Dear students:
In commemoration of Her Majesty The Queen’s record breaking Platinum Jubilee and to honour her legacy, we will hold our annual contest this year in celebration of these themes.
Her Majesty the Queen was Queen for 70 1/2 years, and was the symbol of her age. Seventy years is a long time. Much has changed and much has stayed the same.
Discuss this 70 year milestone. You may choose to revisit or re-examine the past 70 years and some of the positive and not so positive outcomes which we have seen these past 70 years. You can look back, you can analyse the world of today through a 70 year looking glass, or you can project 70 years into the future and explain what you think the world will look like.
We will be accepting essays on this topic and it will also form the basis for our Public Speaking contest.
WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
Junior
1st Panshul Jaiman
2nd Eva Ye
3rd Rebecca Wang and Amelia Sung
Honourable mention: Yolanda Ji
Youth
1st Timo Xie
2nd Agrima Jaiman
3rd Evangeline Lin and Tim Dai
Senior
1st Alicia Adole
2nd Justin Zhu and Joy Ling
3rd Cayla Gao and Samantha Po
Honourable mentions: Zhongzhu Wang
SPEAKING CONTEST WINNERS
Junior
1st Place: Keanna Lai
2nd place : Panshul Jaiman
3rd place : Jinghan Wang
Honourable mention: Rebecca Wang
Youth
1st place : Tianwen (Tim) Dai
2nd place : Evangeline Lin
3rd place : Yimo Xie
Senior
1st place : Alicia Adole
2nd place : Samantha Po
3rd place : Ella Yan
Honourable mentions: Zi Hui Yang / Gianna Wu
TOPIC: “70 Years: Past or Future”
The topic for all categories in this year’s competition is “70 Years: Past or Future”
The Essays will be due on March 25, 2023
Our Public Speaking contest will be held on March 25, 2023.
CATEGORIES
- Grades 1-2 * Elementary : 2-3 Minute Speeches / 100 words essay
- Grades 3-5 * Junior: 4-5 Minute Speeches / 400 words essay
- Grades 6-8 * Youth: 5-6 Mnute Speeches / 700 words essay
- Grades 9-12 * Senior: 6-8 Minute Speeches / 1,000 words essay
- Notes about the categories:
- A student’s category is determined by their grade level at school during the 2022-2023 school year.
- Organizers may contact students to verify that they are in the correct categories; failure to do so may result in disqualification from the tournament.
REGISTRATION
We encourage registrants to contribute $20 to the Writing and Speaking Competitions.
Please e-transfer your registration contribution to rcscontestinfo@gmail.com and specify your student registrant’s name in the message when sending money.
To register, please fill out this form by Friday, March 24th. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.
Best regards,
Fiona Li
Youth Director, Education Committee & Tournament Director
Royal Commonwealth Society of Mainland BC
Email: rcscontestinfo@gmail.com
WRITING COMPETITION RULES
- All essays must be written in English.
- No entrant may submit more than ONE essay. Entrants must write on one topic only.
- Essays are liable for disqualification on the following criteria: the essay is not certified; no grade is given; the essay is too long or short in relation to the specified word count.
- Essays submitted must be written or typed on standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch (21.5 x 28 cm) paper (not 8 1/2 x 14 inch) leaving a 1 – 1 1/2 inch (3 – 4 cm) margin on the left side. The writer’s name, the title of the essay and the topic must be given at the top of the first page.
- Emailed essays should be sent in DOC or PDF formats. Essays may not be faxed.
- Essays must have been RECEIVED by the deadline date via email to rcscontestinfo@gmail.com.
- Any questions or clarifications concerning this contest should be emailed to rcscontestinfo@gmail.com.
- The writers of essays may be advised on preliminary planning and on source material but NO further help should he given by teachers or families.
- We may contact finalists to ask their secondary school teacher or principal to certify that this essay is the student’s own composition.
PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION FORMAT
The format of the speech can be persuasive, informative, narrative, etc. as long as it adheres to the provided topic.
Students in all categories will be judged based on:
- Delivery (vocal expression, body language, fluency),
- Content (organization, creativity, adherence to the prompt),
- Language (vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation).
Students are encouraged to memorize the presentation and although they may choose to use cue cards, judges often find memorized speeches to be more polished and impressive.
SCHEDULE
Please note that all times are in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on Saturday, March 25th.
1:00pm PDT —— Registration
1:30pm PDT —— Welcome & Briefings
2:00pm PDT —— Competitions Begin!
5:00pm PDT —— Results Announcement
PRIZES
- The top 3 speakers in each category will receive trophies and special prizes.
- The 4th to 6th place speakers will receive special Royal Commonwealth Society prizes.
- All participants will receive certificates of participation from the Royal Commonwealth Society.
DRESS CODE & EXPECTATIONS
- Students are encouraged to wear formal attire to the competition. This means a collared shirt, tie, dress, etc.
- Students are expected to find a quiet place with a strong wifi connection.
- * Backgrounds should be neutral and we ask that students do not use virtual Zoom backgrounds for the competition (Not applicable if the contest is held off-line in person).
- It is a good idea to test your camera and microphone the day before.
- Competitors should be visible from head to waist.
TOURNAMENT PLATFORM
The competition will take place online (Zoom invite TBA), and competitors should ensure that they have installed the latest version in order to navigate to the correct breakout rooms. Specific links will be sent out to registered participants via email prior to the competition.