A pair of silver-tongued students have qualified for the Provincial Speech Tournament after getting passionate at the podium.
Our Lady of the Snows’ Taila Dixon and Carly Russell advanced to the province-wide tournament Jan. 30 in Calgary after placing third and 12th at the Regional Speech Tournament, Dec. 5 in Okotoks. The top 15 speakers qualified.
“I think it makes more of a difference when you talk about something that you have a passion for,” said Russell.
The two are members of the OLS senior high speech team and competed in original oratory – a seven-minute speech on a topic of the student’s choice. It’s performed in front of a group of five to seven judges who evaluate the speaker on a grade of one to 10.
The regional tournament was only the second time each student had prepared and performed a speech in front of others.
Russell spoke “from the heart” during her regional speech about women in politics and it made an impression on the judges.
Grade 11 student Dixon’s speech about the crisis in the Middle East, and the us-against-them mentality of Islam-phobia and some of western society, earned a third place finish.
“Debate is really structured with topics given to you to talk about, (but) with speech it’s so open and that’s what I love about it,” said Dixon. “You get to talk about what you’re passionate about and you get to write it how you want.”
Hosted by the Alberta Debate and Speech Association, the duo said they always seem to do tournaments a little bigger in Calgary.
“As usual, it’s going to be nerve-wracking, but once you get there and compete it’s always great experience to develop and hone your public speaking skills and that’s what I love to do and I know that’s what Carly loves to do,” Dixon said.
Dixon may have the opportunity to advance to a national competition in Toronto at the beginning of the next school year, but Russell, who will attend post-secondary schooling, will opt to use her experience now as a role model for younger students.
“Being the Grade 12 student who’s the first person to do it is kind of cool,” Russell said. “I get to set a precedent for other people like ‘we had kids in our school who did this before, you can do this too and maybe go farther than she did.’ ”
