Annual oratorical contest winner announced

The winner of the fifth Annual Oratorical Contest, hosted by the Optimist Club of George Town last Saturday, 23rd March, was David Forbes, a 15-year-old, Year 10 student from Clifton Hunter High School student. David will now represent the Cayman Islands at the District Level Contest in Jamaica. The local contest at the Harquail Theatre, provided a great opportunity for contestants from schools throughout the Cayman Islands to speak publicly for 4 to 5 minutes on this year’s topic "Why my voice is important". Contestants included students from: Cayman Islands Further Education Centre; John Gray High School; Clifton Hunter High School; Prospect Primary School; George Town Primary School and Layman E Scott High School (Cayman Brac High School).

Contest Chairperson, Ms. Elaine Harris, said “the participants were courageous and outstanding in their orations. It is essential for us to empower our youth with the right skill set and opportunities, for we are not only encouraging success but we are also investing in the future leaders of these islands.”

Only 1 ½ points separated David from second place finisher Abijith Anu of Layman E. Scott High School, and even closer was the ½ point that put Abijith ahead of Jada Ramoon, also from Clifton Hunter High School.

The 1st place winner was awarded US$500.  The 2nd place winner received US$350.00 and 3rd place received US$150.00. Each contestant was presented with a certificate of participation, Oratorical Pin and an Optimist T-Shirt.  The top three contestants received monetary prizes and medallions.

Club President, Mark Ray, stated, “Once again we had a very high level of competition this year.  We are excited to have David represent us at the District level contest on the 13th of April in Jamaica, especially after our excellent showing in Jamaica in 2012 by Abijith, who won our Club competition last year.”

In Jamaica, David will have the opportunity to interact with and compete against other Oratorical winners from the region including countries such as Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, and St. Lucia.  The winner at the District level Contest will receive a US$2,500 scholarship.

Ms. Harris noted that Cayman’s Oratorical Contest would not have been possible without the efforts of the students, parents, teachers, the Oratorical judges, volunteers, sponsors and supporters, who included: Cayman Airways; NBS-Cayman; The Cayman National Cultural Foundation; Mr. Adrian Estwick, Department of Agriculture; Kirk Rowe and the KRI Dance Studio; Foster’s FoodFair and the Caymanian Compass.

The Optimist Oratorical programme was first conducted in 1928 and is aimed towards building confidence and public speaking skills. The contest provides a platform for youngsters to share their opinions publicly and an opportunity to speak to the world.

More than $150,000 in college scholarships funded by the Optimist International Foundation is awarded annually from this programme. Nearly 2,000 clubs worldwide participate in the Oratorical Contest each year.