Martin Sorensen |
Shortly after arriving home from the 1993 Australasian Intervarsity in Malaysia, Martin Sorensen died. Martin, a cystic fibrosis sufferer, was one of the great debaters. His last achievement was to combine with Ben Richards and Craig Rawson to win the the 1993 Australasian Intervarsity for Monash University and be named Best Speaker of the tournament. As a mark of respect for a great debater and an exceptional person, the DAV Schools Competition D Grade Shield is named The Martin Sorensen Memorial Shield.
The following tribute was delivered by the then President of the Monash Association of Debaters, Raymond D'Cruz, at Martin's memorial service on Monday, the 19th of July, 1993 at the Carey BGS Chapel and published in Silvertongue, the magazine of the Monash Association of Debaters, Number 3, September 1993.
It was difficult to work out what to say, so a group of Martin's closest debating friends from Monash sat around and talked. This is what we are thinking and feeling about the Martin we knew.
He was imbued with a wisdom far beyond his years. He saw things very clearly; whether he was debating or dealing with an issue as a member of the debating Executive, he was able to make sense out of issues that were too complex and difficult for the rest of us to understand. He seemed well considered on everything. Part of this wisdom was a sense of right and wrong, an elevated sense of justice. He would not tolerate the arrogant, rude or self indulgent - he would give them no tenure. People realised his wisdom and integrity very quickly, when Martin would debate, or simply speak, there would be a hush of expectance that something brilliant was about to be said - and he did just that.
He was humble - almost embarrassed by what a brilliant student and debater he was. He was a member of the Victorian Schools' team, the Australian Schools' team, and a Monash representative at four Australasian Intervarsities. He was a member of the team that were runners-up in 1991 and the teams that won the Australasian Intervarsity in 1992 and 1993. That 1993 Australasian Intervarsity win came only nine days ago: he won the best speaker of the tournament, a fitting final victory to one of the greatest debaters of our generation. He was a member of the Australian Test team for three of four Australasians. He won the Sydney Intervarsity of 1991. Martin never lost an internal debate at Monash, he was a member of the winning team in 1990 and 1991. He won the Public Speaking competition in 1990. It was a thrill to watch Martin debate; people from all over the world would agree. One of the saddest things will be knowing that we will never see him debate again.
Only those who knew him well knew how hard he worked as a student. Intellectually he was enormously gifted and could have always done very well without much effort, but that was not him. Martin made everything of his intelligence, he worked very hard and never took his gifts for granted. Not many people would know that only recently Martin received an award from the Economics Institute of Australia for being the best economics student at Monash in 1992. He was humble about the great successes he achieved in studies and debating. He loved to do well and he loved to win but he would not show it; you knew that if he was happy on the outside, he was ecstatic on the inside.
He was respected. Everyone who knew Martin respected him. School debaters would get nervous and excited when they heard that Martin Sorensen would be adjudicating them or when he walked into the room. People meeting Martin for the first time would only have to listen to what he said to instantly respect his wisdom and judgement. He had real integrity. Martin could have been arrogant about his extraordinary abilities, but he wasn't. He would debate with anyone no matter how good or bad. If there was a debating or adjudicating seminar or if someone needed an adjudicator for a debate he would always oblige. And he wouldn't just run a seminar or give an adjudication, the seminar would be revealing, helpful and humorous, the adjudication would be insightful, illuminating and correct. He gave much more to the debating club than just victory, he inspired and helped others - he became a role model and a main perpetuator of success. he was the Debating Secretary of the Debaters Association of Victoria Adults' Competition - a position with a lot of work and not much else but that was his style. After being in the Victorian Schools' team as a student, he would go back each year to help the students prepare. He gave so much to debating on so many levels.
Martin was independent. He would only do what he wanted. He moved out of home, he completed any responsibilities he accepted, he made the decision to go to Malaysia for the Australasian Intervarsity. It must have been difficult for his family to let Martin have all of this independence when they were so worried about his health, but he was grateful for this autonomy and he respected his family for it, he wanted it no other way. He chose to live his life regardless of his illness, he refused to let it limit him. His bravery was inspiring; we thought that if anyone could beat this, it was Martin.
Very few people have the potential to do what Martin did and to be what Martin was. He had a lot less weakness than most of us. Martin packed a lot into his life, he died quickly, triumphant and without regret. He was very pleased with the way things were; he was always in control. Martin was a person with enormous integrity and humility who had the unwavering repsect and friendship of everyone who knew him. Hopefully, someday, sometime we will all be reunited.
Debating Achievements
1986
Carey BGS, Runner Up D Grade Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV) Schools Competition
1987
Carey BGS, Won DAV C Grade Schools Competition
1988
Carey BGS, Won DAV B Grade Schools Competition
Member Victorian Schools' Team
1989
Carey BGS, Won DAV A Grade Schools Competition
Captain Victorian Schools Team
Vice Captain Australian Schools Team
1990
Monash Association of Debaters (MAD), member Australasian Intervarsity Team
MAD Reserve for Australian Test Team, Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Won MAD Public Speaking Competition
MAD Won MAD Internal Competition
DAV Runner Up DAV C Grade Adults Competition
1991
MAD Semi Finalist Easter Intervarsity
MAD Runner Up Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Won Sydney Mini Intervarsity
MAD Monash Internal Competition
DAV DAV B Grade Adults Competition
DAV Debating Secretary
MAD External Vice-President
1992
MAD Won Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Fifth Best Speaker at Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Member of Australian Test Team, Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Member World Intervarsity Team
DAV Semi Finalist DAV A-Grade Adults Competition
DAV Debating Secretary
MAD External Vice-President
1993
MAD Won Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Best Speaker Australasian Intervarsity
MAD Member of Australian Test Team, Australasian Intervarsity |
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