Amy was selected to represent the Riverina in Sydney as part of the State Debating Championships, along with students from the Lake Cargellico, Thurgoona, Sturt and Young regions.
Amy is also a member of Deni North’s Premier’s Debating Challenge team which recentLY won the Riverina, and now progresses to state level.
Teams in the State Debating Championships competed over two days.
On day one, the Riverina team won two of its three debates, which covered the topics ‘that we should ban alcohol’, ‘that boys and girls should have to go to separate schools’ and ‘that students should be allowed to use their mobile phones at school’.
A round robin format was employed for day two, with Riverina winning both its debates for the day. They were on the topics ‘that all food should have to be vegetarian on school grounds’ and ‘that teachers should reward kids with chocolate and lollies at school’.
As the fourth ranked team following the round robin, Riverina progressed to the semi- finals where they met the top ranked team South West Sydney on ‘that students should have to do mindfulness and meditation at school’.
“After a really tough and close debate, we were awarded the Win which sent us straight through to the grand final,” Amy said.
“We came up against the Hunter Central Coast in the grand final.
“The topic was ‘that student leaders should be picked at random each term’.
“We were the affirmative and sadly, in what was a close debate, we lost.
“Although we lost, our team was still very happy with our efforts and how much we improved to be named runners-up.”