Three teams of our debaters competed in the Hawke’s Bay Regional Debating Champs on the 2nd and 3rd of March. The weekend included four debates, each of which allowed twenty minutes of preparation before competing against another team. Out of the four debates, the team comprised of Erika Bass, Charliot Miller and Elijah Moore won one debate. The junior team, the youngest team to debate in the tournament of Wyatt Horsfall, Lily Graham and Katie Hodson, won two debates while the team of Emilie Horsfall, Rani Williams and Samuel Wixon won three debates and had enough speaker points to participate in the semi-finals. In the semis, the team faced an experienced Karamu High School but had enough skill to move forward into the finals. It was a close final with the Napier Girls’ High School team taking out first place overall with Havelock North coming a very respectable second. If that wasn’t enough, Wyatt, Lily and Katie won best junior team! To top that, both Emilie Horsfall and Samuel Wixon were selected for the Hawke’s Bay team that will be competing at Nationals later this year. Overall, it was a great weekend for Havelock North High School, and a weekend full of learning and fun for all thirty teams entered.

By Rani Williams

Year 11

L-R: Wyatt Horsfall, Katie Hodson, Lily Graham.

Article added: Wednesday 13 March 2019