Sacred Heart students won a triple crown at the McGill High
School debating tournament this weekend.
Rory Flynn and Mattea
Roach won the 54th annual McGill tournament, defeating 131 other
teams from across Canada in the process. This is the largest debating
tournament in Canada for high school students, and featured teams from Victoria
to Halifax. Rory and Mattea achieved the win without losing a point –
placing 1st in each of the six preliminary rounds (and in the semis and finals).
Andrew
Morrison (Fountain Academy ‘10 — national debate champion and two-time McGill
winner) has called the team trophy the “Stanley Cup of debating” because like
that award, larger bases have been added over time as the names of more winners
are added.
The
tournament is held in British Parliamentary style, with four teams in each
round. In the final round, Rory and Mattea defeated a team from Upper
Canada College, a team from Richmond Hill and a team made up of students from
Georgetown and Northern Collegiate.
Meanwhile, Catherine
Burke and Maria Samman won the junior division of the
tournament, defeating 18 other junior teams. In that final round,
Catherine and Maria defeated a team from Upper Canada College, a team from
University of Toronto Schools, and a team from Halifax Grammar School.
Sacred
Heart has won the junior division each year the tournament has had one.
Rory
Flynn repeated as the top individual debater, defeating all 263 other
debaters; Catherine Burke was the runner up Junior high debater at the
event. This is the 6th time in the 11 years we have taken part that a
Sacred Heart student has won the individual trophy in the senior category.
Despite
our success individually, this is only the 2nd time Sacred Heart has won the
team trophy. Rory and Mattea’s names will join Deirdre
Casey and Alison Ghosn, the
2008 winners.
Mattea Roach finished
6th individually, Jake Marchand finished 20th and Sabrina
Secord 31st. To put these results in context,
Mattea did better than 257 debaters, Jake better than 243 debaters and Sabrina
better than 232 debaters. These are amazing results given the calibre of
the other competitors.
Three
of our other teams also performed extremely well this weekend, earning ten
points in the five regular rounds of the competition, missing the quarter
finals by less than a point.: Sabrina Secord and Anya Friesen, Jake
Marchand and Andrew Mayo, and Emma
McLean and Alyson Duff.
Our congratulations go out to all 17 of our
debaters. Our thanks to our drivers and chaperones Bev Deal, Maya
Churbaji, Brian Casey and Patricia Donnelly.