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/ W0SS student is two-time national debating champ By Craig M acBride OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF R e c e iv e a FREE C h e m ica l Peel w ith e v e ry w r in k le in je c tio n o f Botox , Restylane, Perlane or Juvederm Value $ 120.00 Offer expires December 31. 2004 The Skin Klinic Dr. Sylvia G arn is - Jones MSc, M D , FRCPC D erm atologist 84 L akeshore Rd. W est O akville: 905-849-45(>4 Ashlea Wessel · S p ecia l to the O akville B eaver HaltonSearch.cVm 'tT R eb ecca A bavi re a d s a book sh e received as a p rize fo r w in n in g th e n a tio n a l jle b a tin g title fo r th e second y e a r in a row . When White Oaks Secondary School student Rebecca Abavi went to St. John's, Newfoundland, to defend her national debating title, she wasn't really expecting to win again. After taking the top award for individual debating, and coming in fourth overall with her partner Emily Vandelaar in Calgary in 2003, the pressure was on, and the main worry was falling too far from her lofty perch. Her debating coach, and White--0 ak s S iM o n d ttry -Sw hool English teacher, Haniish Guthrie shared that worry. "I was a little concerned, because where do you go from first?' he asked. "The important thing, o f course, is to have fun." O f course, it's always easier to have fun when you're doing well. "It felt great." Abavi said. "It was kind of like a validation that the first one wasn't a fluke." To have a student place first in the nationals wasn't something Guthrie thought he'd ever see, but to have a student win twice was beyond even that. "I've coached debate more than 20 years, and 1 don't think you ever expect to win a national once." said Guthrie. "I practically fell off my chair I was so happy." Along with Abavi's first place standing as an individual speaker, she and her teammate Rani a Saghir. also a Grade 12 student, came in fifth of 46 teams. Individually, Saghir placed fourth. "It was her first time out there." said Guthrie, "and she's really cut into an elite group there, coming in fourth." The debates at the nationals were all quite sobering topics, including missile defence, health care, and electoral reform. The debaters, in other words, have to keep up with the news, and study all the angles of a given topic. Some of the debate topics arc laid out prior to the competition, but die impromptu debates arc where many teams get stumped. Abavi and Saghir nearly had one like that at the competi tion when tfiey had to discuss proportional rep resentation, an electoral system that several provinces, and even the federal government, is toying with. Not knowing much about the topic, they two debaters had to wing it. "It had to sound like I understood the topic." Abavi said. "You just have to rely on logic." It seemed to work. As well as knowing contemporary topics, and both sides of each argument, it takes more than just knowledge to do well in debate. "The primary thing is desire." Guthrie said. "Next is skill. The third tiling is coachability. are you really going to listen to what a coach says." He added, "a good deal is natural instincts." Guthrie has been blessed with great debaters for many years, and he's known for his strong coaching. To have the program continue through many years, with students learning from one another, though, is a great benefit. "Once ytiu get some very good debaters on a team, the younger ones tend to emulate what they're seeing, and if they're seeing the best, the juniors will come along really quickly." In other words, the White Oaks debating team could be making the news for many years to come, showing up the best schools from across Canada. D o n 't v ^ a p t i l l s p r in g . . : * ^ t h is y e h ic le w i l l n e v e r b e STK. #VN94 MSRP $39,870 BRAND N E W 2004 Chrysler s p r in g co n v e rtib le lim ite d ABSOLUTELY LOADED X . * LOCKWOOD DISCOUNT $2893 SAVE TH E T A X DISCOUNT $5547 PLUS 9 0 DAY NO PAY! r n r v j i · X Hw i -- r g 1 n r---------------------w -- -- ' ,,.*IN STOCK VEHICLES ONLY. t - O .A .C p i r r c h a : 5 0 0 r r a r r c r r T O * ^ ' « Durango SLT, leather interior, skid plate, traction control, running boards. purchase price STK; #VT242 MSRP $45,665 DODGE LOCKW OOD DISCO UNT $4629 SAVE T H E T A X DISCOUNT $6175 2004 durango PLUS 9 0 DAY MO RAY! *0% o ffe r cannot be com bined w ith cash purchase offer. Plus fre ig h t, applicable taxes, license and admin. Rebates assigned to dealer. See dealer fo r details. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. O.A.C. In stock vehicles only. LULKW UUD C H R Y S L E I f iv e s t a r A # A A A O akville's 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 4 Five Star Certified Dealership Chrysler Financial 175 Wyecroft Rd., Oakville between Kerr & Dorv, ________-- -----: