Victoria University Enjoy Strong Start To Uni Games

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Monday, April 25, 2011

Victoria University Enjoy Strong Start To Uni Games

Victoria University has grabbed the first points of the Super City Uni Games, which officially open in Auckland on Tuesday.

The Victoria University 2 team won the grand final of the impromptu debating tournament held over the Easter weekend at the host campus of Auckland University of Technology (AUT). The team, featuring Asher Emanuel and Paul Smith, beat Auckland University 3, featuring Gretta Schumacher and Ben Milson, 5-2 after successfully negating the topic: New Zealand shouldn’t enter a free trade agreement with the United States of America?

Emanuel, a former Saint Kentigern College student now in his second year of an LLB and BA at Victoria, teamed up with Smith, who is in his third year of a BA, for the first time to take the coveted title. The pair was further rewarded when they were both named in the New Zealand Impromptu Debating Team with Emanuel also being invited to Captain the side and being awarded the overall speaking award for the tournament, the Dame Catherine Tizard Cup.

Other awards on the night went to:
Winner of the Sir David Beattie Cup: Marcus Playle (Auckland University)
Best Adjudicator: Stephen Whittington
Two reserves for the New Zealand Impromptu Debating Team: Udayan Mukherjee (Victoria University), Ella Edginton (Victoria University).
Most Promising Speaker: Hamish Saunders (Auckland University)
Highly commended speakers: Stephanie Thompson (Auckland University), Josh Baxter (Auckland University), Nupur Upadhyay (Auckland University).

Convener of debating, George Minton, said 24 teams representing five campuses competed in the debating tournament held a few days before Tuesday’s official opening of New Zealand’s primary inter-university sporting event taking place from Tuesday, April 26th – Friday, April 29th at AUT University. The Games, which will be opened by Sir John Walker, will see 1000 athletes representing 15 Universities and tertiary institutions across 20 sports.

The Super City Uni Games was secured for Auckland by a dedicated local consortium comprising of Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and AuSM (Auckland Student Movement at AUT) and with the support of University Sport New Zealand, ALAC and the New Zealand Community Trust.

ENDS

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