A team of Dubbo's brightest young minds are set to take on the best debate sides in the state after winning their way through three contests with some of Sydney's best schools.
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Hazel Livingston, Mikaela Sutcliffe, Tazmine Campbell and Lucy Thompson-Sharrock have all been applauded by their teacher Lauren Ward.
South Dubbo College was able to enter two teams into the south-western Sydney debate competition this year, thanks to the opportunity offered due to the debates being conducted via Zoom.
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"The girls were amazing with their technicalities and their resourcefulness, they only received one hour to prepare for their chosen topic," Ms Ward said.
"I'm really proud of the girls and how they've gone, they had really detailed rebuttals and made great cases."
Tazmine Campbell, the third speaker in the debate team, was a late addition to the squad and called the string of victories 'shocking'.
"I was only added a few days before the first debate, I'd been hoping to try out, but I'd been away doing some school stuff," Ms Campbell said.
Hazel Livingston, the first speaker in the line-up and one of the more experienced debaters, having been debating since around year four and previously having been on the western debating team.
"The debating scene here is really, really cool, I really have enjoyed being here and doing it," Ms Livingston said.
"Doing it through was really different, you don't really get to know the people you're debating or to talk to them beforehand."
The added communication barrier didn't slow the team down however, with wins over Edmondson High School, Cecil Hills High School and Conservatorium High School following in quick succession.
"We've had three debates in this term, it was my first attempt at debating ever and it was really exciting to see people debating, especially those from other regions," Team advisor Lucy Thompson-Sharrock said.
Second speaker Mikaela Sutcliffe said the nerves were bigger ahead of the statewide knockout finals series, with a match-up with Smith's Hill High School looming.
"One of the reasons it's a bit more nerve-wracking is that I really enjoyed being part of this team; it's a strong team and I want to go all the way with them, so hopefully we're able to win in two weeks and keep it going," Ms Sutcliffe said.
The first leg of the statewide knockout finals begins in two weeks on Tuesday, with the group heading through to take on Smith's HIlls as the zone champions of south-western Sydney.