Finals of the 37th Annual Speech Tournament for Nevada County 4th through 8th graders

After two years of cancellation due to the pandemic, the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools hosted its 37^th Annual Speech Tournament for 4^th through 8^th 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 10^th 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 14^th, 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.”

5^th 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:

4^th Grade:

1^st Place           Wyatt Baldwin                         Williams Ranch

2^nd Place          Austin Becker                          Williams Ranch

3^rd Place          Elsa Gray                                 Union Hill      

5^th Grade:

1^st Place           Dexter Strubeck                      Seven Hills

2^nd Place          Dalton Angle                           Seven Hills

3^rd Place           Kathy Whitehall                      Lyman Gilmore

6^th Grade:

1^st Place           Austin Peters                           Mt. St. Mary’s

2^nd Place          Ava Becker                              Ready Springs

3^rd Place          Elaine Luisetti                         Seven Hills

7^th Grade:

1^st Place           Felix Van Wagner Meade                     Mt. St. Mary’s

2^nd Place          Hope Searles                                       Twin Ridges

3^rd Place          Clover Rashby                                     Forest Charter

8^th Grade:

1^st Place           Toni Swansick                                     Union Hill

2^nd Place          John Luisetti                                        Seven Hills

3^rd Place          Nolan O’Callaghan                              Seven Hills