The team consisted of four of the nation’s bright and talented pupils; Broomberg of King David High School Victory Park, Peter of St David’s Marist Inanda, Nicole Dunn of Cape Town’s Springfield Convent, and Rachel Gardiner of East London’s Hudson Park High School.
The pupils were coached by Luke Churchyard.
During the tournament, teams from across Europe and Asia faced off in a debating format known as World Schools Debating Style, in which each team had three debaters who gave four speeches.
Opposing teams were allowed to interject and pose questions to the speakers.
The South African team racked up victories against Romania, Turkey, Canada and Germany in the preliminary rounds, and was then ranked first when they headed into the tournament’s knock-out rounds.
In the quarter finals, the team faced off against the Slovakian team, and won a unanimous three-judge decision.
In the semi-finals, after a close-fought contest against the Romanian team, the South Africans convinced the judges that religious beliefs could not be compromised by freedom of speech, and progressed into the finals on a unanimous five-judge decision.
The finals saw the South Africans in a rematch against the Canadian team, in which they showed technical and analytical ability in opposing the targeted assassination of terrorist leaders.
Victory was assured when all seven judges voted in favour of the South African team.
In addition to this accolade, Broomberg was also ranked as top speaker.
“There is nothing quite like the experience of going through eight rounds with my team-mates and then being able to lift the trophy for South Africa at the end of it all. The camaraderie and engagement on important issues is an unrivalled feeling,” said Broomberg.
