Victoria University won the Joynt Scroll university debating competition last Monday, marking their fifth consecutive win and 46th win since the tournament began in 1902.
Two Victoria teams competed against each other in the Grand Final, with the Victoria B team successfully affirming the moot “That housewives and househusbands should be paid for their work.”
The winning team featured students Asher Emanuel, Nick Cross and Richard D’Ath. The Victoria A team, comprised of Jenna Raeburn, Udayan Mukherjee and Paul Smith, came a close second.
D’Ath was also named Best Speaker of the tournament and Smith and Emanuel received highly commended awards.
D’Ath and Mukherjee were also selected for the NZ Universities’ Prepared Debating Team, with D’Ath named as captain.
Held in Wellington this year, the debating tournament is New Zealand’s second-oldest sporting event, with Auckland, Otago, Victoria, Canterbury and Waikato universities competing annually.
This win continues a successful record for Victoria University’s debating. As reported in Salient, Victoria won the Australasian Intervarsity Debating Champs in July this year. The university has also won every New Zealand domestic debating tournament since April 2007.