Information Pack for 2016
- 2017
Introduction
The Rotary
Youth Speaks Competition is a well-established and successful competition
organised and promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain and
Ireland. It is a four stage competition
which is designed to support and encourage the development of effective
communication skills. Some stages may have more than one round.
Aims
This competition
aims to offer young people:
·
experience
in speaking on a public platform as a member of a team
·
an
incentive to formulate ideas on topical subjects
·
discipline
in dealing with a topic in a limited time
·
the
opportunity of learning and practising high standards of expression,
presentation and appearance
·
impartial
feedback and assessment of performance by experienced adjudicators
Who can take part?
The
competition is open all schools and college communities including those that
are home educated and any other young people’s community organisations, for
example, community RotaKids, community Interact, Scout Groups, Girl Guides etc.
Each team will comprise of three students in full time education in two
age groups:
Intermediate 11 to 13 years
Senior 14 to 17 years
With the age qualifying date of 31 August 2016, it should be noted that
some junior entrants may be 11, intermediate entrants 14 and senior entrants 18
at the time of some or all stages of the competitions (e.g. a competitor who is
17 on 31 August but turns 18 on 1
September is allowed to enter).
Students should enter the competition organised by the local Rotary club
through their respective group, as detailed above.
Competitors, schools, colleges and other organisations can participate
in a district that is outside of their boundary, but can only compete in one
club or district.
The Four Stages of the Competition
Local Heats
The Mid Herts heat will be held at Dame Alice Owens School, Potters Bar on Thursday 19th Jan 2017 starting at 6pm. If there are a large number of entries, it may be necessary to hold a second heat on the same evening at another local venue. To enter, please complete copy and complete the entry form at the end of this post and email it to
mike@mailord.co.uk or to midhertsrotary@ymail.com by Thursday 12th Jan 2017.
District Competitions
These are
organised by Rotary between January and mid-February. There will District Semi-Finals followed by a District Final. Age group winners of the District
Final are entered into a Regional Final.
Regional Finals
These are organised by Rotary between mid-February and March. Age group
winners of regional finals are entered into the national final.
National Final
This is
organised by and held in Rotary District 1210.
Dates for
local heats, district finals and regional finals may have local variations.
Interested parties should check dates with their local Rotary club.
Rotary does
not fund expenses of the regional winners to attend the national final, but there may be support from a local Rotary club..
Competition Guidelines
Format
Each team
member takes on one of three roles: chairperson, speaker and vote of thanks.
The team should be the same throughout the competition. In exceptional
circumstances substitutions may be made, subject to the approval of the
competition organiser.
Each team
member is allocated a time in which to perform their role. The role of each
team member is detailed in the procedure section below.
Judges
Judges with
appropriate skills appointed by Rotary will apply the judging criteria and
provide feedback to all competitors and mentoring to winners. The judges will
not discuss marks and their decision will be final.
A Rotarian
will not be appointed as a judge for regional or national finals.
Judging Criteria
Chairperson’s
management of the meeting 25 points
Speaker’s
ability to present and develop a topic
and ability
to answer the question 50 points
Quality and
courtesy of the vote of thanks 25 points
Team work 15
points
Total
115 points
A judge’s
score sheet which illustrates the points judges will be particularly looking at
is provided at the end of this information pack.
The judges
will deduct one point for each complete 15 seconds over the allocated time and
one point for each complete 30 seconds under the
allocated time. Points will not be deducted for time in answering the question.
Only in
exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the competition organiser,
will correspondence or discussions be entered into following a competition.
Questioner
The
questioner, who shall not be one of the judges, will be appointed by the
competition organiser. Speakers will be asked to respond to a question asked by
the questioner
The
questioner can be a Rotarian but not from a participating club.
Prizes
At all stages of the competition competitors
will receive a certificate of participation.
After the
judges have determined the result of the competition one or more judges will
comment on their observations before announcing the result.
At the
national finals, the winning intermediate and senior teams will receive the
Rotary Challenge Trophy which may be held for one year. Each member of the
winning, second and third teams will receive an individual award.
How
to enter
To enter a
local heat, interested parties should contact their local Rotary club via
the club finder in the top right hand corner of the website rotarygbi.org.
In case of difficulty please contact the national organiser Joyce Marston at youth-speaks@rotarygbi.org quoting
the home address and the address of the school, college or other organisation.
Entrants
need to complete the entry form at the end of this information pack and submit
to the stage organiser at the time specified by the stage organiser.
Competition
Procedure
Arrival
Before each
competition the competition organiser will conduct a draw to determine the
order in which each team will make their presentation. The order will be
notified to teams at the competition. If possible, teams will be given prior
notice of the order. In unforeseen circumstances the organisers may have to
adjust the order.
Arrangements
A master of
ceremonies will invite each team in order of the draw, to come to the front or
stage to make their presentation.
The team
should be ushered into position by the chairperson who should sit down with the
speaker on their right and the vote of thanks on their left. This is a team
competition and each team member must conduct themselves so that they are
attentive and listening to whichever of the team members is speaking. A
reminder that the team MAY NOT
use props or enter into a dramatic performance as this is a public speaking
competition.
A system of
lights or coloured cards will be used to advise team members of time. Green
will indicate start, amber will warn that the allocated time is coming to an
end and red will indicate the end of allocated time.
Notes may
be used. However their use should not be too obvious - simply reading written
content will be reflected in the marks. Notes can be written on paper, card,
tablet or iPad. If electronic media is used for this purpose it must only be
used as a
reminder of the content of the speech and not as a prop or as a live means of
presenting or sourcing information. Cards as prompts are better than A4 notes
but ideally teams should deliver the presentation without either.
Items other
than dress or the furniture provided are not permitted to be used as props. The
use of props will be severely reflected in the judges’ marks. This includes
power point.
Where
venues would benefit from amplification, static microphones will be provided
for team members to use. A sound test will be arranged prior to the start of
the competition. If any team member fails to use the static microphones and
their words are inaudible the judges will deduct marks.
The team
members will perform their roles in the following order:
Chairperson
When the team
is ready the chairperson will stand. From this point on the chairperson is in
control of the team’s performance until the performance is closed after the
vote of thanks. The chairperson should briefly link the team’s presentations.
There is no time penalty involved in this part of the chairperson’s role.
The
chairperson has two minutes to welcome the audience and to introduce the
speaker. The introduction should include the relevance or expertise of the
speaker to the subject of their speech.
An
amber light will indicate there are thirty seconds left of the allocated two
minutes.
Speaker
The speaker
has six minutes to speak on their chosen subject. The speaker may choose any
subject, subject to the approval of the organisers. Considerable discretion
should be used in choosing the subject. Sensitive subjects such as party
politics, race or religion should be avoided. The subject may change between
stages.
An
amber light will indicate there is one minute left of the allocated six minutes
Chairperson
When the
speaker has finished the chairperson will invite the questioner to ask a
question
Speaker
Before
answering the question the speaker may seek clarification of the question via
the chairperson. The speaker, who is the subject expert, may not consult about
the question with other team members.
The speaker
then has about two minutes to answer the question.
An
amber light will indicate two minutes are drawing to a close and after the
amber light speakers should bring their response to a conclusion.
Speakers
are advised to respond spontaneously, without prepared sections, to obtain high
marks from the judges.
Chairperson
When the
speaker has finished answering the question, the chairman will introduce the
proposer of the vote of thanks.
Vote of Thanks
The vote of
thanks has two minutes to propose the vote of thanks.
The vote of
thanks should remark on both the content of the speech and the response to the
question. The audience should then be invited to show its appreciation of the
speaker.
An amber
light will indicate there are thirty seconds left of the allocated two minutes.
The student
giving the vote of thanks is advised to respond spontaneously to the response
to the question, without prepared sections, to obtain high marks from the
judges.
Chairperson
After the
vote of thanks and applause the chairperson will close the proceedings.
Results
After the
judges have determined the result of the competition, one or more judges will
comment on their observations before announcing the result.
Youth Competitions
The Rotary
Youth Speaks competition is one of several competitions organised by Rotary
International in Great Britain & Ireland for young people. The others are
Young Chef, Young Musician, Young Photographer, Young Writer, Youth Speaks the
Young Citizens Awards and the Technology Tournament. To find out more about
these competitions and other opportunities please contact your local Rotary
club, which can be found at rotarygbi.org.
Working with Children
Rotary
International in Great Britain and Ireland has adopted this statement of policy
for working with children, the vulnerable and those with disability.
The needs and rights of the child, the elderly, the vulnerable and those
with disability take priority. It is the duty of every Rotarian to safeguard to
the best of their ability, the welfare of and prevent the physical, sexual or
emotional abuse and neglect of all children, the elderly, persons with
disability or otherwise vulnerable persons with whom they come into contact during
their Rotarian duties.
Entry
Form Details
Rotary in
Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) reserve the right to retain contact details
within the terms of the Data Protection Act to enable RIBI to contact and keep
in touch with them as part of the Alumni of Rotary and as future potential
members.
The entry form below can be copied and pasted into a word processor document, completed and attached to your email.
Mid Herts Rotary Youth Speaks Entry Form 2016/17
Please
read the information pack before completing this form clearly. By signing this form you confirm you have
read, understood and agreed to the contents of the information pack. Please return this form to mike@mailord.co.uk or to midhertsrotary@ymail.com by Thursday 12th Jan 2017.
School/college/other organisation
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Contact person
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Email
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Tel No
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Chairperson’ Name
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Age on 31 Aug 2016
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Signature
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Speaker’s Name
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Age on 31 Aug 2016
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Signature
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Vote of Thanks’ Name
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Age on 31 Aug 2016
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Signature
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Age category (Intermediate/
Senior)
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Title of topic
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Sponsored by Rotary Club of
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District
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Contact Person
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Email
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Tel No
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The
parent(s), guardian(s), or carer(s) have given permission where necessary:
a. for the named person to take part in and
be identified in the competition (Yes/No)
b.
any entrant over 18 at the date of this competition should sign this entry form
c. for photographic/video records to be taken
and used for Rotary International in Great
Britain and Ireland (RIBI) publicity
purposes in printed, electronic and on-line formats
(Yes/No)
d. In signing this form the
parent/guardian/carer gives permission for contact by RIBI,
District and Club Public Relations
Officers for public relations purposes (Yes/No)
School/College/Organisation Contact
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Signature
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Date
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Not
agreeing to c and d above does not preclude the individual from entering the
competition
