Cayman Brac High School and John Gray High School will battle it out Saturday to decide who will represent the Cayman Islands at a Tourism Youth Congress in St. Thomas, USVI next month.
The speaker with the most points from the winning debate team is given the title ‘Junior Minister of Tourism’ and goes on to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s congress from October 23 to 27. The finalists will be: Cayman Brac High School – Nickolas DaCosta, Elizabeth Scott, Reshma Seeram (Reserve); John Gray High – Kamala Murugesu and Thea Bush.
This Saturday will see Cayman Brac High School proposing and John Gray High School opposing the moot ‘That stay-over tourism, the mainstay of Caribbean economies is always negatively impacted by cruise tourism’. The debate is sponsored by the Department of Tourism in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Tourism Association.
The interscholastic tournament provides participants with the opportunity to display their skills of oral persuasion, logical reasoning, strategy and research.
Last Saturday saw these two schools step into the final while Wesleyan Christian Academy and Triple C High School were knocked out of the competition during the semi-finals, which took place at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel. Schools spoke for and against the moot ‘That the impact of tourism on Caribbean countries’ economies is minimal as more tourism dollars leak out of the country than stay’.
Debate Chairman Mr. Robert Wieshan, who was an avid debater some years ago, described it as a ‘fantastic experience’ bringing about the need for research, composure, persuasion and the ability to act on one’s feet. He said debating is something that is always useful throughout life for getting ideas across to others.
The final this Saturday takes place at 1pm, venue to be confirmed. Contact DoT at 949-0623 for details.
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