By, Nurhafizah Kholish
PAGOH, 25 January 2025: In conjunction with the Carnival of Sustainable Tourism, Language, and Education (CaSTLE) 2025, the Arabic Debate and Public Speaking Club of IIUM Pagoh (ADC Pagoh), supported by IWON Pagoh in collaboration with the Department of Arabic Language (DOAL), Office of ACOM CASTELLAN 23/24 and MA’RAD (Gallery of Arabic Culture), successfully hosted the “بطولة أبطال المستقبل” : Championship of Future Heroes from 10 to 15 January 2025, at IIUM Pagoh campus.
The competition featured twelve teams consisting of three participants per team based on seven mentors from Smart Debate Academy 2.0. These seven mentors trained their mentees throughout the semester in IIUM Pagoh. Most of the participants were from the beginner and intermediate levels. Meanwhile, ADC IIUM Pagoh also invited SMKA Maahad Muar to delegate five more teams composed of Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, and Form 4 students.
The first day of the championship began on Friday, 10 January 2025, with an engaging debate workshop entitled “D-DAY Championship of Future Heroes: 1001 Tips and Tricks!” including participants and Head Adjudicator, Hanif Naim. The workshop provided participants with interactive training modules of debate theory and advanced practical debate techniques to equip them for the preliminary rounds.
On Saturday, 11 January 2025, the championship progressed to three main preliminary rounds, conducted online via Zoom. Among all teams, Wardatul Syaukah remained undefeated throughout the day. Based on the results, the Top 4 teams—Wardatul Syaukah, Asad, Soutun Najah and Al-Bulagha’—qualified to the third day of the competition.
On Sunday, 12 January 2025, the intense online semifinal battles took place, with Wardatul Syaukah (proposition) facing Al-Bulagha’ (opposition) in Room 1, while Asad (proposition) competed against Soutun Najah (opposition) in Room 2. The winners of the semifinal rounds, Al-Bulagha’ and Soutun Najah, advanced to the grand final. Meanwhile, the third-place match took place immediately after the semifinal results were announced, with Wardatul Syaukah emerging victorious over Asad to claim the bronze position.
On Wednesday, 15 January 2025, the grand final debate featured Soutun Najah as the preposition team against Al-Bulagha’ as the opposition, conducted at IIUM Pagoh. After a heated exchange of arguments, with the honorable judges’ decision of 4-1, Al-Bulagha’ was crowned as the first champion of the Championship of Future Heroes.
On the same day, the Department of Arabic Language (DOAL) organized the Grand Closing Ceremony of CASTLE 2025, celebrating all competitions that had taken place. During the ceremony, Nurulhuda Husna binti Wan Mohd Rafi was awarded the title of Overall Best Speaker for the three main preliminary rounds, while Muhammad Ameerul Zulhaqeem bin Mohd Jamali was recognized as Final Round Best Speaker.
The Championship of Future Heroes would not have been successfully executed without the dedication of the seven mentors who led the seven teams from IIUM Pagoh, exemplifying the spirit of intellectual rigor and camaraderie. The Arabic Debate Club IWON Pagoh expressed gratitude to all participants, the head organizers—Salsabeel Norazam, Hafiz Zhafri, Akmal Ezzati, and Khairunnisa Haziqah—and the incredible committees who contributed to the event’s success. The club looks forward to continuing its mission of nurturing future leaders through the art of debate. Come join us and be part of the champions!
For more updates and stories, stay tuned to IIUM Today (https://news.iium.edu.my/).***
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