Debating & Public Speaking

Debating is one of the last things I expected to be so heavily invested in at Mazenod. Since Year 7, I have been continually impressed by what heights the entire program has achieved. Through multiple major victories and a constant dedication towards fostering talents, participants continually hone their communication skills and ability to form ideas whilst enjoying team camaraderie. Becoming Debating Captain and being able to help facilitate such an amazing program was a privilege and an honour, and despite all the words that I could put on this page, my gratitude and joy from this experience will never be able to be fully expressed.

This year, despite debating venues being shifted more often than Australia’s Prime Minister, Mazenod’s teams have managed to produce great results once again. Mazenod has become a constant feature at State finals, with our Year 12 team qualifying for the semi finals, placing them in the top four teams in the state. A notable success comes from our Year 9 students, whose enthusiasm resulted in two teams at their division. One of these teams qualified for the playoffs, ensuring that the future of Mazenod debating looks brighter than ever. Notably, in the ACC Debating competition, our Year 10 debaters came first claiming a virtual pennant, a great accolade for the team. Our Year 9 team also came second in the Public Speaking division, once again demonstrating the strong showing of Mazenod’s future debaters.

This year also marked great success with training sessions for our Year 10, 11 and 12 teams. Working together to practice enabled all teams to learn from each other, and combining their talents and abilities allowed for a great resource to personally advance their debating strategies. More importantly, the environment also allowed members from different squads to interact with each other, allowing the fostering of connections between members, and solidifying the connections that debating at Mazenod forms. One of the greatest things about debating is that it creates a sport-like culture. Teams face each other, working to concoct arguments and rebuttals, to ultimately demonstrate the opposition’s case to be flawed and building oratory skills. Just like sport, you celebrate all the wins and you blame all the losses on the referee. You want to keep playing as long as your team is there to support you and I have enjoyed working with every single member of my team. Every single person, who has or will debate, ultimately has contributed to the victories that the school has accrued, and continues to win in this field.

I would also like to thank the various teachers who have generously contributed their talents to help. Mr Spasic, Ms Fox, Mr Convery and Ms Giacco have personally been great coaches with supportive presences, but we thank the many teachers who have coached over the years across all year levels. Any debating report would be incomplete without mentioning, appreciating and respecting the gargantuan efforts always put in by Ms Caird, who is the heart and soul of the program. Without her, it is impossible for any Mazenod public speaker or debater to reach the heights that they do, we all have abounding gratitude for the great things she has done for us. Mr Harrington stepping in to assist in Ms Caird’s role in helping coordinate debating during lockdown’s difficult circumstances is also greatly appreciated, and his enthusiasm and energy were a massive help in keeping the teams going.

I would like to end with a quote championed by Ms Caird as the ultimate speech starter: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Obviously, Dickens never envisioned a pandemic-stricken world in his opening to A Tale of Two Cities, but it perfectly encapsulates what I appreciated the most about debating this year. In the midst of a bad situation, I was surrounded by good people, helping develop our abilities in something that is fun, and giving all of us something to keep striving for in such a bad time. I would say that is not bad for an activity where the worst injury one can suffer is a paper cut, wouldn’t you?

Mateo Acosta Fernandez Debating Captain