The Last Word:

It’s All About Debating for this Student

BY WAYNE LARSEN, Writer

Photo above: Matthew Anzarouth ’21

Matthew Anzarouth ’21 is probably the last person you’d want to engage in an argument—and he loves it.

The grade 11 LCC student is one of five Canadians slated to represent their country at the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Mexico City in July.* This annual competition brings together about 400 top high school debaters from around the globe, and Matthew says he’s thrilled to be among them.

“I was selected for the development team of Team Canada two years ago, and last year I was an alternate at the WSDC in Thailand, so I got to see what goes on,” says Matthew, who currently trains with his teammates— three Ontario students and one from Halifax—via Skype.

“We have practice rounds, write essays, do strategy exercises with debate topics, and research current events,” he says. “We also research our own designated area of the world, and our own topics. We divided our roles so each of us specializes in something. I’m responsible for finance and economics, and the region of South Asia.

“Over March break, we went to a tournament at Harvard, which was our main preparation tournament for the summer.”

Matthew got into debating four years ago. “I used to be big into hockey, then got a few injuries that made me rethink playing the game,” he recalls. “In grade 7, I naturally transitioned into debating at the intramural level, started going to tournaments in grades 7 and 8, and by grade 9 I ended up being the top speaker at the provincials, which allowed me to try out for Team Canada. It became more serious and a big passion.”

The experience has helped him as a student and will likely influence his future.

“Debating gives you more confidence with verbal skills; oral presentations become much easier for debaters, because public speaking is their hobby,” he says. “It becomes the lens through which we view world issues and understand arguments from both sides. It also helps with critical-thinking and analytical skills—all things that help in school.”

Matthew intends to continue debating at university and putting his skills to practical use. “I’ll probably end up going to law school,” he says. “Debating is something I love doing and it has opened my eyes to this possibility. I’m not going to resist that!”

*The WSDC in Mexico has been postponed. A new date has not yet been announced.

Current & Previous Members of Team Canada

Akil Alleyne (Pre-U ’03)

Matthew Anzarouth ’20

Madeleine Ballard ’06 (Pre-U ’07)

Alex Blank ’04

Samara Fox ’04 (Pre-U ’05)

Ella Waxman ’19

Samuel Rappaport ’10 (Pre-U ’11)

Kierstin Lundell-Smith (Pre-U ’08)