Something to talk about

Around 270 talkative hopefuls lined up with the aim of winning this year's Champion Junior Speakers Contest, held a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, as with all competitions, this number was brutally chopped down to five of the best speakers of the 12-18 age group.

In its fifth consecutive year, this year's contest showcased impressive talent as the five speakers, spoke, argued, entertained, and finally, convinced. Primarily organized by the Toastmaster's Association under the main sponsorship of Mohanlal Grero, orientation for this year's contest began in late December, with opening rounds in Colombo and Kandy.

Five judges were present at the event – Yusuf Jeevunjee, R.G.L De Silva, Maheshi Premasinghe, Rajiv Goonetilleke and Darshana Welikala. The tie-breaker judge was Iqbal Jafferjee.

"As with any competition, this one was not all about winning, but the experience that each contestant gained just by taking part," said Mr. Waruna Singapulli, the Contest Chairman, recalling the enthusiastic performance of all the contestants, particularly the top five.

"They all had the opportunity to give vent to all their creativity and express themselves to their hearts content, in front of an enthusiastic audience." Each contestant had to deliver two speeches – the prepared speech and the impromptu speech. The winner, Tharindra Gooneratne of Ananda College, chose the topic “The Crazy Mirror Room” as his prepared speech topic, and “Are You a Superhero?” as the second topic.

The runners up were Shamil Mohsin (Lyceum International School), Naveendran Rajendran (Asian International School), Kshyala Pinto Jayewardene (Ladies College) and Samitha Makumbura (Lyceum International School).