Kate Tobin, Hailey O’Donnell, and Genevieve Lau have made it into the finals of the Heard of Europe debate tournament, taking place in Czech Republic. The Independent Bermuda team entered the competition last week where they defeated 7 out of 8 teams in the preliminary rounds, claiming the top spot with the most wins, the highest judges’ ballots [21] and the highest awarded speaker points [2,023.5]. The team entered the quarter finals today (Monday) where they defeated team CDS Red (Czech Republic). They then beat team Bulgaria in the semi finals with a split decisions of 3 judges to 2.
Krystalle Tobin, mother of Kate and team coach, remarked on behalf of the team, “We are thrilled to make it into the finals and are working hard to prepare. It has been great to see the team develop as individuals and debaters throughout this experience, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support those back home have shown.”
Team Independent Bermuda will debate team South Korea Blue during the finals tomorrow (Tuesday) where they will tackle the motion “This house would ban the use of a space programme for any military or covert purposes.”
Coy Kijaun Millett, Bermuda national debate team coach who is also assisting the team, added that “the team have worked hard and represented Bermuda well. This is the highest international achievement Bermuda debate has seen to date, so we are very proud of the girls and wish them all the best as they head into the finals!”
The team will compete tomorrow (Tuesday) at 4:30am Bermuda time (9:30am Czech time) and it can be streamed live here.
