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Student bound for Singapore debate stage this summer by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 19 | Thursday, February 12, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com At 14, White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) student Dasha Metropolitansky has already proven she's a force to be reckoned with on the debate floor -- locally, nationally and abroad. The Grade 9 student's list of achievements is extensive, starting in Grade 7 when she represented Canada at the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD). In Grade 8, she competed at the ICYD tournament again, won the junior national championship and claimed top junior debater in Canada. Metropolitansky also earned a spot that year for the Canadian high school debate team that reached the EurOpen finals in November 2014, and finished sixth in the single-speaker rankings. She was the top individual speaker at the most-recent Halton final in December and is one of WOSS' youngest debaters. In a previous Oakville Beaver interview, WOSS teacher and debate coach Hamish Guthrie called Metropolitansky one of the best in Canada. She's only been attending WOSS a short time -- having transferred from the University of Toronto Schools (UTS) -- but Guthrie said she's already "one of the most outstanding Dasha Metropolitansky, 14, will be representing Canada again this summer at the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) in Singapore (July 27-Aug. 6). | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/ HaltonPhotog) debaters that I've ever coached in more than 30 years." "We're thrilled Dasha is debating with us. She's the first debater to win an international tournament and she's the first debater ever to represent White Oaks (globally). She's quite exceptional. She's an awful lot of fun, too," said Guthrie. The 14-year-old's latest accomplishment was a group victory at the recent PanAmerican Debate Organization tournament in California, where she teamed up with two students from Ontario and British Columbia. "There was a lot of competition. We debated against teams from Mexico, Argentina, Peru and the U.S. You feel like you're representing your country and you've done a good job. It feels great to win a tournament," said Metropolitansky. The Pan-American tournament was difficult for Metropolitansky, she said, as there was "really good competition and lots of different topics" to discuss -- from oil prices and stay-at-home parents to the political strife in North Korea. "There was lots of social policy and economic issues, so I really enjoyed looking at all these different perspectives and dealing with lots of teams from different countries," said Metropolitansky. "They gave you one-hour prep time, so you had to sit down with your team and think of all the ideas you can to be the most persuasive to win the debate." When she was younger, Metropolitansky read often and was "generally argumentative," see Debate on p.20 WE CARRY A LARGE SELECTION OF VITAMINS, SUPPLEMENTS & HERBS 511 Maple Grove Drive, Unit 11 Oakville - Maple Grove Village @ Cornwall Road Website: www.walkersvitamins.com THE 289 837-3591 FINEST FINES T LOOSE LEAF TEA in 80+ varieties Great selection of Green tea, Herbal and Wellness tea, Oolong, Matcha, English Favorites, Chai, Black Tea, Matcha, Pu-erh, Yerba Mate, Rooibos, China Black, and White Tea. Ro ElEgant ElEgant inspiring inspiring bEautiful bEautiful you, you, at at Zuri Zuri fasHions. fasHions. 103 Reynolds stReet · Oakville, Ontario L6J 3K4 Corner of Lakeshore Rd E & Reynolds | t. 905.849.1316 Thinking about a Softener or Reverse Osmosis system? Let us give you a quote. Free water test. Need a Cooler? Buy from us and receive Free Water. Receive 50 FREE litres of U Fill Water and we'll also give you a FREE jug to transport your water! NEW CUSTOMER OFFER: www.zurifashions.ca · e-store: www.shopify.ca Follow us @Zurifashions · like our Facebook Page Gerry Weber, Simon Chang, Barbara Lebek, Spanner, Foxcroft, Linea Domani, Fred Sabatier, Mes Soeurs Et Moi, Eva Tralala, Samoon, Luna Luz, 2 Beading Hearts 2251 WESTOAK TRAIL BLVD., UNIT#1 (905) 257.9257 · Email: oakvillewaterdepot@yahoo.ca