It was the first time going to a provincial debate tournament for Vanessa Wiebe and Maddie Meilun from Morden Collegiate's debate team.

The duo did quite well, even against some of the best schools in Winnipeg which have full-time debate programs. Morden's program only started two years ago.

"It's kind of intimidating when you're not sure what to expect," said Wiebe.

She and Meilun have been debate partners since the team's inception. They and the rest of the team travelled to Halifax last year for a special debate camp where they competed against teams from across Canada.

"We were happy with the results," Wiebe said about their showing at the tournament.

Wiebe shared that to do well as a team, you need to trust and rely on each other.

"It's not just about yourself," she said. "You have to do it as a team."

Debate coach for Morden Collegiate, Michael Macaraeg, would like to see more schools in the Pembina Valley start-up debate clubs and create a league in Southern Manitoba. For the past two years, he's witnessed a lot of benefits come to the students on the team.

"I've seen their confidence rise immensely and that's huge in terms of public speaking," he said.

Critical thinking was also a skill his students have gained because the nature of debating is meant to be critical.

"You're preparing for a speech where someone is going to make a critique of your stances, and being able to defend those stances is really important," said Macaraeg.

Wiebe and Meilun are both looking forward to attending the tournament next year.