Debating team from the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School.
ANGUILLA—Anguilla has stepped up to the plate to host the 46th annual Leeward Islands’ Debating Competition after the original host island Tortola was unable to do so following Hurricane Irma.
The Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School Literary & Debating Society president, Miggy Llorera, and members of the Anguilla debating club engaged in several fundraisers to be able to take on the initiative of hosting the event. Delegates from Nevis, St. Maarten, and Antigua & Barbuda, the other represented islands, will begin arriving on February 28 to compete in the series of debates taking place March 2-4 at Blue Ridge in South Hill at 6:30pm nightly.
Islands not participating this year are St Kitts, Montserrat and Tortola. Participants will be housed at La Vue, Ocean Breeze, Serenity and The Fountain hotels and guest homes.
Anguilla will be represented this year by the team of debaters: T’arah Niles-team leader, Edwin Sutton, Aaron Adams, and Chadd Hodge, with under-studies Alysha Carty and Tahjique Connor. Night one will see Antigua and St Maarten debate the topic of ‘Mental Health Issues among Caribbean Adolescence Has Largely Been Ignored.’ Night two will feature Nevis and Anguilla debate the topic of ‘Climate Change Supersedes Crime and Drug Trafficking as the Greatest Threat to the Stability of the Caribbean’. The winners of nights one and two will meet on night three to debate the topic of ‘Black People’s Suspicion and Resentment of White People is Justified.’ A closing formal banquet will be held at DaVida’s restaurant.
The Leeward Islands’ Debating Competition, founded by George Irish of Montserrat, is an annual event that first took place in 1972. It has been lauded through the years for bringing together students from participating islands to debate issues relevant to the region. The competition has become an important forum, promoting the interaction of young people from across the Leewards as they engage in one of the oldest activities of civilization. In 2017, the event was held in Nevis where the host country took home the winning title. Anguilla has won the Leeward Islands’ Debating Competition nine times, with the most recent win in 2015.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/73972-l-i-debating-competition-to-be-hosted-by-anguilla
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