Toastmasters Contests are one of the most popular aspects of club membership. Members who place first, and second in the International Speech and Evaluation Contest go through to the next round, at area level.
The International Speech Contest is arguably the biggest contest in Toastmasters. The winner is decided each year at the Toastmasters International conference.
Everything at Toastmasters is evaluated. Developing evaluation skills is as large a part of being a member as public speaking is. When a speech is evaluated, it is an opportunity for everyone to learn, not just the member who is being directly evaluated. The Evaluation Contest is a challenging, but very popular contest to compete in.
Toastmasters contests are about more than competing
While Toastmasters has a reputation as a public speaking club, people join for many different reasons. Some people join Toastmasters to develop their leadership and organisational skills.
Every contest evening requires a lot of organisation. There are several roles that only exist for contests, including the Contest Chair, Counters, judges and the Head Judge. These are all roles that require a lot very specific skills. In short, a contest evening cannot happen without the hard work and diligence of a dedicated team of club members. To those people, we say a hearty ‘thank you’.
Toastmasters Contest results – Ipswich Electrifiers 2024
The standard in both contests was at its usual high standard this year. A couple of guests joined us on the contest chair Rob Southin pointed out to them that visiting on a competition night is a great opportunity to see some truly great performances.
International Speech Contest
The speaker order is decided at random before the contest. The first speaker this evening was Cathy Shelbourne. Cathy took us on a fascinating journey through her many years of Toastmasters membership.
Our second speaker was Christopher Brown, who shared an amusing tale involving a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman and the promise of a free holiday.
Third to take to the speaking area was Andrew Halligan. Andrew’s speech posed some interesting questions around the historical legacy we are creating as a society. The speech was thought-provoking and engaging.
International Contest 2024 Results
1st Place – Andrew Halligan
2nd Place – Cathy Shelbourne
3rd Place – Christopher Brown
Andrew Halligan and Cathy Shelbourne will now go through to the Area-level conest.
Evaluation Contest 2024
For the evaluation contest, a ‘test speech’ was given for contestants to evaluate. The test speech was given by Janette Robinson, a member of the nearby Toastmasters club Martlesham Speakeasy. We are particularly grateful to Janette for volunteering to give the test speech.
Evaluation Contest 2024 Results
1st Place – Karen Bellerby
2st Place – Christopher Brown
3rd Place – Kevin Lovell
Karen Bellerby, Evaluation Contest winner (right)
Find out more about joining Ipswich Electrifiers Speakers Club
Last Updated on March 13, 2024