International Competition for Young Debaters 2015

The Haberdashers’ debating teams were outstandingly successful in their endeavours on Saturday the 24th of January in the regional round of the International Competition for Young Debaters 2015.

Twenty-four hopeful teams from across the region were greeted in the historic Cambridge Union by the organisers and, rather unexpectedly, were told that only two teams would break to the finals day in May. Looking at each other in dismay, were the four Habs teams:

Habs A- Ben Harris (Year 11) and James Rosen (Year 11)
Habs B- James Caplan (Year 11) and Zak Wagman (Year 11)
Habs C- Sahil Baid (Year 11) and Theo Lewy (Year 11)
Habs D- Vincent Lee (Year 10) and Stanley Dench (Year 9)

The teams debated in 3 preliminary rounds:

1. This House Would Legalise the Farming of Endangered Species (pre-released motion)
2. This House Would Allow Criminals to Pay Victims of Non-Violent Crime in Exchange for a Lesser Sentence if Those Victims Consent
3. This House Believes that Parents Should Have the Final Say Over the Medical Treatment of Their Children

All the teams debated excellently and, remarkably, Habs A, C and D were three of the four teams chosen for the final debate.  On the Individual Speaker Rankings, four out of the top five were Habs boys.

Especially noteworthy performances came from James Rosen and Ben who were the only team to win all three debates, and from Stanley and Vincent who were entered into the final debate in their first ever competition. On the Individual Speaker Rankings, Sahil won Best Speaker, Ben and Theo came joint 2nd and James Rosen 5th.

The final debate was This House Would Prohibit Individuals Who Deny Climate Change from Running for Political Office.

The three Habs teams which debated in it did so with conviction, knowing that only two of them, and possibly just one, could make it to the finals day. The unanimous verdict given by the judges was that the debate was won by Habs A and that, out of the twenty-four teams, just Habs A and C would return for the finals day in May.

Special thanks to Ms Gleeson, Mr Endlar and Ms Leigh for accompanying and supporting the debaters not only in Cambridge but also throughout their debating careers.