The junior division of the FIS Debate Team (Secondary International Stream), formed just this year by Mr. Chan, attended our second full-day tournament last weekend. The JSDC (Junior Schools Debating Championship) is one of the biggest tournaments in Hong Kong for junior debaters, so it was an interesting experience, to say the least; over 30 schools participated with 40 debate teams. The competition was intense and we were feeling intimidated by the prospect of having to compete against debaters who were potentially older and/or more experienced than ourselves, but it’s safe to say that by the end of the day we were feeling much more confident about our abilities.
The team picked up a win against DGS (Diocesan Girls School) while at the tournament, with the highest speaker score being 71. While in the other debates the team did not fare as well, those matches were only lost by a point or two. Regardless, the debate team is aware of our progress and is excited to attend more tournaments in the future. If the current rate of improvement doesn’t falter, it won’t be long before we get to the finals!
I, for one, am proud of us – the HKJSDC was an experience I won’t be forgetting for a long time, for a multitude of reasons; the immense collaboration between the members, the feeling of discussing intricate topics with others who are just as invested as ourselves, and obviously, the taste of victory that we had. In the wise words of our junior debate captain Juliette D., “The JSDC was a competition that challenged us and, even though we weren’t the best, we got something valuable out of it- the experience.”
Thanks to Mr. Chan and Mr. Williams for coaching & giving us the opportunity to attend tournaments like these. We are eternally grateful.