World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships

Huntingtower students have shown themselves to be among the best in the world at this year’s World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships!

Over the first week of this term, four Huntingtower students – Chloe D, Nihar P, Olivia W and Sophie L – joined the Australian national team to represent our country at the 2024 World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships (WIDPSC). Over six days they descended on this year’s host city of Canberra to compete against speakers from fifteen other countries, bringing together young speakers from places as far apart as Canada, Lithuania, Malaysia, Bermuda, Morocco, the UAE, South Korea, Zimbabwe, China, South Africa and the USA. 

The competition was exceptionally challenging and high quality, requiring each speaker to present across four types of public speaking: impromptu speaking, prepared speaking (either persuasive or after-dinner), interpretive reading and debate. Speakers compete across all four areas during the first three days of the competition in a series of preliminary rounds. The top speakers in each event are then invited to participate in a set of finals, with the top three speakers from each event after finals then progressing into a grand final. 

The results from our students as they competed on the world stage for the first time was nothing short of outstanding: 

Chloe D placed third in the world in Impromptu Speaking. She is the highest placed Australian in any event, and the only Australian speaker to qualify for a Grand Final. The event is exceptionally challenging, with speakers only getting two minutes to prepare an unseen topic before presenting – without notes – for five minutes. It is a challenging proposition at the best of times, but to do so on stage in front of a global audience takes nerves of steel, and we congratulate Chloe on her brilliant achievement. 

Nihar P placed thirteen in the world in the Overall Rankings. These rankings take into account how speakers performed across all four events, and are used to determine the overall winner of the championships. He was the highest placed Australian in the overall rankings, and the only Australian to earn a place in the coveted Overall Top 15 speakers. He also represented Australia in the finals for Debate, Interpretive Reading (with a swashbuckling reading of ‘The Princess Bride’), and Persuasive Speaking (with an incisive speech into Orphanage Tourism), capping off an exceptional performance in the tournament. 

Olivia W qualified for the finals for Interpretive Reading (with a spine-tingling reading of ‘Perfume: Story of a Murderer’) and After Dinner Speaking (with a hilarious speech to McDonald’s workers), following an exceptional performance in the preliminary rounds. 

Huntingtower students formed the largest contingent on the Australian team from any school following their outstanding success at last year’s Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, which saw our students names the Championships winning team with all four of our speakers finishing in the national top 10. While forming a quarter of the Australian team, they made six places in the finals, representing half of the places made by Australian speakers. They joined with students from eleven other schools who also qualified for the national team: St Kevin’s College and Melbourne Grammar School from Victoria, PLC, Ravenswood School for Girls and Our Lady of Mercy College from New South Wales, and Morton Bay Boy’s College from Queensland. 

Despite hectic schedules, late nights refining and practicing speeches, and many early starts, the students were also able to meet with like-minded speakers from both around Australia and cross the world and gain some unique experiences. The attendees were treated to an evening to Questacon, where the championship attendees got to exclusively experience Australia’s national science museum after-hours, attended reflective excursion to the Canberra glassworks – one of only two such facilities in Australia – to make their own glass art, and enjoyed a final Gala Dinner at the Australian National Museum to celebrate a successful championships. Their final day in Canberra also gave them the opportunity to meet with Huntingtower alumni Anjali Sharma, who took the students on a behind-the-scenes tour of Parliament House where she is currently working on a Duty of Care Bill that would require the Australian government to consider the impact of climate change on future generations, and an unexpected visit from Senator David Pocock. 

For our students, this year’s world championships follow on from last year’s AIDPSC national championships that Huntingtower hosted, and the success and support of the school community that was shown during the national championships was reflected in the success seen here at World’s. A huge thank you goes out to all the parents, staff and students who have helped over the past year, as well as to Sara Gavillucci, who also attended the WIDPSC competition to help supervise the students. 

Our congratulations go out to Chloe, Nihar, Olivia and Sophie on a truly amazing achievement: making it to the national team and to be counted amongst the best speakers in the world is, of itself, an outstanding accomplishment that is worthy of celebration. Their achievements during WIDPSC are therefore truly great: they did not only our school proud, but our country proud. The skill they demonstrated was nothing short of amazing. They showed that they can excel not only within our local community, and within our nation, but they are amongst the most exceptional students in the world. 

Mr Matt McDonald

Director of Student Communication and Engagement