Swinburne to hold largest secondary school debate
KUCHING: More than 300 students and teachers from over 30 schools throughout the country will flock to Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus ( Swinburne Sarawak) to take part in the 13th Annual Swinburne Sarawak Inter- School Debating Championship happening from Feb 5 to 8.
According to a press release by Swinburne Sarawak, the championship organised by Swinburne Debaters’ Club is the largest secondary school debate tournament in Borneo, and one of the largest in the country.
The championship founded as a platform for Sarawakian students to debate in English and to hone their critical thinking and debating skills has grown tremendously through the years.
“Six years ago, the first team from Pontianak, Indonesia participated in the competition. Subsequently, teams from West Malaysia asked to take part. It has since attracted participation from schools in Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Penang as well as international schools in Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines.”
Students from Form 1-3 or from Year 7- 9 are under the junior category, while those from Form 4- 5 or from Year 10-11 are under the senior category.
In addition to the champions and runners- up per category, awards will be given in each category to the Most Improved Team, Most Promising Team, and Top Five Best Speakers in the preliminary rounds and Best Speakers of English in both categories.
According to Swinburne Sarawak’s senior lecturer from the Faculty of Language and Communication and founding organiser of the championship, Christina Yin, the committee is pleased to provide the means for Sarawakian students to participate in a debating competition with students from national and international schools.
“Schools from rural areas in the state have been provided transportation and accommodation subsidies for the duration of the competition. Apart from the thinking and debating skills they learn, we hope the students take away new friendships and great memories,” she said.
The championship’s Chief Adjudicator Hugh John Leong revealed that world renowned adjudicators from all over the country have been invited to provide feedback and fair adjudication as invaluable experience for Sarawakian debaters.
The Swinburne Debaters’ Club is dedicated to promoting debate and public speaking in English among Swinburne’s student community and secondary school students throughout the country.
Founded in 2005, the club has hosted the prestigious Yayasan Sarawak English Debating Championship and, since 2006, the annual Swinburne Sarawak Inter- School Debating Championship.