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It’s Undebatable, BC Debate Regionals Was a Hit!
What do you get when you combine strong opinions, an abundance of knowledge about current events, a desire to be right, and a competitive drive?
A debater of course!
Saturday, January 22, the Brentwood Debate Program and 16 of Brentwood’s finest debaters hosted 56 other students from schools across Vancouver Island to compete in BC Debate Regionals, the qualifying tournament for Provincials in early March.
For many debaters, even the Grade 12s, this was their first time experiencing an in-person debate tournament with Brentwood. After three years of online tournaments, we were all very excited for the thrill that only face-to-face competition can offer. “In-person debate definitely adds an extra element,” explained Debate Coach, Ms Legassicke. “For many, this was their first time hearing the bang on the desk for protected time or seeing people stand up for POIs.”
The tournament consisted of 36 two-person teams, two prepared rounds, and two impromptu rounds, where debaters are given a topic and only about 20 minutes to prepare. For the prepared rounds, the 24 senior teams debated the efficacy of security alliances and the nine junior teams discussed universal child care. Competitors debate both sides of the resolution for the prepared rounds which encourages a depth of understanding as we have to consider the opposing arguments. “I think debate has broadened my perspective because it forces me to speak from both sides of different issues to an extremely varied panel of judges,” observed Yash D, Whittall ‘25.
The resolutions for the impromptu rounds consisted of a variety of topics ranging from the ethics of artificial intelligence to criminal justice reform. Each round was evaluated by a panel of two or three judges who awarded each speaker a score. The scores from each round were averaged and totaled to produce a final individual speaker score and a team score.
Despite this being the first major debate tournament of the season, Brentwood rose to the occasion and came away with some impressive top-ten finishes! Debate Co-Captain Izzy T, Allard ‘23 and her partner Phoebe K, Mack ‘24 placed third, Maxine P, Alex ‘23 and Daniel J, Privett ‘24 finished fifth, Sebastian EG, Whittall ‘24 and Luke P, Privett ‘24 came seventh, and Hamish G, Rogers ‘25 and Grace S, Hope ‘25 placed tenth! Our junior team, Rosalyn EG, Alex ‘26 and Ryer B, Whittall ‘26, also deserve a shoutout for their hard work and skillful argumentation, walking away with a seventh place finish!
Organizing a tournament of this magnitude is no small feat and there are many people who deserve our thanks for their hours of work behind the scenes: Ms Legassicke, Ms Curtis, Ms Singh, and Debate Co-Captains Izzy T and Zander L, Ellis ‘23. This day wouldn’t have succeeded without them, but for Zander L, it was all worth it. “It was very exciting to host the first in-person tournament since 2019” he remarked.
Thank you to all of the staff, students, and volunteer judges who made Debate Regionals possible and congratulations to all of the Brentwood teams!
Maxine P, Alex ‘23
A debater of course!
Saturday, January 22, the Brentwood Debate Program and 16 of Brentwood’s finest debaters hosted 56 other students from schools across Vancouver Island to compete in BC Debate Regionals, the qualifying tournament for Provincials in early March.
For many debaters, even the Grade 12s, this was their first time experiencing an in-person debate tournament with Brentwood. After three years of online tournaments, we were all very excited for the thrill that only face-to-face competition can offer. “In-person debate definitely adds an extra element,” explained Debate Coach, Ms Legassicke. “For many, this was their first time hearing the bang on the desk for protected time or seeing people stand up for POIs.”
The tournament consisted of 36 two-person teams, two prepared rounds, and two impromptu rounds, where debaters are given a topic and only about 20 minutes to prepare. For the prepared rounds, the 24 senior teams debated the efficacy of security alliances and the nine junior teams discussed universal child care. Competitors debate both sides of the resolution for the prepared rounds which encourages a depth of understanding as we have to consider the opposing arguments. “I think debate has broadened my perspective because it forces me to speak from both sides of different issues to an extremely varied panel of judges,” observed Yash D, Whittall ‘25.
The resolutions for the impromptu rounds consisted of a variety of topics ranging from the ethics of artificial intelligence to criminal justice reform. Each round was evaluated by a panel of two or three judges who awarded each speaker a score. The scores from each round were averaged and totaled to produce a final individual speaker score and a team score.
Despite this being the first major debate tournament of the season, Brentwood rose to the occasion and came away with some impressive top-ten finishes! Debate Co-Captain Izzy T, Allard ‘23 and her partner Phoebe K, Mack ‘24 placed third, Maxine P, Alex ‘23 and Daniel J, Privett ‘24 finished fifth, Sebastian EG, Whittall ‘24 and Luke P, Privett ‘24 came seventh, and Hamish G, Rogers ‘25 and Grace S, Hope ‘25 placed tenth! Our junior team, Rosalyn EG, Alex ‘26 and Ryer B, Whittall ‘26, also deserve a shoutout for their hard work and skillful argumentation, walking away with a seventh place finish!
Organizing a tournament of this magnitude is no small feat and there are many people who deserve our thanks for their hours of work behind the scenes: Ms Legassicke, Ms Curtis, Ms Singh, and Debate Co-Captains Izzy T and Zander L, Ellis ‘23. This day wouldn’t have succeeded without them, but for Zander L, it was all worth it. “It was very exciting to host the first in-person tournament since 2019” he remarked.
Thank you to all of the staff, students, and volunteer judges who made Debate Regionals possible and congratulations to all of the Brentwood teams!
Maxine P, Alex ‘23