Victoria University Runners-Up

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Wed Jul 15 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Victoria University Runners-Up

Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 2:43 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington

Victoria University Runners-Up at international debating tournament

A team from Victoria University has finished in second place out of 96 teams at the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships, recently concluded in Melbourne.

Victoria also finished as runners-up in 2007.

Polly Higbee, Stephen Whittington and Ella Edginton, all law students at Victoria University, lost the Grand Final in an agonising 5-4 split decision to the hosts, Monash University.

On their way to the final they defeated Sydney University in the octo-finals, Ateneo de Manila University from the Philippines in the quarters, and another team from Monash University in the semi-finals.

The motion for the final was “That the Palestinians should accept demilitarisation in exchange for a guaranteed sovereign state.” Victoria negated the motion.

Polly Higbee, the current President of the Debating Society and a member of the successful Victoria team, said the team was gutted to lose, but on their home turf Monash was always going to be tough to beat in the final.

Ms Higbee said the team was proud of how well they had done and pleased they had continued Victoria’s strong record of success at the Championships.

The Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships is the second largest university debating tournament in the world, and brings together nearly 100 teams each year from all around Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Next year’s tournament will be hosted by the University of Auckland.

Victoria has won the tournament three times (1980, 1982, and 1998) and twice finished as runner-up (2007 and 2009).

ENDS

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