Saturday, February 26, 2011

Optimist Club Offers Scholarships to Student Orators

The Coquitlam Optimist Club is offering $500 in prizes and an opportunity to win scholarships with values up to $2500 in Optimist International’s 2011 Oratorical Contest.

Contestants must give a 4-5 minute speech on the topic “If I Were Leader of the Free World, the First Issue I Would Address Would Be...”

The Oratorical Contest is open to students under 19 years of age as of December 31, 2010. The age limit has changed from previous years, giving older students a chance to compete.

The Coquitlam Optimist Club will award cash prizes of $250 for first place, $150 for second place and $50 for third place. The first and second place winners will have the chance to advance through zone and regional oratorical contests. Regional winners will compete at the Pacific Northwest District contest with the opportunity to win a $2,500 college scholarship.

The Coquitlam Optimist Club’s Oratorical Contest will be held on April 6, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Royal Canadian Legion, 2675 Shaughnessy St., Port Coquitlam. To enter, students must fill out an application form and submit it to the club by March 18, 2011. Applications and detailed contest rules are available at http://www.optimist.org/Form/Oratorical_Rules_Pad_10-11.pdf or by e-mailing us at coquitlamoptimists@gmail.com.

Optimist International has been conducting Oratorical Contests since 1928. The Coquitlam Optimist Club is one of nearly 2,000 Optimist clubs in Canada, United States and the Caribbean that hold Oratorical Contests each year. Optimist International awards more than $150,000 in college scholarships annually from this program.