Students from Swift Current Comprehensive High School were in Saskatoon Saturday for debate provincials, and the showing was solid.

Megan Dejager won the Spirit of the Debate Award, had a first-place finish with Jemmie Ponting in the novice team debate, and individually was second-place speaker.

(photo submitted by Cindy Lowe)

Jarrod Quinton, Abby DeGala, Harshini Arumugam, and Eljay Dungca joined Dejager and Ponting as debaters, with conversations centred on the theme of social justice. Sara Cronan and Michael Orthner were also involved in a judging and monitoring capacit. volunteered to help judge and moderate.

Business teacher Cindy Lowe said it's more about the development than the accolades.

"The personal skills they're developing - perserverance, determination - they really gotta dig deep inside to get the guts to go up there, stand there, defend themselves," she said, adding that actively listening to their opponents is such a key as well, as they have to rebut arguments from the other side.

The morning's topic - which the students were able to prepare for - was on whether juries should be abolished. Lowe said that the Gerald Stanley not-guilty verdict in the shooting death of Colten Boushie was brought up in the discourse.

The students also had time to sit down with Crown prosecutor in Swift Current, Curtis Wiebe, to get ready for some of the legal aspects of the debates.

The question of whether poverty should be a mitigating factor in sentencing was also a subject, as well as the afternoon's look at whether affirmative action is counterproductive. The question on affirmative action was one where the students only had 30 minutes to prepare their arguments, without the use of the internet, for eight minutes of talking.

"Eight minutes is a long time to come up with a speech in only 30 minutes preparation," said Lowe. "It's a tough task, but the kids did amazing. They all did amazing."

The next event for the business club is a business competition April 16 at Innovation Credit Union.