The road to the final for the 2013-14 speech contests is already, at the time of writing, at the Semi-Final stage which this year are being held at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia as a part of the Toastmasters International Conference.
The District 86 winner is paired into Semi-Final Group 4 the winner for 2013/14 was Rene Vander Pryt - from London, Ontario and he was featured on District 86 Radio Talk Show. This shows that within Toastmasters there is gravitas upon winning the District, which qualifies the winner to speak at the World Championship. The trophy that Rene won at the District Level is shown on a Facebook page for Sarnia.
The District 86 Toastmasters site shows how a District winner is financially supported for the long trip to Malyasia, involving contributions from clubs in the district and an email set up for this fundraising. It also shows the winners trophy, which is an impressive looking piece of silverware.
So contests are serious business at each level of contest. Most serious Toastmasters take great care on due process to ensure fair competition and why it is updated to ensure attention to detail to the highest competitive standards. That is why the 2014 Toastmasters Contest Rule Book is so detailed and at 17 pages it is not unwieldy but it is thorough.
In an age of increasing collaboration I wonder what the relative importance of competition is, but it is important because it provides another avenue of experience for people interested in Toastmasters and who enjoy engaging the competitive spirit.
CityVP Manjit
16 Aug 2014
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