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21 September: Impromptu Cup Report
The Impromptu Cup is over for another year – and proved to be a challenging and enjoyable tournament for all involved. Held on Saturday 20 September at the University of Auckland and hosted in association with the University of Auckland Debating Society, the Impromptu Cup brought 24 ASD teams together to have a go at a new style of debating (impromptu style, with just five minutes’ preparation team preceding 4-6 minute speeches!) over the course of four rounds, followed by two semi-finals and a final.
The university adjudicators that attended were uniformly impressed with the standard of debating, as students debated issues as diverse as gangster rap, aid obligations, school zoning and the lowering of the voting age. Particular praise must be in store for the four teams that made it through to the semi-finals: King’s, St Cuthbert’s, Rangitoto and Dio. These teams did very well to edge out a number of other teams that had debated well during the day. King’s proceeded through to the final in a 3-0 decision against Dio in a debate about compulsory organ donation; meanwhile, Rangitoto won their semi-final in a 2-1 split decision, negating a motion forcing smokers to pay for the costs of their smoking-related health treatment. This left a final to be contested between Rangitoto and King’s. Ultimately King’s prevailed in a 5-0 decision, negating the motion, “This House would establish citizenship testing for all new immigrants.” King’s, then, are the 2008 winners of the Impromptu Cup.
In addition to team awards, a number of individual speaker prizes were given out in recognition of top quality individual performances at the Impromptu Cup. Highly Commended awards were given to Peter Kim of Westlake Boys and Emily Adlam of Dio. An Impromptu Cup tournament team was named, which represented Auckland’s top impromptu debaters. The reserves for this team were Marianne Villaneuva of Westlake Girls and Ella Tunnicliffe-Glass from St Cuthbert’s. The team consisted of Sam Horner (Wentworth) and Ben Kornfeld (King’s). Ben Kornfeld was also named Best Speaker of the tournament.
Thank you very much to all teams who came along for the day, and to all the support we at ASD received from the University of Auckland Debating Society. Mark Tushingham proved to be a reliable and ever-helpful convenor, and Brad Ward (also a member of the ASD committee) gave an impressive speech at the beginning of the day about the merits of school students joining the Debating Society next year. Both Mark and Brad deserve our especial thanks.
Well done all, and see you again next year!
17 August: Impromptu Cup Entry Form
Please click here to download the Entry From for the Impromptu Cup.
More details on this competition can be found below.
16 August: FINALS ROUNDS 2008
Please be aware that the grades for 2008 are nearing completion and that we are coming to the scheduled finals! ALL FINALS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
On Monday 25th August ACG Parnell will face off against Howick 2 at 6.30pm at ACG to debate the moot "This House Believes that community service should be part of the school curriculum"
On Wednesday 27th August Westlake Boys Grammar and Kristin will debate to decide the champion of the Premier Advanced Grade for 2008. This debate is taking place at Westlake Boys and should be a fantastic evening.
On Monday 1st September Glendowie College and Long Bay will debate to decide the winner of the Senior Open final for 2008. This debate, taking place at Glendowie and starting at 7pm should be one to watch!
This week sees the Advanced Open and Premier Junior finalists decided but if you're interested in coming along and seeing the best debaters in the ASD competition please do! Supper will be served at all venues after the finals!
Impromptu Cup - information
Last year a new, one-day debating tournament was created in the
This year the Impromptu Cup will be run by Auckland Schools Debating (ASD) in association with the
Very soon we will be sending out entry forms asking for entries, along with a more detailed timetable and set of guidelines. This year there will be only one grade (due to the large number of schools attached to ASD), and each school can send only one team. We recommend that schools field teams of older speakers from Years 12 and 13, given the new style. The team cap for the tournament is 24 teams. This means we will be accepting entries on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. Please think seriously about whether your school will enter a team. Entries open on August 18 and will close on September 2. If you would like to enter a team, we will ask you to fill in a soon-to-be released entry form and to enclose a cheque for $20 made out to ‘Auckland Schools Debating’ in an envelope addressed to:
Auckland Schools Debating
Any questions, please email Max Harris (chief adjudicator) at info@aucklandschoolsdebating.org.nz.
3 July: Premier Advanced and Premier Junior Break:
Congratulations to all those teams below who broke in the Premier Advanced grade:
| Rank | Team | Wins | Draw Strength |
| 1 | KC Gold Prem | 6 | 32 |
| 2 | Rangitoto | 6 | 31 |
| 3 | St Kents | 5 | 31 |
| 4 | Takapuna | 5 | 29 |
| 5 | Westlake Boys | 5 | 25 |
| 6 | Westlake Girls | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | St Peters | 4 | 21 |
| 8 | Kristin 2 | 4 | 21 |
Congratulations to those teams breaking in the Premier Junior grade below:
| Rank | Team | Wins | Draw Strength |
| 1 | St Kents | 6 | 31 |
| 2 | Kings | 6 | 28 |
| 3 | Westlake Girls | 6 | 23 |
| 4 | Westlake Boys | 5 | 32 |
| 5 | Strathallan | 4 | 26 |
| 6 | Rutherford | 4 | 25 |
| 7 | AGS | 4 | 23 |
| 8 | Corran | 4 | 22 |
3 July: Advanced Open Break:
| Rank | School | Wins | Draw Strength |
| 1 | King’s 1 | 5 | 16 |
| 2 | Baradene 1 | 5 | 14 |
| 3 | Westlake Boys 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 4 | EGGS 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 5 | Westlake Girls 2 | 4 | 16 |
| 6 | Rodney 1 | 4 | 16 |
| 7 | St Kents 2 | 4 | 15 |
| 8 | AGS 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 9 | St Kents 1 | 4 | 11 |
| 10 | EGGS 4 | 4 | 11 |
| 11 | Westlake Girls 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 12 | Westlake Boys 4 | 3 | 16 |
| 13 | AGGS Midnight | 3 | 15 |
| 14 | Senior College 1 | 3 | 14 |
| 15 | Sacred Heart 4 | 3 | 14 |
| 16 | Botany 1 | 3 | 13 |
Positions 4, 5 and 6 were determined by a random number generator.
Positions 9 and 10 were determined by a coin flip.
Positions 14 and 15 were determined by a coin flip.
Position 16 was determined by a random number generator. The following teams were also on 3 wins with 13 draw strength points:
| St Cuthberts 2 |
| Westlake Girls 1 |
| AGGS is da bomb |
| Massey 1 |
2 July: Advanced Open Speaker Tab:
Congratulations go to the following speakers placed 1-10 in this grade:
| Rank | Speaker | School |
| 1 | Matthew Calvin | Massey 1 |
| 2 | Zoe Dyer | St Cuthberts 1 |
| 3 | Lilla Dittrich | Westlake Girls 1 |
| 4 | Craig Robertson | Rutherford 1 |
| 5 | Henry de Malmanche | AGS 1 |
| 6= | Hannah Owen-Wright | Westlake Girls 2 |
| 6= | Ryan Sainsbury | Sancta Maria 1 |
| 8= | Hugh Springford | St Kents 1 |
| 8= | Nikhil Sood | AGS 1 |
| 8= | Jason Ma | AGS 1 |
1 July: Junior Open Speaker Tab:
Congratulations go to the following speakers placed first and second in their respective zones:
| Zone | Place | Speaker Name | School |
Northern | First | Josh Ridgeley | Rangitoto 2 |
| Second | Jane Shi | Rangitoto 3 |
Eastern | First | Brad Hejier | St Kents 2 |
| Second | Henry Fitzgerald | Sacred Heart 1 |
Western | First | Rosa Newell | Western Springs 2 |
| Second | Faith Clevesley | Western Springs 2 |
Central | First | Charlotte Hewison | AGGS Bumblebees |
| Second | Bhaven Srikumar | AGS 1 |
Southern | First | Maaola Ioane | De La Salle 1 |
| Second | Alice Merrall | Tuakau 1 |
30 June: Senior Open Speaker Tab:
Congratulations go to the following speakers placed first and second in their respective zones:
Zone Place Speaker Name School Northern 1st Holly Mansfield Orewa 2 2nd Peter Guo Rangitoto 1 Eastern 1st Nishika Kumble Glendowie 2 2nd Anna Clearwater Glendowie 2 Western 1st Aparajita Goswami Lynfield 1 2nd Kevin Jia MAGS Central 1st Harriet Farquhar AGGS Delta 2nd Eden Radford McCulloch AGGS Delta Southern 1st Catherine Trenberth Papatoetoe 2 2nd Raymend Kumar De La Salle 2
30 June: Senior Open Team Rankings:
Click here to download the full list of team rankings for the Senior Open Grade.
15 June: Junior Open Break:NOTE: The Junior Open Draw for the Octo Finals has been changed, please make sure you check the latest version of the draw.
16 June: JUNIOR OPEN BREAK ANNOUNCED:
Rank | Team | # of Wins | Draw Strength |
1 | 5 | 16 | |
2 | St Kents 1 | 5 | 12 |
3 | Howick 2 | 5 | 9 |
4 | Baradene 3 | 4 | 17 |
5 | Lynfield 3 | 4 | 16 |
6 | Glendowie 1 | 4 | 15 |
7 | AGS 2 | 4 | 14 |
8 | Howick 3 | 4 | 14 |
9 | Rosmini Red | 4 | 14 |
10 | De La Salle 1 | 4 | 14 |
11 | Strathallan 1 | 4 | 14 |
12 | ACG Parnell Gobstoppers | 4 | 13 |
13 | AGS 1 | 4 | 13 |
14 | Mt Albert Grammar 1 | 4 | 13 |
15 | St Kents 3 | 4 | 13 |
16 | ACG Parnell Belugas | 4 | 12 |
Position 7 and 8 determined by coin flip
Position 12-15 determined by random number generator
Position 16 yet to be determined
Teams on draw strength on 11 who do not make the break are:
| Rosehill 1 |
| Botany Babies |
| Western Springs 2 |
| Mount Albert Grammar 2 |
| Western Springs 4 |
Teams on 4 wins who do not make break (draw strength of 10 or below):
| Selwyn 1 |
| EGGS 1 |
| Rosehill 2 |
15 June: SENIOR OPEN BREAK ANNOUNCED: The following teams are breaking to the Octo-finals of the Senior Open competition 2008:
All Senior Open Octo Final Debates will be held at AIC, please see venue details for more information.
RANK TEAM NO. OF WINS DRAW STRENGTH 1 Glendowie 2 5 16 2 St Cuths 2 5 15 3 Rutherford Obsinates 5 11 4 Rutherford Vanquishers 5 10 5 St Cuths4 5 9 6 Glendowie 4 4 17 7 St Mary's 1 4 15 8 Orewa 2 4 14 9 Glendowie 1 4 14 10 Glendowie 3 4 13 11 Macleans 1 4 13 12 St Kents 1 4 13 13 Long Bay 1 4 13 14 AGGS Delta 4 12 15 St Kents 4 4 12 16 De La Salle 4 11
Positions 8 and 9, given the same draw strength, were determined by a coin flip.
Positions 10-13 were determined by a random number generator.
Positions 14 and 15 were determined by a coin flip.
Position 16 goes to De La Salle as the winner of the Southern zone.
12 March: Limited Preparation Debates
The grades for which we have not announced moots are limited preparation debates. Specifically that includes both Premier Advanced and Open Advanced. Prep time will be 60 minutes so we advise teams to arrive at least 75 minutes before their debates are scheduled to start. Also note that both of these grades have two sessions with the first round of debates starting at 6:30pm and the second round starting at 8pm. This is the time debates start, so teams will prepare prior to these times.
Also the committee is in the process of scheduling a 'Catch up Round' for the Premier Grades. This means that if you need to postpone a debate from an earlier round it can be made up later in the year. Please note there are a number of conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to move a debate so please check the rules before doing so (which are available on the Resoruces page of this site).
10 March: Marking Guidelines:
Further to the second adjudication session held last night by Claire Ryan we would like to give teacher-adjudicators some clarification on the marking standard. Contrary to what is listed in one guide on our resources page (which has now been ammended) the marking band is 60-80 (as listed on the ASD marksheet).
Click here to download the full marking guide referred to by Claire last night.
5 March: Payment
Payment is due by the 31st of March. Any teams with payment outstanding at that date will be automatically defaulted in all rounds until payment is received.
29 Feb: More Frequently Asked Questions Answered:
We have summarized as much of the key information as possible into a single document that can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
Can all coaches please download and read this information thoroughly (it is relatively succint) as it may answer some of queries that you have.
Again, it can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
27 Feb: Update!
- Speech times are as follows:
Advanced Open: 8 minute speeches, 4 minute replies.
Senior Open: 6 minute speeches, 3 minute replies.
Junior Open: 5 minute speeches, 2.5 minute replies.
Junior Premier: 6 minute speeches, 3 minute replies.
Advanced Premier: 8 minute speeches, 4 minute replies.
- Points of Information are allowed in both Premier grades an in Advanced Open and will be allowed (by mutual agreement) in Senior Open.
- As some of you have noted, the Premier Advanced grade was provisionally called Premier Senior in the information sent out at the end of 2007. The only thing that has changed is the name; the structure of this grade has not changed. It caters for 6th & 7th formers - we simply felt Advanced better reflected this spread. Premier Junior for 5th form and lower, so all forms are catered for.
Update 23 Feb: Debate Locations Announced
We are now in a position to announce that debates will be held at the following locations:
Premier Junior and Premier Advanced: Auckland Grammar
Advanced Open: St Peter's
Senior Open:
Central: AIC
North: Westlake Girls
South: Papatoetoe High
West: Avondale College
East: St Kents
Junior Open:
Central: EGGS
North: Northcote College
South: Rosehill
West: Rutherford
East: Sancta Maria