THE final in the seven-match series of the Jamaica Information Service’s national heritage debate competition for the western region is to be played on Thursday, October 30.

The competition was recently launched in Montego Bay, with the Montego Bay High School emerging winners over Mount Alvernia High.

Eight schools from Hanover, St James and Westmoreland are expected to argue the moot, ‘be it resolved that The Right Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante achieved more for Jamaica as a trade unionist than as a politician’.

Manager of regional services at JIS, Winsome Christie, said the competition started some six years ago with 29 schools participating. This year, she noted, there were 40 schools vying for a position in the national finals that are to be held in November.

“The main objectives of the debate are to develop an awareness of our heritage among our young people, as well as to stimulate research and to engender a sense of nationalism among students,” Christie said. “On this basis, the JIS is very pleased to be staging this competition… which will be carried out in all the six regions this year.”

She added that because the debate had been consistently of a high standard, teachers and principals had given the nod for their students to participate.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank all the schools for their participation and also our main sponsors (the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited) for making the special effort to support the debate competition this year,” Christie said.

In announcing the winner of the first match, the competition’s chief judge, Violet Stephenson, noted that both teams did exceptionally well.

“It was a difficult decision because both teams, we felt, were very good,” she said. “We saw some eloquent speakers, we saw quite a bit of research, we saw good teamwork and good observation skills and in terms of the presentations, these were of a very high standard.”