The Denny West of Ireland Schools Debating Competition is run over the course of the year for senior cycle students in secondary schools in the West. We are immensely grateful to have Denny on board again this year, for what we hope will be a very successful competition.

Application forms for the competition are available here. Forms are to be printed off and returned to me by Friday September 25th. The preliminary rounds will commence in October 2009.

Also available is the competition booklet. This includes vital information and practical guidelines for both competitors and teachers on preparation, speaking and debate format, and is available for download here.

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage schools that have not competed before to enter this year. Debating fosters quick critical and analytical thinking, logical argumentation as well as confidence and the ability to speak before an audience. The skills your students will reap from competitive debating will prove invaluable both at exam time and throughout life.

Finally, we would like to encourage participants to consider hosting a preliminary round on home ground. This worked successfully last year and we hope to continue it in order to boost interest among the school community in debating. More information on what exactly hosting a round entails is available in the electronic booklet online. If you are willing to host a preliminary round, please fill out the appropriate field on your application form.

Denny's is a hugely rewarding and prestigious competition, which sends winners to compete in a National Final, held in Dublin in April 2010. This year we hope to build on the success of previous years and to further expand the competition.