Young Speechmaker finalists announced

The national finals of the Lions Clubs Young Speechmaker contest will be held at Botany Downs Secondary College Howick on Saturday.18th August 2012

121 students entered the contest held recently in seven Lions districts throughout the country and sixteen will represent their areas in Botany Downs.

Sponsored by Entertainment International NZ Ltd, the annual event has been held for over 40 years, with this year’s winner receiving a trip to Canada and the United States during the Christmas/New Year holidays. Second place- getter will receive a trip to Australia, and third place will receive a placement at an international youth camp at Lake Okataina near Rotorua.

Open to 17 to 20 year olds, each entrant makes a five-minute prepared speech and an impromptu speech of up to two minutes.

Contest organiser, Kerry Beach of Hamilton, is amazed at the talent of contestants. “Each year you think they can’t get any better, but they do. That’s why we need to have strict judging criteria”, he said. Judges will consider voice and grammar, speech structure, development and speech value and effectiveness.

The contest will be held at Botany Downs Secondary College 575 Chapel Road Botany Downs and is open to the public from 9.00 am to 3.30 pm.

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