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Colombo International School:
Triumph in hard-fought debating final
The large auditorium was filled by a partisan crowd which included
numerous school representatives from other teams. The Colombo
International School set the stage for the final of the Debaters Council
League recently, a fitting venue for such a prestigious event.
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CIS team with their staff supporters. Back Row: Head of
Sixth form and Team Coordinator John Macrow, CIS Principal
Mchael Chappell; Front Row: CIS Head of Secondary Miss
Heloise Perera, Menakshi Uduwela, Team Captain Tamara
Fernando and Manjaree Gamage |
The all male team from St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia were
resplendent in all white suits but were more than matched by the all
female team of CIS. No quarter was asked or given in well argued and
heated final and it was easy to see why these two teams had topped the
league and had qualified for the final.
The Debaters Council League is considered to be the most prestigious
school level debating tournament in Sri Lanka. The top eight school
debating teams are selected from the Law Faculty Debating Tournament and
the previous year’s tournament to ensure that only the highest calibre
of debaters are entered into the elite league.
The league consists of 56 debates spanning almost eight months which
tested debaters knowledge on a plethora of varied topics, each school
must participate in 14 debates, seven of which are prepared and seven
impromptu.
This year finalists were St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and
Colombo International School. Wesley College and Ladies College were in
third and fourth place respectively.
The motion for the final between St Thomas’ College and CIS was “This
House Would ban Wikileaks”, a topic, that true to expectations, proved
to be an intense, hotly debated affair, awakening new realizations and
admissions from the audience as well as the debaters. On a six-three
split, the distinguished adjudication panel awarded the win to CIS,
crowning them champions, effectively “The best of the best”. |
