Chris Clissitt of Wetherby Speakers Club scored a spectacular double triumph at the Association of Speakers Clubs District Competition in York, to reach the National Finals in Cardiff in April. The Association runs competitions in three categories – Speech, Evaluation, and Topics – and Chris came out on top in both the Evaluation and Topics Contests. Evaluation is the art of analysing the strengths and weaknesses of a speech and offering constructive advice to the Speaker in a friendly and helpful manner. All Contestants had to evaluate the same speech, which was delivered by Rosalie Harrop of York Railway Institute Speakers Club. Rosalie’s descriptive and humorous speech was about the gruesome twosome Burke and Hare and their escapades in stealing bodies for medical research. Chris gave a comprehensive examination of the speech and fought off competition from other evaluators from all over the North East.
Entrants in the Topics Contest spoke for 3 minutes on the subject “The Great Outdoors” with no prior warning of the title, and no preparation time. This was a challenging scrutiny of the contestants’ ability to speak off the cuff and Chris earned a well deserved second win of the day. The Speech Contest was won by Helen Tait of York RI Speakers Club. Good luck to both in the National Finals.