Participants hailed from across Ontario, Montreal, and Northern Ireland to compete in the GH Cup Moot at the University of Guelph-Humber
Students from cities across Ontario, Montreal, and even Northern Ireland flocked to the University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) from May 3 to 4, 2025, with their eyes on the prize: the GH Cup.
The Guelph-Humber Pre-Law Society (GHPLS) organized and facilitated the University’s very own mooting competition, welcoming 44 competitors from 22 teams on campus. Participants came from Humber Polytechnic, Centennial College, York University, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, University of Guelph, Concordia University, and Ulster University (Northern Ireland).
Mooting is not the same as a mock trial; teams are given a real court case where a ruling has already been made, and the teams must prepare arguments for both sides of the case (as the appellant and as the respondent). At U of GH, competitors are given a total of 14 minutes to present their argument and can be interrupted by the judges at any time to answer their questions. Teams move up in a bracket, where they eventually face off in an epic final match. To be successful, teams must effectively communicate their arguments in a public forum.
While U of GH students didn’t participate in the GH Cup to avoid a conflict of interest, hosting the moot provided them with a valuable experience and unforgettable memories.
“It was my first time seeing how mooting works behind the scenes,” GHPLS member and Psychology student Christabell Zalwango said, who helped organize and run the event. “Having Guelph-Humber be known in the mooting community means a lot to me because it's not a huge community, but having people know that your school hosts a competition like this is really nice.”
The team that won first place comprised of Isabela Ramirez and Anthony Chita from the University of Guelph. While the competition was fierce, Zalwango noted that she was especially impressed by the students who visited Canada from Ireland to compete in the GH Cup because they had limited time to learn about Canadian laws ahead of the moot.
But it’s not just the participants who made the effort to be prepared; the GHPLS volunteers did all they could to ensure the GH Cup Moot ran smoothly – and sharpened key skills while they were at it.
For GHPLS member and event volunteer Alana Pelay, a Justice Studies student, she learned about the art of time management in event planning. On the day of the event, she was also tasked with creating social media content, including taking photos and videos. But her favourite aspect was the networking.
“The most memorable experience was building connections with people within the [Guelph-Humber] community and outside the community,” Pelay said. “Talking to the competitors and also the judges [was memorable] because a lot of the judges were either paralegals or law students. So, they gave a lot of insight into what their path was for careers. They were giving advice, which was inspirational for me.”
Moreover, this was Zalwango’s first time getting a “behind-the-scenes” look at what it takes to host a moot, having only ever been a participant previously. Her role in the GH Cup Moot was being a timekeeper, meaning she held up signs with how many minutes the presenting teams had left for their presentation. She also served on the GHPLS’ events team.
A key lesson she learned during the process was to adapt when things aren’t going as planned. During the competition, certain teams dropped out, so teams had to be rearranged, which caught the planners off guard. Zalwango said dealing with this “was a good experience” in learning to manage stress in a high-pressure environment.
As the event neared its end, Zalwango had the chance to observe the final round without having to keep time. This was memorable for her because she already knew Isabela Ramirez and Anthony Chita because she’s competed against the duo in previous moots.
“They're great mooters,” she said. “The second place team was what really surprised me. It was Leah Greaves and Noah DeSario, a team from University of Waterloo, and they were first-time mooters.”
For more information on the GHPLS, click here.
Follow GHPLS on Instagram @ghpls.