After two years of cancellation due to the pandemic, the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools hosted its 37th Annual Speech Tournament for 4th through 8th graders. The tournament was sponsored by Tri Counties Bank, the Rotary Club of Grass Valley and the Nevada Theatre Commission. This year’s speech topic was “What human quality do we need more of and why?” Students gave passionate speeches that included topics such as kindness, loyalty, love, valor, self-awareness, empathy and independence.

The preliminary and semi-finals competition was held on March 10th at Calvary Bible Church. Fifty of the top oration students, from eleven local public and private schools, competed in a round-robin fashion, with students reciting speeches three times, each time to a different judge. Semi-finalists were determined, and their speeches were recited one last time in front of three judges. Three finalists from each grade were then invited to the Speech Finals competition, to be held a few days later.

The initial judging team consisted of 12 volunteers from local businesses and organizations as well as retired educational professionals. The speeches were evaluated on content and delivery with a time limit of no less than two minutes and no more than three and a half minutes. Tournament Coordinator, Shannon Rashby, said, “It requires a lot of support from the community to run the speech preliminaries. This year, we had 24 volunteers helping out and they were just as excited as the kids to be participating.”
The student finalists presented their speeches at an evening program on March 14th, held at the historic Nevada Theatre, in Nevada City. The esteemed panel of judges consisted of representatives from local Toastmasters groups. Each finalist received a first, second, or third place trophy and a $25 Book Seller gift certificate. “Competition was tough. Many of the winners were determined by just a fraction of a point,” said head judge, Ron Egenes, of Area 64 Toastmasters. “Overall, the quality of the speeches was impressive. These kids could compete at the high school level and do well.”

5th grade winner, Dexter Strubeck thought his first Speech Tournament was “very fun, yet anxiety inducing at the same time. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to, but it is a fun challenge with a prize at the end.”
The 2023 Speech Tournament winners are as follows:
4th Grade:
1st Place Wyatt Baldwin Williams Ranch
2nd Place Austin Becker Williams Ranch
3rd Place Elsa Gray Union Hill
5th Grade:
1st Place Dexter Strubeck Seven Hills
2nd Place Dalton Angle Seven Hills
3rd Place Kathy Whitehall Lyman Gilmore
6th Grade:
1st Place Austin Peters Mt. St. Mary’s
2nd Place Ava Becker Ready Springs
3rd Place Elaine Luisetti Seven Hills
7th Grade:
1st Place Felix Van Wagner Meade Mt. St. Mary’s
2nd Place Hope Searles Twin Ridges
3rd Place Clover Rashby Forest Charter
8th Grade:
1st Place Toni Swansick Union Hill
2nd Place John Luisetti Seven Hills
3rd Place Nolan O’Callaghan Seven Hills