It had been more than a decade since Dubbo College Senior Campus debate team had taken home the Mulvey Cup, but the cycle came to an end this week when the team stepped up.
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After defeating Bathurst and then Orange, the Dubbo College Senior Campus debate team were declared the 2021 Mulvey Cup champions.
The Dubbo side consists of Liam Boon, Sydney Davis, Henrietta Bourke and Jackson Collins, coached by Dubbo College's Alan Quin.
Sophia Harvey also stepped in for round two as a replacement for Mr Quin.
"Haider Ali is also to be commended on his assistance in getting the team prepared," Mr Quin said.
"The students who undertook this challenge this year were very enthusiastic about competing but had little previous experience in debating.
"I knew they would compete well, but was not expecting that we would carry it out as our opponents are always well drilled and organised.
"Winning the Mulvey Cup is tricky to do because securing it requires clear victories in both a teams debates."
The Mulvey Cup is a four-person competition which coincides with Astley Cup, but is a separate contest over a round robin format.
The Dubbo College debate team first went head-to-head with Bathurst High School's debate team last week.
The teams debated the topic 'it would be better if Australia distanced itself from America' and though the round was a "close call" Dubbo triumphed 84-78.
The team's third speaker, Mr Boon said he thought the topic would provide for good arguments from both sides.
Adjudicator Helen Hedger said all debaters on both sides spoke strongly and overall it was a close debate.
Mr Quin said the win against Bathurst changed his perspective as it showed him how quickly the students had understood how to construct their arguments and combat those of the opposition.
"Going into the second round, I felt we were a chance of winning," he said.
The team then went up against Orange High School's debate team with the topic 'modern social media makes people less socially active'.
The team debated for the negative and took out the win, claiming the Mulvey Cup for the first time since Dubbo College's last win in 2009.
"Against Orange the team saw Sophia Hayden replace Jackson Collins. Here we argued the negative to the proposition that 'social media makes people less socially active'," Mr Quin said.
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