THE sharp wit and solid arguments presented by the Wolmer’s Boys’ team led to their first-place finish in the JPS Foundation’s recently staged Power Up Energy Club Debate Competition finals.

“I don’t think words can describe it, I feel great,” a visibly excited Appolos Joiles, captain of the Wolmer’s team, relayed in a post-win interview. “I feel especially wonderful that our team would have put in the work because really and truly when it came to preparation for every single match, we were toiling through the night, up to midnight in online meetings.”

Joiles, Jhordan Dixon and Tyler Bennett trumped Herbert Morrison Technical High’s trio of Nailah Allen, Rovaughn Campbell, and Jo-Anna Hill to claim top honours for the closing chapter of the debating competition that culminated inside the Jamaica Pegasus hotel’s Port Antonio Suite. The moot being debated was ‘This House believes that Jamaica should implement climate mitigation strategies, even if their direct global impact is limited’.

Eighteen high school debating teams from across the island participated in the series of debate match-offs for the month-long competition that kicked off on February 11.

The triumphant team won $300,000, while second-place scored $125,000, and third-place Clarendon College secured $65,000 for their persuasive arguments over Calabar High School.

For Joiles, a fifth former at the Marescaux Road secondary school, who has ambitions to become an attorney-at-law, he was magnanimous in celebrating victory at the finish line.

When asked to share thoughts on his opponents’ performance compared to his team’s, he volunteered: “Honestly, I believe it was absolutely brilliant. After the match, I was scared and fretting because it was such a close match and they are such talented debaters, so it really put me in a position where I am wondering, ‘Alright, what’s gonna happen? Is it going to be us, or is it going to be them?’… but we took it home.”

The 17-year-old Joiles walked away with the Best Debater trophy, awarded by the competition’s adjudicating body Jamaica Association for Debating and Empowerment (JADE). This announcement was met with sustained applause reverberating in the hotel’s suite and the teenager was tickled by the recognition.

He saw his own personal development over the period of the debating competition.

“When it comes to JADE, they put you in a position to improve. The adjudication is always important because what they are doing is allowing you to make these corrections,” he explained. “To become a better public speaker and debater and that’s what I absolutely loved, so throughout the competition, I would take note of any suggestions and I would have applied it within my speech to ensure that I am producing my best.”

Educator Paula Samuels, who alongside teaching colleague Miguel Foster composed Wolmer’s debating coach support, said she was pleased as it was “our first time entering the competition. Winning this is testament to the fact that they are putting in the work.”

With the debating contest successfully wrapping year two, a circumspect JPS Foundation head Sophia Lewis said she was proud of the measurable growth of the competition.

“We started in 2024 with cautious optimism that our idea of pulling together a debate competition focusing on climate change issues and energy conversations would actually work and spark interest among our youth. We started with 12 competing schools to now having, 18 schools on board this year, and had to turn away schools because of the limited capacity.”

Lewis reported that over the course of the competition, there was noticeable improvement among the cadre of debaters and an expansion of their knowledge within the areas under discussion.

She was also pleased at the accommodative nature of the students and their coaches who willingly travelled around the island to play match-offs at various JPS venues.

JPS Foundation volunteer Dr Maria Arduino (left) presents the second-place $125,000 cheque to Herbert Morrison Technical High School debating team comprising Nailah Allen (second left), Jo-Anne Hill, Coach Althea Reid-Douglas, Rovaughn Campbell (back left), and Captain Asher Mundle.