St Mary’s School, Waverly learner debates for SA at highest level
Jemma Tresling was recently honoured by the South African Debating Board by being selected to represent the country at the Panama World Schools' Debating Championships.
St Mary’s School, Waverly debater Jemma Tresling recently achieved her long-standing goal of being honoured by the South African Debating Board by being selected to represent South African debating at the highest level.
Jemma said the accolade served as the accumulation of hours of work, and many late nights of research, which she dedicated herself towards over the last four years.
Read more: Grade 10 debater Jemma Tresling earns national acclaim
She explained that the selection process was highly competitive and spanned over several months. “It begins with applications, after which speakers are selected to trial at the national competition in December, followed by an intensive trials process. During this time, speakers are assessed on their argumentative strength, strategic insight, and engagement with complex issues through several debates, adjudicated by various selectors.”
After the initial trials process, a squad of 10 speakers was selected. The debaters trained as a team for five months before the final five members were selected to compete. “When I received the news, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude, pride, and humility. The process leading up to selection was rigorous and filled with challenging trials, constructive criticism, and countless hours of preparation.”
She noted that, to represent her country on the international stage is both an honour and a responsibility, and approached it with the deepest sense of determination.
Also read: Caylib Nell to represent SAPS Parkview in the district debate competition.
The 16-year-old was introduced to debating in Grade 7. At the time, she was introverted, hesitant to speak in front of others, but her mother encouraged her to participate, believing that debating would help Jemma build confidence and sharpen her reasoning abilities.
Jemma explained that she has two ways of preparing for her topics. “For prepared debates, I devote substantial time to understanding the topic in depth – reading articles, consulting academic sources, and engaging in discussions with my team. Impromptu debates require a different skill set. In the hour of preparation for the debate, devices and research are not permitted, which requires us to have a broad basis of knowledge prior to the round.”
The debater’s accolades include being best speaker at both regional and national tournaments and serving on provincial teams. Most significantly, she was recently selected to join the South African World Schools’ Debating Team, where she competed in multiple tournaments in preparation for the Panama World Schools’ Debating Championships, which is set take place at the end of July.
Her individual rankings include: Atheneum top ten (2023 and 2024), Gauteng Debating League (GDL) top ten (2022, 2023, and 2024), Gauteng top 15 (2023 and 2024), best junior speaker nationals (2023), and she ranked 13th at nationals (2024),
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