For the love of debate

Swakopmund SS
Janet Mwatongwe
Debating has become a regular activity at Swakopmund Secondary School, during the past two years with our school taking part in regional competitions. Debate isn't a new activity at SSS as the debate club was established in 2010 by Mrs Van Wyk along with Malcolm McNab who was a grade 8 learner then. The debate team blossomed under the leadership of Malcolm McNab, who has qualified for the regional team each year since the start, and has won best male speakers and was part of the National Team.
Ms P Nghtipandulwa took over the debate club in 2015, with 10 learners. Ndilunde Itembu, Nampolo Katana and Simson Sakaria represented the school at the 2015 regional trails held at SSS.
Ndilineke came in second place and Nampolo was ranked sixth and both were selected for the team that represented Erongo at the 2015 as well as 2010 National Debate Competition.
Debate as described by Ndilimeke is not just merely talking but it involves strategies. “You need to build a case as well as destroy strong cases and proof your point and convince people why your team is right within the time limit that you are given. Team work is essential in debate as it involves three speakers working towards the same goal, it's exciting and it just gives you that thrill. We don't just debate because we love talking, when we debate, we bring different ideas and perceptions together, we learn new things. What I would define as a good debate is when we don't just leave when someone say 'no, it won't work', they need to come up with something that will work”.
Nampolo Katana recently went to Windhoek with the Erongo Regional Team and took part in the Namibia public speaking and debate cup when Erongo came third.
“As a debator you never consider losing as an option which motivates us to work hard and to make sure that your case is not contradictable. As a team we've had ups and downs but that hasn't stopped us from being the second best debating team in Erongo, after Coastal High School. We've have big shoes to fill, especially after the legacy left behind by Malcolm McNab, but we try and so far we're succeeding”.