Children love to argue, most parents can attest to that.

However, not all will go on to develop that skill into something more than heated arguments over doing chores or who scored the last goal. Those who do learn to debate, develop important skills for school and beyond, a way to present ideas in a structured and well-supported way. And that is what debate is: structured arguments between two teams, presenting their side of the argument in a way that they hope will have the judges convinced that their argument is the best.

Throughout the senior and middle schools on the Island, debate teams practice and learn the ins and outs of the complex sport of debate. These teams meet a number of times each year at competitions such as the Bermuda Junior Service League Debate Competition in November and the Debate Society Spring Tournament in March.

Those from these teams who wish to take their debate to another level come to join the Bermuda Debate Squad, coached by Mr. Thompson and Ms Hiles. The squad meets every Thursday at AF Smith's from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. thanks to the kindness of AF Smith's owner, Tim Smith.

Recently this team, accompanied by Ms Hiles as coach and Aziza Ahad as judge, travelled to Peru to participate in the Pan American Debating Championship, which included teams from all across the Americas.

The Bermuda squad consisted of students from many schools across the Island including Saltus, BHS, Cedarbridge and Mount Saint Agnes. Together they formed an interesting mix of serious discussion and joking around, always ending their meetings with a debate of some form with challenging, in-depth motions such as "This House Believes Politicians Should Have Term Limits" or "This House Believes Global Warming Should Be Our Number One Priority".

Not only do these debates help to improve the skills of each and every member of the group, but they help develop a real knowledge of world events and the ability to see both sides of any situation. In an actively international country such as Bermuda this is not only beneficial, but necessary to function as an open-minded member of society.

If you enjoy arguing or just sharing your ideas, find out about your school's debate team and get involved. Perhaps even join the National Squad, which meets at AF Smith's from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. on Thursdays. All are welcome to come. We all practice our arguing skills every day, on friends or parents, why let such skills go to waste?