Tournament scrapbook - World Schools Debating Championships

WSDC 2008
12/3/08 9:53 AM
Qatari team upbeat
Publish Date: Sunday,31 August, 2008, at 01:43 AM Doha Time
By Ourouba Hussein
Members of the first Qatari team to take part in the World School
Debating Championship have expressed hope of doing well in the
event scheduled to be held in Washington DC next month.
Prior to their departure on Friday, the five-member team and their
coach spoke about their training, their debating team to represent
Qatar on the world stage.
The programme director Alex Just said that the national team would
be the second Arab team after Kuwait to participate in the 20-year
history of the competition. The team was trained in London and its
members were selected following a debating competition among
Qatar schools.
Just said the team would attend a pre-competition training in New
York, and workshops with American students. Later, they will take off
to Washington DC where the contests will be held from September 5-
15.
He said that the team had a month to practise for the first round of
the competition. Each of the members is required to carry out
researches about a certain topic.
“If they get through the first round to the second, they will be given
two hours of practice for the topic which could be political, social or
economical.
“They will have to be prepared to argue about anything,” he added.
The five members of the Qatar national debating team said they were
looking forward to visiting the ‘Dream Land’, and meeting people from
40 different countries participating in the competition. They also
expressed how proud they were to be the first to represent Qatar in
the competition.
Talal Burshaid, a 17-year-old Qatari , explained that the training was
helpful since he has got political aspirations and interests in
international relations.
Vartan Shadarevian said debating encourages the expression of point
of views, teaches leadership skills and the ability to argue both sides
before taking a side, and increases one’s understanding of the other
side.
Tina Niaki, a 17-year-old Iranian, said debating teaches objective
thinking and the desire to know more about the world.
Aysha Batley, a 17-year-old Pakistani, stressed debating opens up
the mind and structures the way one thinks, speaks and discusses.
‘Participating in the debating competition is like going on a world
tour,” she said.
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