Oratorical World Championships with Optimist International

This opportunity will be held virtually on Zoom, so judges may participate from anywhere. The Finals will begin at 9:30 a.m. CDT, and judges would be asked to log on by 9:15 a.m. CDT.

There will be nine youth contestants competing in the final round, and judges will evaluate student speeches using a provided rubric. Each contestant has advanced through multiple levels of competition for the opportunity to earn scholarship awards. We are looking for individuals who are comfortable listening to youth speeches and who are bilingual in English and French, as one of the contestants will be presenting in French.

Each Optimist District has the exciting opportunity to send its first-place District Oratorical winner to St. Louis to compete with top students from across their geographic region. Regional winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship and move on to the World Championship Contest, where they will compete for scholarships of $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000 for first, second, and third place, respectively.

Email Amy.Keller@optimist.org if you are interested in participating.