Debaters Council League
CIS triumph in hard fought debating 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 caliber of debaters are entered into the elite league.
The league consists of 56 debates spanning almost 8 months which tested debaters knowledge on a plethora of varied topics, each school must participate in 14 debates, 7 of which are prepared and 7 impromptu.
This year finalists were St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and Colombo International School. Wesley College and Ladies College were in 3rd and 4th place respectively. The final was held at the Colombo International School auditorium; a fitting venue for this prestigious event. The large hall was filled by a partisan crowd which included numerous school representatives from other teams in the league.
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 motion for the final was “This House Would ban Wikileaks”, a topic, that true to expectations, provided 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”.
The Picture shows the CIS team with their staff supporters
Back Row: Mr.John Macrow Head of Sixth form and Team Coordinator, Mr. Mchael Chappell CIS Principal
Front Row: Miss Heloise Perera CIS Head of Secondary Menakshi Uduwela, Team Captain Tamara Fernando and Manjaree Gamage.