Greenway Cup 2022
Year 12 students Ella, Avjay, Luke, Angus and Will were honoured to participate in the 90th anniversary of the Greenway Cup, an annual debating competition between Ivanhoe Grammar School and Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School – a true rivalry. The prestigious competition has existed between the two schools for an incredible 90 years, first beginning in 1932, 7 years before the commencement of World War 2.
In 1932 Mr Herbert T Greenway, whose daughter Eunice attended Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School, presented the Cup, which bears his name, for competition between the Debating Societies of Ivanhoe Grammar School and Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School. From 1932 to 1934 the competition was the best of three. For a number of years, Mr Greenway attended the debates and presented the cup to the winning school. In 1937, the secret topic given to the students was, ‘that women should be as highly paid as men’, in 1976 the topic was ‘That speed is the curse of the modern world.’
This year five students, three debaters and two researchers were selected to represent the School and have their chance at battling the opposition to disprove that ‘victims should determine sentencing in all criminal cases’. With only one hour to research, plan and write their speeches, these students debated with skill and passion, working hard to provide a rock-solid rebuttal against their opposition. We were delighted to walk away from the debate with a deserving win, the Greenway cup returning to Ivanhoe’s trophy cabinet! Congratulations to these students for being fantastic representatives of the school.
Student Reflection
The Greenway Cup is an annual debate held between Ivanhoe Grammar School and Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School. The 2022 Greenway Cup marked the 90th anniversary of this special inter-school competition, which was both an honour and a delight to take part in.
The topic for the 2022 Greenway Cup debate – That victims should determine sentencing in all criminal trials – was released one hour before the debate was set to begin. With a flip of a coin, the Ivanhoe Grammar School team decided on the negative stance and quickly got to work constructing a team split and our respective arguments. In no small part due to the wonderful researchers of Will and Angus, equipped with textbooks, newspapers, and a whole manner of other exclusively printed material, we were able to scrawl upon whiteboards our definitions and procedure of the debate. Our key arguments regarded the values that Australia’s present legal system possesses and the potential for legal, personal, and societal damage in the event that the affirmative model was to be implemented. However, all of this writing only took place within one hour – a tiny amount of time to prepare for an 8-minute-long presentation in front of Buckley Hall!
The debate itself was held at Buckley Hall, in front of students, staff, and parents alike. By the time the event started, we were composed of equal nerves and excitement – for all its friendly nature, the Greenway Cup dwarfed the format of debates we were used to. The start of the debate was daunting, as Ivanhoe Girls Grammar began to deliver a convincing case for a system they argued would enshrine “victim justice”. While their tightly worded arguments and comprehensive model mounted a difficult offense, rebuttal drafts began to fill the Ivanhoe table, as our preparation for IGGS’s potential arguments an hour before began to pay off. Ultimately, we seized a win through aggressive arguments and sharp rebuttal – establishing that in the Affirmative’s reality, charging victims with the burden of sentencing would only serve to re-traumatise them and shift the motivation for incarceration from rehabilitation to personal vengeance.
Altogether – the 2022 Greenway Cup was a landmark event, especially for many of us who had been a part of debating at Ivanhoe since Year 7. On behalf of the team for the 2022 Greenway Cup, we would like to extend an especially big thank you to all the students, parents, and staff, who came out to cheer and show support to Ivanhoe in a historic win.
Co-Captains Avjay and Ella
