2006 International Final - John Smith Memorial Mace

Saturday 13 May saw Cardiff play host to a contest between teams selected by months of gruelling competition; teams competing for the oldest and most prestigious prize in their field; a championship of champions. Not, in this instance, the FA Cup Final, also played in Cardiff at the Millennium Stadium that afternoon, but the International Final of the John Smith Memorial Mace, the national universities debating championships for Britain and Ireland.
The Great Hall of Cardiff Castle was filled by a crowd of supporters from the four home nations, there to witness of the performance of teams from the Glasgow University Union (representing Scotland); Cardiff University (representing Wales); The Cambridge Union Society (representing England); and The Honorable Society of King’s Inns (representing Ireland). The speakers debated the motion "This House believes that buying fair trade goods is money well spent", selected to mark World Fair Trade day, and doubly appropriate given Cardiff’s status as the world’s first official Fair Trade Capital City. The excellent debate was presided over by ESU Governor Captain Norman Lloyd-Edwards, the Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan.
The judging panel, chaired by Mark Malcomson, an ESU alumnus and former convenor of the competitio, and now President of FT Knowledge, eventually declared the Irish team of Barry Glynn and Mark Murphy, champions. Scotland’s David Adams was selected as the best speaker and awarded the inaugural Kenneth Harris Memorial Prize, named after the late founder of the competition who died last year.
The Centre for Speech and Debate would like to thank Captain Lloyd-Edwards, Mark Malcomson, the rest of the judging panel, and the four national convenors for their time and support in running the competition and ensuring the success of the event.
For more information contact vivienne_thomson@esu.org

posted by Vivienne @ 1:10 PM |