Tahir Thompson (with trophy) is joined by coaches and other members of the Corinaldi Avenue Primary School debating team as they celebrate winning the Scotiabank National Primary Schools' HIV/AIDS Debating Competition with Scotiabank President and CEO Bill Clarke (right). - Contributed

Montego Bay's pride, Corinaldi Avenue Primary, has won the 2008 Scotia-bank National Primary Schools HIV/AIDS Debating Competition, defeating Lannaman's Preparatory School.

The school won for supporting the moot, arguing for owners of television stations and producers of sexually explicit programmes to be held responsible for the antisocial behaviours of young viewers.

The competition, which had its final at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday, is an educational programme organised by Scotia-bank with the aim of increasing the awareness of primary-level students to the AIDS pandemic.

After 15 weeks of intense and exciting matches, Corinaldi Avenue Primary, which was knocked out at the quarter-final stage of last year's competition, outpointed Lannaman's 283.6 to 232.5.

Teammates elated

The match was decided by the rebuttal speech of Tiwanna McLaughlin, after the teams came out blazing through the opening rounds. McLaughlin, who was awarded most outstanding female speaker, said the team's success was a credit to their coach Vivene Morrison.

"My coach instilled a lot of discipline in us. There were times when we wanted to watch the television or play with our friends, but the discipline the coach instilled has paid off," she said.

Tahir Thompson, of Corinaldi, was awarded most outstanding male speaker. He expressed delight at the manner of his team's triumph.

"Great, I love the way we won today. I knew we would win, because we had an edge in the rebuttal speech," Thompson said.

Awards and prizes

The winning team walked away with numerous prizes including the championship trophy, three computers, a printer, and scholarships valued at $300,000 for each debater. The winning coach received a plaque and cash prize valued at $20,000.

The runners-up received two computers, a printer, individual trophies, and individual scholarships valuing $150,000. The three coaches, Jacqueline Rose-Green, Arthur Taylor and André Longman, received vouchers valued at $10,000 and certificates.