After putting their skills to the test on the international stage, Bermuda’s young debating team won praise for their “courage and brilliance.”

The Dynamic Debaters, aged between 13 and 15, have returned to the island following the Heart of Europe Debating Tournament in Czechia, where they faced top debating talent from around the world.

The island team notched up victories against South Africa and Turkey, but went out in the preliminary rounds of a competition eventually won by the United States.

Team manager Gladstone Thompson said: “This is commendable for 13- to 15-year-olds.

“The standard of debate produced by Dynamic Debaters meets international standards, of which I am very proud.”

The competition also included a change of flag for Sandys Secondary Middle School graduate Chastity Armstrong, who helped make up the numbers for Team India in one qualifying match.

Although it was her first international tournament, Chastity helped her adopted team reach the last 16 of the competition, which Mr Thompson described as an “accomplishment for Chastity and Bermuda as a whole.”

He said: “We are very proud of our debaters. They are to be commended for their courage and brilliance.”

Coach Glenn Simmons added that the team worked hard “as a unit” and grew more confident as the tournament progressed.

Robert Thomas, 15, a Berkeley Institute student and the team captain, said: “I feel the competition was excellent exposure and I enjoyed the high level of international competition which really augmented my debating skills.”

Mr Thompson, who judged the preliminary rounds with Dynamic Debaters team adjudicator, Arleen Swan, was also invited to adjudicate the octo, quarter and semi-finals. He said that the experience proved “extremely valuable”, with the team members boosting their credentials “as capable international adjudicators.”

He thanked the parents and churches who assisted in financing the trip.