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FLASHPOINT 2022 SIGN UPS ARE OPEN!

Flashpoint is an annual debate workshop designed for up-and-coming secondary school debaters. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from and be coached by passionate and talented student debaters in Hong Kong!

We’ll be hosting the workshop over Zoom on July 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, and 29 from 3:30-6:00pm.

Registrations close on June 19th! Click here to sign up or learn more. 

For WIDPSC 2022 (World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championship), which was held online by The Country Day School, Hong Kong sent a delegation of 12 students. At the Grand Finals held on April 17 (Sun), Nicholas Chung made a speech that outlines how we face death and terminal patient care; in the end, this heartfelt piece won Hong Kong the Champion in the Persuasive Speaking category, for the first time since Heather Pickerell in 2011.

GRAND FINALS VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/LXgx7e7EebQ?t=1135

Among 115 contestants from 13 countries, we had 9 students ranking in Top 35:

33rd – Charlie Lam (Island School)

33rd – Nicholas Chung (Diocesan Boys’ School)

31st – Hilary Lau (Diocesan Girls’ School)

25th – Peony Sham (Sha Tin College)

16th – Maria Katrina Flauta (Renaissance College Hong Kong)

10th – Lauren Ing (Chinese International School)

7th – Christine Lam (Hong Kong International School)

5th – Megan Chan (Renaissance College Hong Kong)

4th – Mark Lee (Diocesan Boys’ School)

The rank of 4th overall was also the highest rank achieved by a Hong Kong student since Madhav Menon in 2013. During Finals rounds on April 9-10, the team broke into 15 positions across all five categories, representing our city in public speaking — speeches both humorous and serious, dramatic prose reading and vigorous debating.

This has been the first year when EVERYTHING from the Trials to the competition had been held online without a single offline training, yet this team braved these circumstances to create the best results in recent years. Besides applauding their diligence in training every Sunday between the January trials and April competitions, we must also extend our thanks to the larger coaching team this year – Joan Cho, Lilian Chow, My Thanh Mac, Leo Zen, Kenneth Chan and our alumni Markandeya Karthik and Chloe Yeung.

In researching for this blurb, one looks back at the heydays of the early 2010s, when Hong Kong students were displaying their talent and verve at WIDPSC in similar capacity. Without the foundation built by the stalwart coaches and members back then, we would not be here. We take the results of today humbly and will continue to provide opportunities for youngsters of our city to speak on the international stage.

Much thanks must finally go to the gracious hosts at CDS, Ms Kerstin Wyndham West and Ms Tracey Scott, for making this tournament possible.

Sincerely,

Coaches of WIDPSC Hong Kong team

Two Hong Kong teams were amongst the 140 that participated at the International World Schools Debate Tournament, Ljutomer. Alexandra Uy-Tioco, Jenny Kim, Nicole Wong, and Rachel Lang were the top ranked team after the preliminary rounds, and reached the Quarter Finals of the competition. Chloe Tse, Dhuv Leekha, Madeleine Wu, along with Navia Zhang and Yui Kurosawa, were the fifth ranked team after the preliminary rounds – and went on the win the competition.

Congratulations!

Dear All,

We are excited to announce that the annual Junior Individual Public Speaking Championships is scheduled to be a remote event on 30 April (Saturday). Please read on for further details of the format and registration logistics.

As in past years, there are three compulsory categories, namely Persuasive Speaking, Interpretive Reading and Impromptu Speaking. Persuasive Speaking and Interpretive Reading will be done and submitted as taped videos uploaded — as unlisted videos — onto YouTube from 15 to 17 April 2022 (Sunday), whereas the last category will be conducted live on Zoom on 30 April 2022 (Saturday). Please refer to the attached slides for the exact time limits and rules of each category. More details about the video submission process and a technical guide will be released in due course.

Each school can enrol six junior students maximum. Students up to current Secondary 3/ Year 10/Grade 9 are eligible for Junior competitions. Each school is also expected to supply one adjudicator for every three nominated students (in other words, two adjudicators for sending four, five or six students) to judge the taped videos and the live impromptu rounds. Please note that for junior competitions, senior students can be registered to judge. More guidelines on the judging criteria and approaches will be sent out after the registration period ends. A registration fee of HKD50 per student is applicable to facilitate the running of the tournament.

Please fill in the Google Form by 1 April, 2022 (Friday) for registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFadSCVPfUHbzHFOvFWxcESe-nI0YBHCBLOHQHhdzzCcCw2A/viewform?usp=sf_link

The important dates are as follows:

1 April 2022 (Fri): Registration deadline

15 April – 17 April: Submission of taped videos of Persuasive Speaking and Interpretive Reading on YouTube

20 April – 27 April: Judging period

27 April (Wed): Return of the ballots from judges through google form

30 April (Sat): Live Impromptu Speaking preliminary rounds + Finals

The following is the tentative schedule of the competition day on 30 April (Saturday).

9:00 – 9:30 – Registration

9:30 – 11:00 – Live Impromptu Speaking Preliminary Rounds on Zoom

11:00 – 11:30 – Break

11:30 – 14:00 – Finals (Top three in all three categories will perform live)

14:00 – 15:00 – Announcement of Results

Thank you for your attention. We highly look forward to your participation so we can continue to nurture young public speaking talent in Hong Kong.

Best regards,

Coaches for WIDPSC Team Hong Kong

Junior WIDPSC Pamphlet 2022: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yxq4ekq6BhiudZXCp9RuYayO7E_j5sL7-OTJ9jYdlnE/edit?usp=sharing

Happy Lunar New Year! Here is a friendly reminder that the JSDC 2022 registration deadline is 14 Feb 2022.

To register, please click on the following link:

https://forms.gle/EPWTr8sYr5LkCFQi8

For more information and any enquiries, please contact us at info@hkdsc.org. Thank you!

Dear Hong Kong Debating and Public Speaking Community,

We are delighted to announce that registration for Junior SDC 2022 is now open, kicking off a school year filled with some amazing debating and public speaking events. Here are the key details of the tournament and registration:

Team Registration Form: https://forms.gle/EPWTr8sYr5LkCFQi8 

Dates: 19 March 2022, 08:00 – 17:30 (preliminary rounds); 20 March 2022, 09:15 – 15:20 (break rounds)

Venue: Online.

Cost: HKD300 per team.

Eligibility: 3-5 members per team; Form 1-3 / Year 7-10 / Grade 6-9

Team cap: 32 teams (one team per school – second teams are not guaranteed; priority for second teams will go to previously underrepresented schools)

Format: WSDC – 6-minute main speech with points of information, 3-minute reply speeches

Adjudicators: Each team must provide at least one adjudicator; a second team must be accompanied by a second adjudicator

Draw: R1 random; R2-4 power-paired; QF-GF folded knockout draw

Awards: Top 10 Speaker Awards (debaters speaking in 3 or more preliminary rounds are eligible); Top 8 teams break to quarter-final

Registration Deadline: 14 February 2022.

Schedule:

Day 1

08:00 – 08:30               Registration and roll-call

08:30 – 09:00               Tournament briefing

09:00 – 10:10               Round 1 prepared debate + feedback

10:10 – 10:30               Break

10:30 – 11:00               Prep time for round 2 semi-prepared debate

11:00 – 12:10               Round 2 semi-prepared debate + feedback

12:10 – 13:00               Lunch break

13:00 – 13:30               Prep time for round 3 semi-prepared debate

13:30 – 14:40               Round 3 semi-prepared debate + feedback

14:40 – 15:00               Break

15:00 – 15:30               Prep time for round 4 impromptu debate

15:30 – 16:40               Round 4 impromptu debate (silent round)

16:40 – 17:00               Tabulation of results

17:00 – 17:30               Break announcement, prizes for top speakers

Day 2

09:15 – 09:45               Registration and roll-call

09:45 – 10:45               Quarter-final prepared debate

10:45 – 11:15               Announcement of QF results and feedback

11:15 – 12:00               Prep time for Semi-final impromptu debate

12:00 – 13:00               Semi-final impromptu debate

13:00 – 13:30               Announcement of SF results and feedback

13:30 – 14:00               Prep time for grand-final semi-prepared debate

14:00 – 14:50               Grand-final semi-prepared debate

14:50 – 15:20               Announcement of GF result and prize presentation

Dear Hong Kong Debate and Public Speaking Community,

Thank you again for your enthusiastic participation at the WIDPSC Hong Kong Team Trials, which held its live rounds yesterday (8 January 2022). We are beyond excited to begin a new chapter with the new team members, and would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all competitors for their hard work over the past months! We trust that the hours they have spent polishing speeches, choosing readings and preparing impromptus have been more than rewarding. 

The new Hong Kong Team members are:

1. Maria Katrina Flauta (Renaissance College Hong Kong)

2. Hilary Lau (Diocesan Girls’ School)

=2. Anthony Shen (Hong Kong International School)

4. Charlie Lam (Island School)

5. Mark Jin-Kang Lee (Diocesan Boys’ School

6. Christine Lam (Hong Kong International School)

=6. Bill Koo (Diocesan Boys’ School)

8. Megan Chan (Renaissance College Hong Kong)

9. Nicholas Daniel Chung (Diocesan Boys’ School)

10. Sahana Iyer (West Island School)

Reserve 1: Lauren Ing (Chinese International School)

Reserve 2: Peony Sham (Sha Tin College)

Please find the slides from the results and awards ceremony, along with the top 10 of each category, attached for your reference.

Please note that individual scores and feedback will be sent out to competitors over the next week. With a 50% increase in competitor numbers, nearly 500 ballots have been submitted and it will take some time to sort through them all – please bear with us as we do so in the coming days.

We once again thank all judges and coaches who have given up their time selflessly and tirelessly such that this competition could be run smoothly and effectively. We are grateful for your kind cooperation with us throughout the competition process and especially submitting ballots during the Christmas period. These trials – and the continued success of public speaking in Hong Kong – could not be possible without you all!

Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you at our future events!

Kind regards,
WIDPSC HK Team Coaches

Thank you to those who participated in the 2021 Senior SDC! Following the weekend’s rounds of debates, the final results of the competition can now be announced.

First, the Top 10 Speakers (with ties at 5th and 10th place) are as follows:

1. Nicole Wong, STC 1

2. Edgar Cheng, GSIS 1

3. Zachary Too, GSIS 1

4. Nathania Ngo, DGS 1

5=. Rachel Wong, DGS
5=. Natalie Leung, DGS 1

7. Mark Lee, DBS 1

8. Rachel Lang, GSIS 1

9. Isabelle Woo, Island 1

10=. Alexandra Uy-Tioco, GSIS 1

10=. Arthur Ng, DBS 1

The Grand Champions of this year’s SDC was STC, debating against SPCC 1 in a spectacular Grand Final round. We congratulate both them and the runner-up heartily.

All tabs and the break have now been released publicly. They can be viewed at https://seniorsdc2021.herokuapp.com/seniorsdc/.

Payment receipts will be processed and sent to all teams who requested it as soon as possible.

Thank you once again to everyone, judges and teams alike, who participated in this SDC. We hope to see everyone again soon – to this generation of young debaters, we can’t wait to see you excel in what will surely be bright and successful careers.

Sincerely,
The HKDSC

HKDSC is delighted to announce that Jason Xiao will be joining Harish and Tom in coaching the Hong Kong WSDC teams for 2022.

Janko Djordjevic will also join the Hong Kong coaching team as one of the coaches for the Development team.

For more information on trialing for the main Hong Kong WSDC team, or Hong Kong development team please see here. The application deadline is October 12, 2021.

To apply fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xGP8zFZLvwZ6baZ29

If you have any questions please contact Harish Natarajan (hknatarajan@gmail.com)

Jason Xiao

Jason Xiao is a graduate of the University of Oxford and a co-founder of Ethos Academy. During his time at the University of Oxford, Jason was a prolific debater, winning the World Universities Debating Championship, the HWS Round Robin, the LSE Open, and more.At the schools level, Jason was a WSDC finalist. In addition, Jason coached Team Canada from 2019-2021, where they respectively made the WSDC finals and won twice. In addition, Team Canada won over 10 other tournaments during that time, including Harvard World Schools, Oxford World Schools, Vancouver World Schools, and EurOpen.

Janko Djordjevic

Janko Đjorđević, of University of Belgrade, was a Worlds Universities Debating Championship finalist, the winner of Oxford IV, and finalist of Cambridge IV. As a judge, Janko was panelist of both World and European Debating Championships Grand Finals.He coached the University of Belgrade squad for 3 years and worked on various debating educational projects worldwide.