Beyond the debate

A UOW student club is on a mission to debunk the myth that debating is only for future lawyers, politicians in the making and fiercely competitive business students. 

The UOW Debating Society, known as SWORDs, is breaking down barriers and gaining momentum at pace welcoming “newbies” to the art of critical thinking and structured debating.

SWORDS President and UOW third-year teaching student Sam Nicholls has been debating for nine years, following his passion for debating throughout high school into university, and said the club is in a unique position to foster talent for the next few years with many students only just starting their debating journey.

SWORDS President Sam Nicholls. Photo: Michael Gray.

“The club’s growth has been organic, and word of mouth continues to see new people join mid-semester. The allure of travel both domestically and internationally is proving to be a draw card attracting new members,” Sam said. 

“We've got a good mix of people who are completely new to debating, only joining the club after starting university, having never debated before.

“The first of our national tournaments early this year was held in Brisbane, and we had 19 people attend in that contingent, which was a club record.

“Since I stepped in as President, we have had a whole group of people join, bringing along friends they met in high school who then bring new friends the following week. It is going from strength-to-strength.

“We aim to do our absolute best to create a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment at all our events. Our Internals sessions are always judgement free as we understand that everyone starts somewhere, and we are all trying to develop our skills.”

Inclusion is key

The club’s executive team includes novice officers, club equity officers and a club women and gender minority officer which has ensured the club’s culture is friendly and welcoming to all students. 

Molly O'Meagher is one of the SWORDs Club Equity Officers and is determined to make sure that all students feel supported.

“We want to make sure that people feel comfortable and if they ever feel uncomfortable in a situation, they know there is a process there to support them,” Molly said. 

“My role in the club is to make sure that when a debate is taking place, that people are not getting picked on or attacked within the style of debate. Sometimes it is easy to get carried away with your arguments being made during a debate.

“If anyone has any issues within a debate - whether they feel like they are particularly targeted in a rebuttal sense. Or if an argument was made that should not have been, because it failed to consider people's own personal experiences, I'm the one they can go to to raise it.”  

Serena Lucato is the club’s Women and Gender Minority Officer (WGM) and a Novice Officer and specifically looks at the WGM involvement in the club, making sure people feel supported to get involved, often organising WGM focused social events.

“There is a misconception that debating is male dominated. Since joining I have been surprised that it is not the case. It is very much half and half. I am a place of contact beyond equity, specifically, where individuals can reach out if they feel like there is any sort of WGM related issues,” Serena said. 

Friendships formed

Serena and Molly are both studying a double degree in law and arts in western civilization and both joined SWORDS last year after having debated through high school. They competed in the Nationals in Melbourne shortly after joining the club. 

“There's a huge social aspect to debating that I think people just don't realise; both in the club and the Australian circuit. Everybody is very welcoming and the more competitions you go to and the more you put yourself out there, the more enjoyable it is,” Serena said.

“If you involve yourself in the society, you are able to easily expose yourself to this whole new group of people. 

“It is more than just debating. There is a very important social aspect to it, which I think Wollongong is probably one of the best universities at,” Serena said. 

Skills for life

The club is structured around a series of weekly internal meetings, including sessions to hone skills, practise debates and enjoy plenty of social activities. 

The sessions provide students with opportunities to practise the craft of debating and networking as they discuss new ideas, arguments and learn to view a topic from different perspectives. 

“Each week we cover different concepts, from economics, international relations, arts topics, whatever it might be,” SWORDS President Sam Nicholls said. 

“In debating, there is a certain level of ideas and concepts you can just apply to debating in general. But then it helps to have specific knowledge on whatever the topic might be, whatever is happening in the world.”

The club prides itself on giving everyone the chance to experience all aspects of debating, being a debater, judge, panellist and adjudicator.

Students have the opportunity to compete on the regional, national and international stage, from mini weekend tournaments hosted by different universities around Australia through to international competitions. 

“While SWORDS is often considered a small club, being able to participate in the national competition and having the opportunity go against those more established teams is really beneficial for development,” Sam said.

Taking on Australia’s brightest debaters 

In September, SWORDS hosted the Australian British Parliamentary Debating Championships (ABPDC) welcoming 150 tertiary students from more than 12 Australian universities for the three-day debating championship.

The 2024 UOW Debating Society. Photo: Michael Gray.

SWORDs attended last year’s competition, held at the University of Melbourne, setting in motion SWORDS Vice-President Angus Braiden’s determination to bring the next competition to Wollongong.  

“Being able to be part of setting the precepts of competition and being able to set some of the norms and customs means that we can put our own sort of spin on it,” Angus said. 

“We are trying to make it a lot more social and approachable. The competition is bigger than last year, so it is exciting to see it come into fruition.”

Seventeen members from the SWORDS team participated in the tournament, debating against student teams from the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, University of Technology Sydney, Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland, University of Melbourne, Monash University, Australian National University, University of Tasmania and University of Western Australia. 

The overall championship winners were Nicola Brayan and Oscar Chaffey from the University of Sydney Union.