Debating in Halifax

Last weekend, three of LCC’s debating teams, along with Ms. Wall, took off for Halifax, Nova Scotia, to participate in the annual Donahoe Cup debating tournament at Sacred Heart School of Halifax. We arrived in Halifax late Friday afternoon and headed straight to the Lord Nelson Hotel to drop off our bags and catch our breath. Shortly thereafter we took a walk by the water where we all had lot’s of fun climbing up on a giant statue of a wave and then sliding down it. After eating our first delicious dinner in Halifax that night, we all went back to our rooms to get some rest and prepare for the upcoming debates.

The next morning we arrived at Sacred Heart School of Halifax, ready for the four rounds of debating that would be coming our way throughout the day. The topics up for debate were very interesting, and had strong connections to the world around us. For example, the notion of recovering artifacts from the Titanic wreckage site was brought up in one of the debates, and the fact that we debated this on the 100th anniversary of the day that the Titanic sank made it all the more relevant. After the long day of debating, we made our way back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep.

Our third and final day in Halifax started off very well, with two of the three LCC teams making it to the quarterfinals of the tournament, each of them finishing among the top eight teams. Unfortunately, none of our teams made it past that point in the tournament, however I can confidently say that the entire weekend was all-in-all a success, with two of LCC’s teams making the quarterfinals, and four out of ten individual speaking awards being given to students from our school. I think it’s very safe to say that we all enjoyed every second of our time in Halifax, and that we’re pleased with the outcome of the weekend.– Matthew Steinberg ’14