Oratorical Contest and CCDHH Contest Update:

Here is the info for this year's contest ...  The Topic is "Cyber Communication—Progress Or Problem"

Briefing of Oratorical Judges:
3 - Non-Optimist judges will be used
Spouses of Optimists may not be used as judges
Judges do not know the contestants, i.e.: teachers, neighbors, or others who know any contestant cannot judge
Judges are given the rules and judging form
During the competition judges and the timekeeper will be in different locations within the room
Judges will never discuss or compare their impressions of the speakers or their scores
Each judge will render a final decision on all contestants without consultation anyone else
Each judge must score independently from other judges and anyone else
Each judge will total their scores with no ties allowed
The judge’s decisions will we kept confidential

Hints for the Audience:
No one will enter or leave the room while a contestant is speaking
No photos may be taken during the contest while students are speaking
All cellular telephones and pagers must be turned off
No applause until all the contestants have spoken and the judges have left the room
Contestants have their choice of:     Podium and Mike, Podium (alone), Mike (alone), or none of these
Contestants will be known only by their assigned letter until all the students have given their speeches and the judges have left the room
If a speaker is interrupted, through no fault of their own, and at the discretion of the narrator, the contestant will be given the option of:
    Starting their speech from the beginning
    Pause then start again from the point of the interruption  OR
    Wait until the last speaker has spoken and then start their speech from the beginning
No penalty will be assessed by the judges

Contest Rules:
Students must be under the age of 16 years
All students must speak on the assigned topic
Speakers must speak for a minimum of 4 minutes but not more than 5 minutes
Each speaker must state the official topic before beginning their speech in order for the timekeeper to record the exact time of the speech
Speakers may use notes, but can’t use props, special costumes or clothing
Speakers may not identify themselves in any way

Start of the Contest:
Speakers will be called by their letter i.e.: A, B
Each speaker will be asked how they wish to have the podium set, or if they want it removed, if they wish to use a microphone or not, they will be made comfortable prior to beginning their speech
After each speaker is finished, the narrator will give the judges about 2 minutes to do their scoring, then we will move onto the next contestant
After all contestants have been heard, the narrator will ask the judges and the timekeeper to leave the room When they have cleared the room, we will ask for a show of appreciation to the contestants
The narrator will ask each speaker to come forward to be introduced
After the judges are completed with the scoring, prizes will be awarded

Some more general info is listed below ...

Who: Students under the age of 16 years as of December 31 of the 2009-2010 school year and who are educated in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean.

How To Enter: Interested students submit a speech on the pre-assigned topic to their local Optimist Club.  To find out the contact in your area, please email the Programs department at programs@optimist.org.

The Optimist Oratorical Contest gives youngsters the chance to speak to the world. More than $150,000 in college scholarships are awarded annually from this program.

First conducted in 1928, this is the second most popular Optimist International Program. Nearly 2,000 clubs participate in this program each year. The winners at the Club level receive medallions and Zone winners receive a plaque. Districts have the opportunity to provide two $1,500 scholarships or a first place scholarship of $1,500, a second place scholarship of $1,000, and a third place scholarship of $500.

Our Oratorical Chair is John Donohue and his Committee member is Marsha Poulos. Please consider volunteering to  assist at the Zone contests and  helping chaperone at the District Contest.  It is a very rewarding and fun experience. You may contact John Donohue at jfd@atlantech.net or Marsha Poulos at avanti64@yahoo.com, home: 410-757-5147 or work: 410-224-8108.

   The contest rules, applications, etc. are available on the OI web site, www.optimist.org. Now is the time to get started!