ACTIVITIES
GULF DEBATES SENIOR COMPETITION 2021 On 11th December, two teams from Dubai College (DC team A - Himakshi, Viha, Aryaman and DC team B - Vansh, Kiumars, Hyder) took part in the annual
GULF DEBATES JUNIOR COMPETITION 2021 Right at the end of the Autumn term, after the last day of term, eleven of DC’s finest junior debaters made their way to Cambridge International School for the 2021 Annual Gulf Debates Competition, and what a day it was! We started off with speeches from CIS’s Debate Head and Vice-Principal and the announcement of the first impromptu motion: ‘This House would Ban Child Beauty Pageants’. All Teams set off to work and soon enough, the first debate commenced and concluded with astounding results! All three DC teams completed their first three debates one by one and then
Gulf Debates Competition, where they debated against students from across the country. Throughout the competition, both teams took part in four preliminary debate rounds, with thought-provoking motions covering hot global contentions such as free immigration and national pride. Overall, everyone debated triumphantly with DC team A winning second place
headed for a quick lunch where we were able to blow off some steam and meet debaters from all the other schools participating in the competition. Now came the power-round, the dreaded disqualification round. Having already semi-prepared the motion, all teams huddled in anticipation, hoping to be assigned to the side that they had prepared best, and as the designated sides were released, the room erupted with passionate – although muted – cries of joy or despair which were almost immediately replaced with hushed conversation and teams rushing to their designated preparation rooms. Teams were paired with teams of similar skill: if you won the first three debates, you would be paired with another team that also won their first three debates. All three DC teams emerged victorious, having survived the power-round, and we all gathered at the Auditorium to celebrate with some wonderful singing
in the Plate category, and DC team B winning second place in the Bowl category. All speakers from DC team A clinched the ‘Outstanding Speaker Award’, with Aryaman being voted the best speaker of the tournament, Viha coming second and Himakshi coming fifth. All in all, another excellent day of debating for Dubai College.
Aryaman Arora 11CSI
and dancing on stage while the semifinal draws were being decided. Although there were a few hiccups along the way, DC A, B, and C all qualified for the semis, comprising an astounding 1/5th of the entirety of the semi-finals draw, debating the motion: ‘This House Believes that Government Funding of the Arts Should be Banned’, a surprising impromptu motion that truly pushed all teams to their best as they analysed the Government’s role in supporting the arts with the surprising twist of being unable to use the internet. Soon after the debates, all the debaters gathered for the penultimate time in the auditorium to hear the fixtures for the finals, and it was to our delight that DC Teams A and C made it through! I would like to seize this opportunity to extend heartfelt thanks from all three teams to Ms Hodge for her tireless work and support as well as to Shrish, Aman, SHAMAL 2022
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