Top 5 This Week

More articles

Island Legion branches hosting elementary public speaking contests

MANITOULIN—Speaking before a large group of people can be a challenging ordeal for many adults. One of the best ways to overcome those fears is taking part in public speaking contest.

Just such an opportunity is coming up. The Little Current Royal Canadian Legion Branch 177 Public Speaking Contest will take place on Sunday, February 9 and is open to students from Little Current Public School, Assignack Public School, Central Manitoulin Public School, Pontiac School in Wiikwemkoong and Wiikwemkoong High School.

In Gore Bay, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 514 will host its public speaking event on Friday, March 7 at C.C. McLean Public School. Schools participating there are C.C. McLean, Lakeview School, Manitoulin Secondary School and St. Joseph’s Anishinabe School.

“Taking part in a public speaking contest gives youth an opportunity to express themselves and to research topics that are of interest to them,” said Branch 177 Youth and Education Chair Charles Adam, who will also act as chair through the competition. “It also helps to develop confidence in speaking to large groups,” he said.

“We have some nice prizes lined up for students placing first through third,” said Mr. Adam. “We also have had some nice certificates and medals made up.”

Students compete in three levels according to grade. Primary consists of Grade 1 through Grade 3, Junior consists of students in Grades 4 to 6 and Intermediate consists of students in Grades 7 through 10.

Rules for the public speaking competition include that speakers may select their own topics, but all speeches are to be the original work of the speaker. Once a speech has been delivered in the competition it may not be reused in following years by anyone—so no recycling your older sibling’s work. 

Topics chosen by the individual speakers do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Royal Canadian Legion. 

The speaker must credit authors and source material if referring to another person’s work, but be careful, speeches that repeat verbatim another person’s original work will not be accepted. 

While visual aids or props such as notes, cue cards and lecterns may be used to support the speech, notwithstanding the fact that judges may add or subtract marks depending on how they are used. Speakers are not allowed to use Power Point or a projector as a method of presentation, however, or as a tool during presentation. 

The assistance of persons other than the chair (or an appointed person) is not permitted at any level of the contest. English and French speakers will compete within the same contest at all levels. Bilingual judges must be used when necessary. Speakers must compete in English or French and must continue to speak in their chosen language throughout all levels of the competition. 

A speaker can only compete at one Legion branch. If the speaker did not win at the branch, the speaker is not allowed to compete again at another branch even though it is under the same zone or district. 

Speakers must progress through all levels of the competition, that is Branch, Zone, District, Area and Provincial, using the same speech. Speakers must compete at branch level first, before they can move on to Zone or District competition. There are no skipping levels. 

A penalty of five percent of the total marks received from each judge, shall be imposed to a speech that is either short or in excess of the time limit for that level. This is done before the total scores are compiled. This penalty will be imposed by the timekeeper and applied by the scrutineer. No penalty will be levied for Grades 1 to 3. A penalty of five percent of the total marks received from each judge shall be imposed to any contestant who freezes. A contestant who freezes may continue but all speaking time used will count. This penalty will also be imposed by the timekeeper and applied by the scrutineer. 

No person, including press photographers, shall photograph, videotape, or use any audio devices during the contest. 

A microphone may only be used by a “Special Need” student. This student will require a certificate from a medical practitioner. The chair must be informed of the need before the competition begins.

The provincial public speaking contest is held on the first Saturday in May, of any given year.

Speakers may not identify themselves, except by first name, during the contest. 

Be on time, as speakers who are late for registration without “just cause” will be disqualified from the contest. 

All wall clocks will be covered or removed during the contest. 

All cell phones and other electronic devices are to be turned off during the competition. Such devices cannot be used for any reason during the contest. If you need to leave the room, please do so between speeches or at the break. Do not enter or leave the room during a speech. 

Coaching of any kind from the audience will not be permitted.

Any violation of the above rules and regulations will result in a penalty being imposed by the chair and may include disqualification from this or any future competitions. Judges will break their own ties. Judges will render a decision on all speakers without consultation with other judges or any other person. The judges’ decision is final. 

Standing ovations are not allowed at any level of the competition. 

Registration takes place at 12:30 pm on the day of the competition. There is no fee to participate.

Article written by

Michael Erskine
Michael Erskine
Michael Erskine BA (Hons) is Associate Editor at The Manitoulin Expositor. He received his honours BA from Laurentian University in 1987. His former lives include underground miner, oil rig roughneck, early childhood educator, elementary school teacher, college professor and community legal worker. Michael has written several college course manuals and has won numerous Ontario Community Newspaper Awards in the rural, business and finance and editorial categories.