You have one hour to prepare arguments in favour of returning the Falkland Islands to Argentina, with no access to the internet or other research materials.
Now do the same for a ban on smoking, abolishing individual countries' veto rights at the United Nations and a handful of other topics.
Coquitlam resident Luciano Kwon, who recently finished Grade 6 at the Pacific Academy in Surrey, delivered those debates with such persuasiveness that, by the end of the Heart of Europe Debating Tournament, the youngster was ranked fifth out of 140 competitors, most of whom are nearing their high school graduations.
Speaking against a ban on smoking, Kwon cited the chaos of the Prohibition era and the rise of Mexican drug cartels as evidence that well-intentioned legislation can lead to serious public safety threats.
"It really takes a lot of critical thinking," said the bow-tied Kwon. "You have to think really, really hard."
Kwon just got into debating this year, when he entered the regional novice competition. He competed against students from 17 other schools throughout the Lower Mainland, many of them in Grade 8; his team finished first by an unheard-of 12 points.
"The difference between first and second is usually one or two points," Kwon said. Spurred on by his surprising success, Kwon moved on to the provincials.
He finished first in the individual public speaking and debate divisions.
"This is phenomenal," beamed his father, Antonio Kwon. "It's unheard of, even at the regionals, for a Grade 6 to be the top debater against Grade 8s."
At the national competition Kwon was ranked 12th out of 68 competitors in a division that included students up to Grade 9.
Kwon cobbled together a team for the Heart of Europe tournament, which took place July 27 to Aug. 3 in Olomouc, Czech Republic, where 140 students from 19 countries sparred over a variety of subjects. He was the youngest person at the tournament by three grade levels.
His team was eliminated after eight preliminary rounds of debate, but Kwon's individual performance earned him the fifth-place standing by points.
He attributes his success to rhetorical prowess and a passion for learning, which has him exploring everything from history to psychology to math, a subject at which he proudly announces he's operating at a Grade 10 level.
"The sport of debating combines every learning subject and makes it into a super sport," Kwon said.
A voracious reader, Kwon gobbles up current events information by reading the BBC online, The Globe and Mail and The Economist every morning. In the evening, he visits the same sites to see how stories have evolved throughout the day.
It's all part of his five-point plan, Kwon states, starting with a spot on Canada's national debating team, attending Stanford or Harvard universities, becoming a lawyer and, one day, Canada's first Asian prime minister (a Liberal one, he figures).
His father reminds the youngster to be humble, that his search for knowledge is like "finding one piece of gravel on the beach."
Debating, Antonio adds, has sparked his son's brain and given him a powerful tool for learning, something he hopes other parents try.
"Children are like icebergs," Antonio said. "You have to see the potential under the water."
