If some of our goals as a School are to promote intellectual engagement, team spirit, school pride and a healthy sense of competition, then Debating at Ruyton certainly continues to be a vehicle for achieving these ends. In 2010, 65 students from Years 8-12 represented Ruyton in Debating and challenged themselves to become even better the next time they ‘took the floor’.
Debating is hard work; it takes discipline, confidence and intelligence. It requires girls to be committed to their teams, to acquire an acute understanding of various issues and to develop key strategies for mounting and defending an argument. Great debaters thrive on this and these are certainly the skills which we are striving to achieve.
At Ruyton, we know that we find ourselves in the most competitive region for debating, and for this reason we have two preparation nights prior to each round to ensure that our teams are as ready as possible. Beryl Yan, our Debating Captain in 2010, was instrumental in making these evenings a great success and she shared her expertise with every debater in each squad. Beryl is a respected and amazing public speaker and I know that her efforts, as well as those of other senior debaters, certainly enabled our junior girls to find the support and confidence which they required.
Over the past few years a number of structural changes have been made to Debating to ensure we are able realise the quality pre-existing in our squads. Not only have we added a preparation night, we have also enabled students to nominate to be in more competitive teams and have assigned senior mentors.In 2010, in order to promote leadership and groom possible future Debating Captains, we have introduced the position of Debating Level Leader, a role that sees Years 9, 10 and 11 students liaise with the Debating Captain and Co-ordinator to ensure that all teams in each grade are prepared for their round. In 2010, our inaugural leaders were Dana Hehir, Haymen Ye and Tatiana Kotsimbos – all of them excellent.
Ruyton debaters are wonderful public speakers and can convey their ideas with clarity, eloquence and poise. Our debaters also know that in order to have that extra 'edge', they need to do much more than just show up on the night. Our biggest challenge as a team is to ensure that we go for 'quality' and to ensure that we are well-prepared for each round.
This year, some clashes with other Co-curricular events and a camp meant that squads were placed under extra pressure. I was very proud of all the students, either from other teams or Year Levels who offered to cover for missing debaters. While the problem of a small school for a Debating Co-ordinator is that students are often involved in lots of Co-curricular activities, the blessing is that I can always find great students in our community who will volunteer to help out.
I am proud of all the students who are part of Debating at Ruyton and I am thrilled that each year students sign up to challenge themselves. In 2011, our Debating Captain will be Michelle Ye and I’m sure that her efforts, combined with the talents of each team member, will take us further towards the greatness Ruyton debaters truly deserve.
Mr Walter Zavattiero Debating Co-ordinator