MIDC 2008 (A-Division debates competition)

After yet another year, the most important day for any JC/poly debate society has finally arrived. The first day of the MOE Invitation Debate Competition 2008 (MIDC 2008) was held last Saturday (12/4/08).

The debate team
Front (from left): Kah Chee (0805), Si Min (0834), Kheng Meng (0713) and Benjamin (0705)
Back: Hon Ding (0832) and Matthew (0830)

The motion in which we had one week to prepare for was "This House believes that sports and politics are a toxic combination". We were against Tampines JC for the first round, the host school. I was the first in the speaker's line up, Hon Ding the second and Ben firmly staying in the third. I was the reply speaker for both debates.

The debators were all nervous in front of the cheering crowd for the hosting school, but we tried out best nonetheless. Even though we lost to them, the consolation was Benjamin was awarded Best Speaker for this debate.

The fact that we lost after spending many late nights of preparation is hard to accept and diminished our morale for a short while. But we did not give up and entered the next debate as scheduled.

We proposed the next impromptu debate against Temasek Polytechnic over the motion "This House would ban television advertisements targeted at children". As this was an impromptu debate, we only had one hour to prepare before we engaged in the verbal warfare.

The team line-up in this case was Matthew being the first speaker, I, the second and Ben holding third again.

This is the first time we were debating against a poly team and the first win our team has ever accomplished against an external team. The icing on the cake was that I was awarded Best Speaker for this debate.

There are still two more impromptu debates next Saturday. That will be another two more rounds of warfare! The first round of debate was the best performance in NY Debate Society's history, as we won one of the two debates and got two best speakers.

It was not totally the J2s' work though. The J1s made it into the speaking team and put in their best efforts during the preparation stage. Whether it was researching or acting as a dummy opposition team, we really appreciate it.

Lastly, we would also like to thank Ben Low for coming down to give his support. And of course, Aquila, our coach, and the two teachers-in-charge of Debate and Journalism, Mdm Ainon and Mdm Shasila.

Day 2 of this competition will be held the following Saturday (19/4) 12pm at Tampines JC. All supporters are welcome! If you wish to support us, please look for Mdm Ainon or Mdm Shasila at the GP department or approach any debaters.

By Yeo Kheng Meng