THE best public speakers from around Victoria will be coming together at Legacy House this September for the state final of the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Competition.<\/p>\n
This is the second stage of the competition with regional finals held earlier this year, and the winners from this stage to progress to the national final in Adelaide.<\/p>\n
The competition is designed for students aged 12 to 14 and participants must prepare a five-minute speech also give a two-minute impromptu speech.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year it was announced that Melbourne Legacy had withdrawn from the competition due to other priorities which is why the state final is being held in Ballarat for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Melbourne Legacy decided not to run the competition anymore, we\u2019ve cut out what was effectively a semi-final round and we just have our regionals and we go straight into the state final,\u201d said organiser Allan McKinnon.<\/p>\n
This year state final participants come from the areas in and around Ballarat, Ararat and Hamilton with other regional centres like Warrnambool, Geelong, Bendigo and the Wimmera unable to get a competition running.<\/p>\n
The top nine students from these regional rounds well be competing in the final.<\/p>\n
\u201cHamilton had about 17 students compete, we had 16 students compete and Ararat had about nine students compete,\u201d said Mr McKinnon.<\/p>\n
Mr McKinnon said one of the reasons he believes Ballarat has been able to attract so many participants is the strong culture of public speaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cBallarat is very blessed because we\u2019ve got South Street and we dovetail into South Street and South Street dovetails into us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a really good beginning segway into South Street because we only go from 12 to 14 year olds and they go on to do very well in South Street.<\/p>\n
The support from local schools has also been crucial to the competition\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a challenge, but I get a lot of support,\u201d said Ms McKinnon. \u201cThe teachers in the schools have been good and made sure the students get their entries in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competition will provide an opportunity for students to speak to large audiences and develop their skills.<\/p>\n