions.