Brian Casey's Account of Debating Milestone
January 13, 2014
Sacred Heart had another outstanding debating tournament this weekend at Queen’s University in Kingston.
First, I need to recognize the work done by Air Canada to get us there. Because of mechanical problems, the plane we were booked on was replaced with a smaller plane. A ticket agent who was re-ticketing the entire flight managed to get all six of our debaters (and me!) on the flight—remaining cheerful, professional and courteous throughout the three hours it took. It was comforting (given our anxiety about possibly missing the tournament) to have the reassurance and support at the airport.
212 debaters from across Canada took part in the tournament; Rory Flynn placed 1st and her partner, Mattea Roach was 2nd. In addition to placing 2nd in the senior category, Mattea was also the best under 15 debater at the tournament. They placed 2nd as a team, however, losing in the final round to a team composed of students from two Toronto schools, Bayview and Richmond Hill.
(One of the debaters on the team that placed first declared he would get a tattoo that said “I beat Rory Flynn”. “Yes, I said – and the good thing is, there won’t be very many people with the tattoo”. I also enjoyed the look on Rory’s father’s face when I asked him if Rory had told him “about the tattoo”.)
Rory and Mattea were not the only Sacred Heart debaters to acquit themselves well, however. Alexander Sapp defeated 137 other debaters in a strong individual performance, finishing one point out of 10th place. Andrew Mayo and Sebastian Young tied, finishing 1 point out of 16th place. Emma McLean finished 1 point out of 32nd place. Because of the size of the tournament, large numbers of debaters are bunched up at approximately the same result; these are in fact very fine finishes in a large and competitive event.
In the team standings, Andrew and Emma did very well, missing the octo-finals by one debate. (They lost to the same team from Bayview/Richmond Hill that eventually defeated Rory and Mattea). Alexander Sapp and Sebastian Young beat 54 other teams, missing the octo-finals by one round.
This marks the 5th time a Sacred Heart team has made it to the final round in the 10 trips we have made to the tournament and the 5th time a Sacred Heart debater has finished 1st individually (Neesha Rao took 1st twice, and Sophie McIntyre once; Rory repeats her 1st place finish from last year.)
The 2nd place finish is a personal best for Mattea in a Canadian tournament (although she was also 2nd at Cambridge, last year).
There are distinct advantages to being partnered with Rory Flynn, of course (you get to the final round at each tournament you enter, for example). There is however a significant drawback, too: you always take the smaller speaking time in the round. (One debater usually gets a longer speech than the other, or the opening or closing role. At Queen’s, for example, Rory had a 10 minute speech in each round, Mattea 7 minutes; Rory got to open or close each round for her team. It is harder to score as well with a 7 minute speech as a 10 minute speech, and harder from the smaller role. For that reason, at many tournaments, Mattea will be lower in the rankings than she would be if she were on a team of her own with a weaker debater.) In placing second, Mattea has demonstrated it has not held her back.
Rory has placed 1st individually at more tournaments than any other debater in Canadian history: McGill (twice), Queen’s (twice), the junior nationals (twice), Dalhousie (twice), the Donahoe (once), Hart House (once), the Nova Scotia provincials (four times), Cambridge (once), Moses Coady (once).
Brian Casey
Debating Coach
Sacred Heart School of Halifax
