All nine Team Canada 2010 members will attend the World Schools Debate Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February 2010. The WSDC allows up to five debating members from each country to compete. The competing members are Iqbal Kassam, Keenan MacNeal, Veenu Goswami, Jonathan Carson, and Lyle Dobbin.
Iqbal Kassam (second from right) – In his final year of high school debate, Iqbal looks forward to the challenges 2010 will bring. A grade 12 student from West Point Grey Academy, Iqbal is the team’s returning member from the 2009 team that competed in Athens. He was Canada’s top speaker, placing 8th individually at Worlds. Iqbal has debated in a variety of tournaments across the globe since the 8th grade. Outside of debate which has consumed a disproportionate amount of his life, Iqbal is a talented baroque violinist and has somewhat of a flair for cooking. Things he does not do particularly well include mathematics and making sense of maps. Iqbal hopes that his experiences at WSDC 2009 as well as his good looks will help Team Canada in its quest for the coveted title.
Jonathon Carson (second from left) – Born and raised in Vancouver, Jonny got into debate later than his peers, due to a habit of skipping meetings. Since then he has found great success at provincial, national, and international level competitions. He hopes to continue that success in Qatar in 2010. Entering his final year of high school at West Point Grey Academy, Jonny, along with his partner Iqbal, has traveled the globe, meeting all sorts of different people and yelling at them. Outside of debate Jonny plays goalie on his hockey team, and striker for his school’s soccer team, and is a House Captain. Jonny hopes to add World Champion to his list of accomplishments when he and the rest of Team Canada go to Qatar.
Veenu Goswami (third from right) – Veenu attends Webber Academy in Calgary. Born in India and raised in Indonesia and Singapore, Veenu first moved to Canada in Grade 5. He started debate in Grade 7, and went on to win four Alberta provincial titles in a row, and placed second and eight in junior nationals in Grades 8 and 9 respectively. He looks forward to the opportunity to represent Canada at Worlds. Outside of debate, Veenu enjoys cricket, soccer, rugby and basketball.
Keenan MacNeal (third from left) – Keenan is, at sixteen, one of the younger members of Team Canada. He has debating since Grade Seven, when his Junior high school debate coach drafted him onto the debate team. Since that time, he has enjoyed debating success with his former partner Veenu Goswami, another member of Team Canada, and others. When not debating, Keenan enjoys reading almost anything regarding science, being involved in the Skeptic’s Movement, and practicing magic tricks. He has high hopes for Team Canada at the 2010 Worlds.
Lyle Dobbin (far right) – Going into grade 12 at Citadel High School in Nova Scotia, Lyle Dobbin is an important member of the national team. After starting debate in junior high, Lyle has placed well at regional, provincial, and national level debating competitions including a first place finish at the Junior High National Debating Championships as a team in grade 9 and 13th at the Senior High National Debating Championships individually in grade 11. Outside of debating, Lyle is a great sailor and skier and is heavily involved with his school’s student council. He is looking forward to debating with Team Canada.
Sophie Bird (fourth from left) - Sophie is a grade 11 student at West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver. She started debating in grade eight and it has since become a passion, allowing her to travel across Canada and even internationally. Outside of debate, there are many other things that she loves about life: spending time with her family, poetry that doesn’t rhyme, visiting museums, travelling, playing Jeopardy, books that are completely absorbing, skiing, cookies and sad movies. She has been playing volleyball for eight years, and also enjoys playing the piano. She can’t wait to travel and share some unforgettable experiences with Team Canada 2010!
Sarah Levy (fourth from right) - A grade 11 student at St. John’s-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sarah has been debating since she found her passion for it in the eighth grade. Competing at provincial, national, and international levels, debate has become critical part of Sarah’s life, permitting less time for sleep and more for travel. Apart from debating Sarah enjoys passing time by painting, drawing, reading, and making sarcastic remarks. Encouraged by debating, Sarah hopes to pursue a career in law or international relations. Sarah is looking forward to competing (and winning!) with the 2010 team over the course of the year.
Andrew Morrison (far left) – Born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Andrew Morrison is a 17 year old student in his final year at the Sacred Heart Boys’ High School, hoping to attend McGill University for an undergrad and MIT for graduate studies in engineering due to his bent for math and science. In addition to debate, he is an avid participant in track and field, soccer, and tennis. He has recently picked up the microphone to sing as well as speak in a makeshift band composed of members of his student body, and in his year as Head Boy various musical events were spearheaded to success.
Vinayak Mishra (centre) – A grade 12 student at the Halifax Grammar School (Halifax, Nova Scotia), Vinayak Mishra is an avid tennis player and coach, an aspiring musician in a neighbourhood band, head boy for his school, and a model student. Not only this, Vinayak is also an excellent debater, bringing home a lengthy list of trophies from both local and national tournaments. Vinayak plays a valuable role on the national team, bringing a very unique perspective to every case. This coupled with his persuasive speaking style makes him a very powerful debater. He is very excited to travel and compete with Team Canada.
Tracey Lee (Coach) - Tracey Lee has coached debate in British Columbia for over 16 years. With a teaching background in History, Law and English and graduate degrees in International Relations and Counselling Psychology, Ms Lee enjoys the challenge of working with some of our brightest minds in her role as national team coach. Ms Lee has served on the provincial association (DSABC) for over ten years as treasurer and president, she has been a CSDF Director, a recipient of the McLeese Award in 2008 and one of Canada’s adjudicators at the World Schools level. She coached Team Canada 2009 in Athens, Greece to a 6th place finish and is excited at the prospect of improving those standings at this year’s WSDC in Qatar 2010. You can contact Tracey at tlee@csdf-fcde.ca.