On 28 October, the finals of the Papanui Rotary Speech Contest were held at Heaton Intermediate School. 16 students from 7 schools and in years 5-8 competed for the top prizes on the night.

One week earlier, 50 students had taken part in the preliminary rounds to find the finalists. Topics ranged from Animal extinction, Global Warming and Conspiracy theories, to Puppy Farms, Wearing glasses and the Perils of a Popstar. The judges had a very hard job finding the prize winners!

This year for the first time a special award was presented. Papanui Rotary had formerly run a secondary schools debating contest which has long been discontinued. A trophy given in memory of a former member of the club was found in a garage where it had been stored since 1996.

Evan Thompson, a member of Papanui Rotary, beautifully restored the trophy and adapted it for use in the speech contest. Evan was there at the finals to present the trophy to its very first junior speech winner who gave a passionate and moving speech on Racism.

These young students spoke with enthusiasm and expertise and are clearly leaders of the future. As a Rotary Club, it was great to make the opportunity for them to practice the art of public speaking and develop their skills as well as to entertain their families, friends and Rotarians.