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Debating For My Adopted Province
Apr. 6th, 2005 02:00 amI spent the last couple of days in Peterborough for the OSDU Provincial Seminar. Unfortunately I lost 3 of my 5 delegates in the 3 days leading up to the tournament. Needless to say I wasn't feeling too happy about my performance as Regional Coordinator. Fortunately the weekend was a great experience for me, and hopefully it will lead to positive change for my region.
The seminar brings together 80 of the finest debaters from across Ontario. Each region is allocated a certain amount of delegates based on the region's membership numbers. Debaters compete in either English (64 debaters), French (12), or Bilingual (8) categories. The every delegate debates with someone different for each round. The top debaters in each category go on to represent Ontario in the National Seminar which will be held in Saskatchewan this year. The Seminar is also were the executive and board of directors meet and file their respective reports.
Unlike the Provincial tournament in Quebec, the OSDU Seminar brings together people from so many more schools. I got a chance to meet a great number of OSDU representatives. As a QSDA alum my knowledge of OSDU was based purely on second hand knowledge. I was an outsider, pure and simple. While I met some people at Prov Champs at St Mike's earlier in November I didn't really feel accepted. This weekend I was able to talk to a lot of different people, from debaters to other regional coordinators/board members to coaches. I was able to get a lot of good ideas for my regions.
I also had to swing at the last minute. I bombed my first two rounds, but I dominated in the last two. I honestly had forgotten how difficult it was to come up with Cross Ex questions on the fly. I dare anyone to debate national sovereignty vs. human rights in Cross Ex style on short notice. Hats off to all the debaters that prepared for and tackled this difficult topic!
The highlight of the weekend was the Board of Director's meeting on Saturday night. While I'm not a Board member I attended the meeting since it was being hosted in a suite with lots of alcohol and the basketball game on the TV. While many serious issues were discussed, it was also interrupted numerous times by general merriment. After the meeting we were joined by other OSDU vets and listened to stories and just talked and talked. It's always fun listening to teachers tell stories, especially in an atmosphere where they aren't self-conscious.
I look forward to next year!!!
The seminar brings together 80 of the finest debaters from across Ontario. Each region is allocated a certain amount of delegates based on the region's membership numbers. Debaters compete in either English (64 debaters), French (12), or Bilingual (8) categories. The every delegate debates with someone different for each round. The top debaters in each category go on to represent Ontario in the National Seminar which will be held in Saskatchewan this year. The Seminar is also were the executive and board of directors meet and file their respective reports.
Unlike the Provincial tournament in Quebec, the OSDU Seminar brings together people from so many more schools. I got a chance to meet a great number of OSDU representatives. As a QSDA alum my knowledge of OSDU was based purely on second hand knowledge. I was an outsider, pure and simple. While I met some people at Prov Champs at St Mike's earlier in November I didn't really feel accepted. This weekend I was able to talk to a lot of different people, from debaters to other regional coordinators/board members to coaches. I was able to get a lot of good ideas for my regions.
I also had to swing at the last minute. I bombed my first two rounds, but I dominated in the last two. I honestly had forgotten how difficult it was to come up with Cross Ex questions on the fly. I dare anyone to debate national sovereignty vs. human rights in Cross Ex style on short notice. Hats off to all the debaters that prepared for and tackled this difficult topic!
The highlight of the weekend was the Board of Director's meeting on Saturday night. While I'm not a Board member I attended the meeting since it was being hosted in a suite with lots of alcohol and the basketball game on the TV. While many serious issues were discussed, it was also interrupted numerous times by general merriment. After the meeting we were joined by other OSDU vets and listened to stories and just talked and talked. It's always fun listening to teachers tell stories, especially in an atmosphere where they aren't self-conscious.
I look forward to next year!!!
