Optimist International Oratorical Contest

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 $2,500 scholarships or a first place scholarship of $2,500, a second place scholarship of $1,500, and a third place scholarship of $1,000.

2010 Topic: "Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem?"

On May , 2010, student participants, family and friends gathered for this year's Oratorical Contest at the COP Center in the Oviedo Marketplace. The interesting topic was both current and relevant in todays socially technoligical world. All of the contests were quite familiar with the topic and it showed in their very personal accounts of Cyber Communication.

[Insert Picture of Contestants here]

The contestants listed left to right are [insert names here]

The winner(s) for the "Girls" [insert names here]
The winner(s) for the "Boys" [insert names here]

Who: Students under the age of 16 years as of December 31 of the 2009-2010 school year (December 31, 2009) 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 e-mail the Programs Department at programs@optimist.org.

When:
Students - The deadline to enter is determined by the sponsoring Optimist Club. All Club-level contests are typically held by late March.
Clubs and Districts - The District deadline to submit winners to Optimist International is June 15, 2010. Optimist International does not set Club/Zone/Regional deadlines.

For an application with contest rules, click here.

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