The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) became a beehive of activities at the recent Southeast Asia (SEA) Forensics Tournament, with stuents rehearsing lines, participating solo and duet acting practices and last-minute preparation as the 36th Southeast Asia (SEA) Forensics Tournament, which kicked off on February 13 until February 15, 2014.
The SEA Forensics Tournament enables the development of students in academic, artistic and cultural endeavors through its seven events: solo acting, duet acting, oral interpretation, original oratory, debate, impromptu and extemporaneous speaking. SEA Forensics Director Alan McLean said “the competition is all about creative thinking, especially in the interpretative events.” “For other speaking events like debate,” he said, “it encouraged critical thought, and students had to be able to organize their thoughts coherently. The SEA Forensics started out as a competition between international schools, but several years ago, we noticed that there was a demand from national schools and have since opened up the competition to them.”
The three-day event featured over 100 students from different parts of the Malaysia and Southeast Asia, as well as coaches, volunteer judges, faculty and staff.
The SEA Forensics Tournament promotes and fosters cooperation among the schools by providing a forum for communication and discussion; it seeks to serve as an extension of each member school’s program, enhancing the development of both the students and the program. The SEA Forensics Tournament aims to develop public speaking and performance ability among students while advancing and sustaining intercultural connections.
In attendance at the award ceremony was Encik Alshaari bin Wahab, Senior Assistant Director, Private Education Unit, Selangor State Education Department, who was thoroughly impressed with the organization and flair of the students.
2014 SEA Forensics Tournament Final Results
CATEGORY SCHOOL NAME
Solo Acting
Bronze: Wesley Methodist Woi Ju Li
Silver: SMK St. John Palvinjit Oon Chee Yew
Gold: Hong Kong International School Hanna Gregor
Oral Interpretation
Bronze: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Murielle Probst
Silver: ISKL Sophia Ankel
Gold: Dalat International School Melanie Waters
Impromptu
Bronze: Hong Kong International School Brittany Fried
Silver: ISKL Victoria Keogh
Gold: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Kaberi Dutta
Extemporaneous
Bronze: Hong Kong International School Adrian Kwan
Silver: ISKL Philip Efstathiou
Gold: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Jeffrey Disney
Original Oratory
Bronze: Wesley Methodist Sng Weoi En
Silver: ISKL Arunima Shrestha
Gold: ISKL Victoria Keogh
Duet Acting
Bronze: SMK Assunta Natasha Anne
Bronze: SMK Assunta Serena Tung
Silver: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Jeevan Dhillon
Silver: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Zafri Iskandar
Gold: Wesley Methodist Ashvinnie Sivakaran
Gold: Wesley Methodist Johaan Abraham
Debate
Bronze: Dalat International School Brittany Hurlbut
Bronze: Dalat International School Johnathan Tan
Bronze: Dalat International School Thushara Kantimahanti
Bronze: Hong Kong International School Andrea Herman
Bronze: Hong Kong International School Arnesh Batlaw
Bronze: Hong Kong International School Nicholas Liu
Gold: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Arvinran Rajendran
Gold: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Gulraj Sidhu
Gold: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar Kaberi Dutta
Silver: ISKL Amanda Yeoh
Silver: ISKL Jonathan Silva
Silver: ISKL Sonja English
Anne Russell Award: (Best Performance by an Individual)
This award is named after Anne Russell, a tournament director for many years whose dedication did a great deal to shape the tournament in its present form. It is given to the student who had the best performance as an individual during the tournament.
Winner: ISKL Victoria Keogh
Muri Awards: (Best Performance by a School)
The SEA Tournament awards trophies (1st through 3rd place) to schools based upon their overall school performance at the tournament.
Winners:
3rd Place: Dalat International School
2nd Place: Hong Kong International School
1st Place: Kolej Tuanku Ja’afar
*This award is name after Leslie Muri, an ISKL teacher, in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the development of the tournament over a period of almost 30 years.
