DEBATING - SENIOR
Back Row : Emilie Horsfall , Rani Williams Front Row : Quinn McKay , Jesse Perrott , Oscar Moriarity Absent : Samuel Wixon
2020 was once again a year of great regional debating success for Havelock North High School . Hawke ’ s Bay regionals started off the debating season in the ���������� ��� ������� ����� ���� ������ ������������� HNHS . All these teams managed to win at least half of their debates , with the senior team of Emilie Horsfall , Rani Williams and Sam Wixon breaking into the semis where they were , unfortunately , defeated . At the end of the tournament , two HNHS speakers were acknowledged with individual awards . Sam Wixon was named Best Speaker , and both him and Emilie Horsfall were selected for the Hawke ’ s Bay regional team .
Although the national tournament had to be postponed due to lockdown restrictions , it was eventually held over Zoom in August . Sam Wixon ended up being unable to attend , but HNHS was represented by Emilie Horsfall who debated alongside two students from Karamu on the Hawke ’ s Bay team . Up against the best high school debaters from across the country , the team managed to improve on the previous year ’ s ������������������������������������������������������ ��������� �������� ���� ��� ��������� ����� ���� ��������� round . However , the success for Havelock didn ’ t end there , as Emilie Horsfall ended up being selected for the New Zealand development team as one of the top speakers from Year 12 and under . This team would be given the incredible opportunity to compete against teams from around the world in an online tournament in December .
At the end of term three , the Hawke ’ s Bay Impromptu ���� ���� ����� ����� ����� ������� ����� ������� ��� impressive number of teams , this time making up six of the thirteen in the competition . We also ended up hosting the tournament . In the impromptu format , students competed in teams of two , with only seven minutes prep for six minute speeches . Both junior and senior speakers did extremely well , which was ������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������� Congalton and Cindy Wang went up against Katie Hodson and Wyatt Horsfall , while Emilie Horsfall and Rani Williams faced a team from Karamu in the semi- ������������������������������������������������������ HNHS , as both Wyatt and Katie , and Emilie and Rani broke into the round . While the debate was close and �������������������������������������������������� went to the juniors , Wyatt Horsfall and Katie Hodson , who proved that their year ’ s training had not gone to waste . Once again , Havelock took away a number of speaker awards , with Emilie Horsfall winning the Price Cup for the best speaker of the tournament , Rani Williams and Sam Wixon both being acknowledged as highly commended speakers , and Wyatt Horsfall being awarded the title of Most Promising Speaker as the best junior speaker of the tournament . All in all , 2020 shone a light on the oratory skills of HNHS students . With a debate club which only keeps growing in numbers and ability , 2021 looks bright .
Emilie Horsfall
Charlie de Groot Year 10
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