Public Speaking Contest

Prepare and deliver a 4-5 minute speech on our 2021 topic: Healing the World with Optimism

First and Second place winners in our club contest can move on to compete for up to $22,500 in scholarships at the district, regional and international levels. In 2019, a student participating in our club contest went on to finish second at the district contest and received a $1,500 scholarship! Scholarships are funded by the Canadian Children’s Optimist Foundation.

• Eligibility Criteria:
  • Open to students under the age of 19 as of October 1, 2020 and who have not yet completed secondary school. There is no minimum age.
  • Contestants are eligible to enter/compete in only one Optimist Oratorical contest during a contest year
  • Contestants who win 1st place at the District level and/or competes at the World Regional level are ineligible to compete in subsequent years.
• Key Dates for 2021
  • March 21 (midnight) – Contest registration (by email or regular mail), including:
    • Signed application form
    • Copy of birth certificate or passport
    • Typed copy of speech
  • March 22-26 – Individual tests of video-conferencing platform (Zoom)
  • March 27 at 2:00 pm – Virtual Contest (using Zoom)
  • Early April – Zone level contest (virtual)
    • First and Second place finishers in club contest are eligible to complete in the Zone (Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge) contest
  • May 8 – District level contest (virtual)

Download the following document for complete rules and the application form:

Do you have other questions? Email us.

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