The Quebec Student Debating Association

Archive 2006-2007 (in reverse chronological order)

Quebec Hosts Junior Nationals The top 64 junior debaters from across Canada gathered in Montreal for the Junior National Debating Championships. Quebec was represented by 6 teams. The Nova Scotia team of Lyle Dobbin and Vinayak Mishra defeated the British Columbia team of Iqbal Kassam and Jonny Carson in an outstanding championship round. The top Quebec team was Howard Cohen and Sam Gurman from LCC, who lost in the semi-finals to finish third. The team of Murphy O'Connor and Arik Parnass (St. George's) finished 5th, while the team of Phil Simard (Selwyn House) and Michael Zimmerman (Centennial) finished 7th. Howard Cohen won the tournament's top speaker award, while Murphy O'Connor was fifth and Sam Gurman was 7th. Congratulations to everyone, and many thanks to everyone for their support! Team Results & Individual Results
Dawson Tournament The annual Dawson tournament was won by Julia Deutsch and Caroline Jo of the Study, who defeated Howard Cohen and Trevor Rajchgot from LCC in the finals. Howard took top speaker, with Murphy O'Connor from St. George's in second, and Julia third.
QSDA Awards WIllis S. McLeese Award Every year, the QSDA awards this for "outstanding service to student debating in Quebec". This year's winner is Rachel McCabe. She was presented with the award by Mr. McLeese himself at the National Seminar held in Ottawa. Rachel has served as Treasurer for many years, helped host countless events and has been a dedicated coach for Trafalgar. She will be leaving Quebec to tackle exciting new challenges in Denmark. Congratulations, and best of luck, Rachel!
Halifax Tournament The annual "Donahoe Cup" tournament was held at the Sacred Heart School of Halifax. David Rudin from Royal West, was the only Quebec participant, and managed to win top speaker and also was on the winning team.
Junior Provincial Championships On April 2nd, Centennial High School hosted the Junior Provincials, the qualifying event for the Junior National Championships hosted jointly this year by Selwyn House School, LCC, E.C.S. and John Rennie. Congratulations to the following juniors who will be competing at the national level: Murphy O'Connor and Arik Parnass of St. George's, Howard Cohen and Sam Gurman of LCC, Kiara Kaminski and Madison McLeod of the Study, Kelly Steinmitz of ECS, Phil Simard of Selwyn House, Matthew Quadrini and Jordan Gentile of Loyola, Lisa Shell-Schnitzer of Trafalgar and Michael Zimmerman of Centennial. The Junior Provincial Championship was won by the team of Michael Zimmerman and Duncan Stewart from Centennial. Team Results & Individual Results
Westwood Provincial Qualifying Tournament Westwood High School hosted the qualifying event for the National Seminar this year. The National Seminar will take place in Ottawa from April 26th to April 29th. The following students have qualified to attend: Robert Morissey of LCC, Lauren Phizicky of Trafalgar, Ryan Brun of Selwyn House, Noellia Gravotta of St. George's, David McLeod of Selwyn and Lisa Shell Schnitzer of Trafalgar. The top team at the tournament was Misha Solomon and Nick Shulman from Lower Canada College. Congratulations! Team Results & Individual Results
Durham Tournament Four Quebec teams attended the Durham University in northern England over March Break to compete against 100 of the best English teams in British Parliamentary format. All four Quebec teams did exceptionally well finishing in the top quarter of the team results. The competitors were Lauren Shadley and Kierstin Lundell-Smith ( Trafalgar - 16th place ), David Rudin and Edward Bechard-Torres ( Royal West - 17th place ), Caroline Wagner and Madeleine Ballard ( LCC - 18th place ) and Michael Stepner and Simon Wisnovsky ( St. George's - 25th place ). Click here to see some pictures! Team Results & Individual Results
Oxford Tournament The LCC team of Caroline Wagner and Madeleine Ballard attended the prestigious Oxford Union's Championship Day over the March break. They were invited along with UCC as the top 2 teams from the recent North American Championships. It was perhaps the best results ever for Canada, as LCC finished in 8th place out of 80, narrowly missing the finals, while Caroline Wagner's result of 7th place was the highest ever for a Canadian debater in England! Results
World Qualifier We would like to thank the 5 participants who applied to be considered to attend the CSDF World Qualifying Tournament to select the 2007 Worlds Team. The committee, which was independent of the executive, selected Nick Shulman from LCC, Helen White from Stanstead, and Misha Solomon from LCC.
Senior National Championships Congratulations to Madeleine Ballard and Caroline Wagner of Lower Canada College for their stellar performance at the Senior National Championships. They took home the championship trophy! The Royal West team of David Rudin and Edward Bechard Torres made the quarter-finals, and finished in 5th place. Individually, Michael Stepner was 5th, Madeleine 6th, and David 8th. The event was held at Upper Canada College from March 2nd through 4th. Team Results & Individual Results
QAA Junior Tournament Queen of Angels Academy hosted the third junior tournament of the year. The top three speakers were Ariel Shapiro from Royal West, Murphy O'Connor from St. George's and Michael Abramson from Selwyn House. The top team was Michael Abramson and Phil Simard from Selwyn House. Team Results & Individual Results
Queen's University Tournament A total of 66 teams competed in the annual Queen's tournament. Two Quebec teams made semi-finals. The LCC team of Madeleine Ballard and Caroline Wagner lost in semi-finals to UCC, while the hybrid team of Michael Stepner ( St. George's ) and David Rudin ( Royal West ) lost to UCC in the finals. Top Quebec speakers had Madeleine Ballard 1st, David Rudin 7th, Howard Cohen ( LCC ) in 10th, Nick Shulman ( LCC ) in 11th, and Michael Stepner 12th. Well done, everyone!
The European Debating Championship Kierstin Lundell-Smith (Trafalgar School for Girls) recently returned from competing in the European Debating Championship in Stuttgart, Germany with Team Canada. After 8 rounds of debate over several days of competition, Kierstin and team made it to the final round against Germany and won the championship! Congratulations!
Public Speaking Championships Loyola High School hosted the annual public speaking tournament that will choose students for the National Public Speaking Championships in Winnipeg. The top three speakers were Mathieu Mancini (Loyola), Celine Bilbul (Herzliah) and Graham Hooton (Selwyn House).
West Island College Junior Invitational On Thursday, November 30th, West Island College graciously hosted 22 junior teams at their school for an invitational tournament. Alex Chalk and Noella Gravotta of St. Georges took top team at the event followed by the team of Matthew Quadrini and Jordan Gentile from Loyola. Alex Chalk was also awarded top speaker. Click below for more detailed standings: Team Results & Individual Results
Senior Provincials On November 23rd, Royal West Academy hosted the senior provincial championships. The prepared topic for the event was: This House believes that Bill 101 has benefited Quebec Society. The St. Georges team of Michael Stepner and Simon Wisnovsky won the tournament. Michael Stepner was also awarded top speaker. Congratulations! The top 6 teams at the event qualify for the senior national event in Toronto. After St. Georges, these teams are David Rudin and Edward Bechard Torres (Royal West), Kierstin Lundell Smith & Lauren Shadley (Trafalgar), Madeleine Ballard & Caroline Wagner (LCC), Nick Shulman & Robert Morissey (LCC) and Lisa Shell Schnitzer & Lauren Phizicky (Trafalgar). Team Results & Individual Results
Carleton University Tournament Three teams from Quebec travelled to the Carleton University Debating tournament in Ottawa, which for the first time was held in British Parliamentary format. The LCC / St. George's hybrid team of Robert Morrissey and Michael Stepner was outstanding at this event. They were easily the top team before advancing to the final round. The LCC team of Caroline Wagner and Nick Shulman were the third place team before also advancing to the finals. The LCC team of Misha Solomon and Erin Vandzura advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated. In the finals, both Quebec teams were on the 'back half' of the debate, while the front half consisted of Lisgar and Ashbury teams. On a 6-1 decision, the winners were the Lisgar team over Nick and Caroline. The Quebec teams also were dominant in the speaker standings. Michael Stepner finished first, Robert was 2nd, Nick was 4th, Caroline 6th and Misha 7th! Team Results & Individual Results
North American Championships On November 5th & 6th Trafalgar hosted the 2nd annual North American Championships. Thirty two teams from across Canada attended this BP event and we are very proud to report that although Upper Canada College took top team at the tournament, 3 Quebec teams made semi-finals (Lower Canada College, Royal West Academy and Trafalgar) and the top five speakers were all from Quebec! LCC's team of Madeleine Ballard and Caroline Wagner made it all the way to the final round. See complete results below: Individual Results Team Results & Finals
McGill University Tournament About 90 teams from across Canada participated in the annual McGill high school tournament. The Royal West team of David Rudin and Edward Bechard-Torres prevailed over Halifax Grammar School in the finals. Congratulations! Team Results & Individual Results
Marianopolis Invitational On October 22nd, Marianopolis hosted their annual high school tournament. The final round was a Loyola - Royal West match up. David Rudin and Edward Bechard Torres (Royal West) defeated Marco Scanlan and Chris Costas (Loyola) to take home the top team prize. David Rudin took the top speaker award. Congratulations to all for a great effort! Team Results & Individual Results
Junior Invitational at The Study Congratulations to Sam Gurman and Sammy Rappoport of Lower Canada College for taking top team at the first junior tournament of the year! Special thanks to Isabelle Fahmy and The Study for hosting such a great event. Team Results & Individual Results
York University Tournament Results Click here for individual and team results.
North Americans Qualifier Congratulations and good luck to the following teams who will represent Quebec at the upcoming North American championships @ Trafalgar School: David Rudin & Edward Bechard-Torres (Royal West Academy) Madeleine Ballard & Caroline Wagner (Lower Canada College) Michael Stepner & Simon Wisnovski (St. George's) Vinay Desai & David McLeod (Selwyn House) Kierstin Lundell-Smith & Amelia Garmaise (Trafalgar) Click here for individual and team results.
National Seminar The topics for the National Seminar this year: Theme: Parliamentary Democracy in Canada Cross-Examination: BIRT the first past the post system be abolished. Parliamentary: This House Would have more free votes in the Canadian House of Commons.
World High School Debating Championships This year Canada had its best performance at the World High School Debating Championships since 1988! The World Championships took place in Cardiff, Wales this past July. The team consisted of Madeleine Ballard (LCC), Christine Wadsworth, Sheldon McCormick, Blair MacDonald and Michael Beeler. It was a great run for Canada who made it to the semi-finals! It was an outstanding result for an excellent team that spent the better part of year preparing for this event. Congratulations to the team! Congratulations to Kierstin Lundell-Smith of Trafalgar School for Girls for making it as an alternate on Canada's High School World team for 2007! Kierstin attended training camp in Calgary this past August and will go to the Pan-American Championships in California in October. Madeleine Ballard of Lower Canada College has retained her position on the World team for a second year in a row. Madeleine will travel to South Korea for the 2007 Championships!