Debate Judges wanted for November event as Rainmakers Debate Team move into debate season

The talk will be fast paced but informative and succinct in early November.

That as the Rainmakers Debate Team hosts its first local tournament for 2022-23, the event set to take place at Charles Hays Secondary School on Saturday, November 5th from 1 PM to 4:30 PM.

Tom Kertes, the Coach for the Rainmakers Debate Team notes how the event Thunder and Lighting is one that the group hopes to turn into a regional tournament that will include students from high schools across the Northwest. 

The Rainmaker’s Debate Team is also planning to launch the “NWBC Tournament” in February each year, with plans to have this tournament rotate between schools in the region once other high school teams are established throughout the Northwest BC region.  

“Hopefully more teams from other high schools will be formed as we start inviting them to take part in what will become an annual regional event hosted by CHSS. This year’s event will be our first tournament. We will follow the rules for regional and provincial tournaments to prepare our debaters for competitions in the future.” 

Towards the November 5th event, debate organizers are looking for some help from the community.

The high school debate team needs volunteers to judge the competitions. Judges can be any community members who are not related, or closely connected, to the team members in a given debate. 

New volunteer judges will receive training from 11:00 AM to 12:00 NOON on the day of the tournament.

Debate team captain Ellen Wright said, “We need support from volunteers to help run our first tournament. You don’t have to be experienced at debating, just someone who has an open mind and who will judge fairly. Thank you to the community for helping get our team up and running.”

Eight teams, with two students on each team, have already registered to compete in the upcoming tournament. The top three teams will be automatically eligible to take part in the UBC High School Debate Tournament in the spring. 

The Rainmaker’s Debate Team have plans to begin their fundraising for the Vancouver tournament later in the year.

Another debate team captain, Nikayla Johnson,  notes of the opportunities ahead for Team embers  “We’re excited to be starting tournaments and to be preparing to travel to Vancouver in the spring to compete at the UBC High School Debate Tournament. Debate is a great way to develop confidence as a speaker and think critically.”

Should you wish to help out on the November 5th debate contact Mr. Kertes at tomkertes@sd52.bc.ca or 778-884-5343.  

More notes on education across the Northwest can be explored from our archive pages.