4th International Speech and Table Topics Contest

24 February 2009

Word of the Evening: Huh?? (oops..) XD

Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen!!

Stamford College Toastmasters Club recently held its 4th International Speech and Table Topics Contest on 24 February 2009. What happened? Who was there? How well did the event run? Erm..winners??

Contest started with a delightful dinner and fellowship session. Judges, role players and contestants were then briefed by the Chief Judge, President aka Mr Joshua, Organising Chair (Ms Grace Chong) and Contest Chair (Ms Gina).

7pm sharp! The beautiful Sergeant-At-Arms, Nisha called the first session of contest to order. Then, we had the opening address and welcome address by Mr President and Organising Chair respectively.

7.05pm! Time to kickstart the event!!! Ms Gina as the Contest Chair explained the Contest & House Rules. Are the contestants READY?? Is the audience READY???

Yeah!!!

Lucky number one was Mr Sam Fo Wei Hao. Looking smart in his white polo shirt, he marched to the stage and belted out a number to begin his speech entitled... DREAM. From the story of Kawasaki motorbike as his birthday present to the birthday bash his friends threw for him, he had the audience full attention. Then, the climax. Mr Sam danced with Amber Chia in another birthday party his politician uncle arranged specially for him!! Sounds difficult to believe? Trust me, I believed. You ought to hear his story. Then, the ending - It was after all, A DREAM. Sweat..

Next up was Mr Wang De Xin. KICKING THE SMOKING HABIT was his speech. A great effort in educating the audience on the harm of smoking and most importantly, the way to get rid of smoking habit. A full list of it and the challenge he made to the audience to quit smoking. The best part of his speech was.."If you still think you can't quit smoking, see me after this. I will personally guide you!"

Third on the stage was Mr Lim Sze Yue ;). SATISFACTION was the topic of the day. He led the audience through a number of his dissatisfaction in the beginning. Then, it was a sharp U-turn on why all of us should be satisfied with what we have now. The realisation that "Every individual in this room are much better off than thousands out there on the street..." was the message. Boy, was he satisfied with his speech. Trust me, I know. Hehe..

Looking good in red was Mr Muthu Kumar, our fourth contestant. SAVING HUMANKIND. I really wonder how he managed to insert so much of humour from the start to the end of his speech. The message of if everyone played a part, if everyone has the same goals, if everyone, you and me goes ahead and start saving the world, we actually can and we will. A slight hiccup in his speech was when the stand-fan didn't work BUT there you have, a professional speaker in the making, laughed steadily and told the audience to imagine the contrast of what One fan and Millions of fan (with the electricity on, hehe..) could do to him. A beautiful example. Great speech.

7.55pm, break time!!

Relieved, the international speech contestants headed for a quick dinner along with everyone else. The burden is finally off the shoulder! Yay!!

8.11pm, Table Topics Contest begins.

First on the hook was Mr Miebaka Christian Iringe Koko. Topic of the day as chosen by Chief Judge, Ms Ivy Cherng was "Teaching Science & Maths in English - Is it a good move?"

Then, it was Mr Lim Sze Yue's turn for the 2-minute impromptu session. (Note: all contestants were kept in a holding room and that there is no way for them to know what the topic was beforehand. Only when the contestants are on the stage, they were given the topic to speak about)

Third was Ms Fatoumata Dibba who tackled on convincingly on the given topic. She agreed that it is a good move and went on to explain her views on the issue.

Last but not least, Mr Muthu Kumar with his beaming smile came on and wow-ed the audience with his opinion.

As a conclusion, everyone said it was a good move to teach Science & Maths in English. What's your say, ladies & gentlemen?

8.29pm! Contest concludes.

As the audience waited for the judges deliberation on the participants performance, certificates were presented to the role players and contestants as well. The Organising Chair, Ms Grace Chong in a desperate (oops..haha) attempt to buy more time as the judges continued to be "missing", entertained the audience with her experience of another contest she attended.

8.39pm, Judges are back!!

And the winners are.....

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST

2nd runner-up: SAM FO WEI HAO !!!
1st runner-up: MUTHU KUMAR !!!
Champion: LIM SZE YUE !!!

TABLE TOPICS CONTEST

2nd runner-up: MUTHU KUMAR !!!
1st runner-up: LIM SZE YUE !!!
Champion: FATOUMATA DIBBA !!!

Congratulations to the winners and all contestants as well !!!
Wonderful night, wonderful speeches, wonderful experience, wonderful audience = A Wonderful Satisfaction! Huhu..=D

A million thanks to the EXCO members of SCTMC for making this event possible. Thanks to Ms Ivy Cherng and her row of respective judges. Thanks to all the guests, especially the Toastmasters members from other clubs i.e. Hilton, CIMA, Ernst & Young, Klang Bilingual, Digi, UM and any others that i've left out. Thank you all for coming. Not to forget, the STUDENTS OF STAMFORD COLLEGE, thank you so much for being there. The event wouldn't have been a success without your participation. Thanks to the role players, SAA Nisha, Sam Wang; Contest Chair, Gina; Timer, Lim Teck Liong, Michael Chan; Ballot Counter, Steven Chan, Chong Nyuk Jet and Organising Chair, Grace Chong.

Once again, thank you all.

Ladies & Gentlemen, there you go. The report has been a long one. Hope it doesn't bore you.

NOTE THAT THE AREA C2 CONTEST WILL BE HELD IN STAMFORD COLLEGE PJ, JALAN BARAT ON 14 MARCH 2009. KEEP YOUR DIARIES BLOCKED FROM NOON ONWARDS. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU THERE. Be it for the noise, for the support or simply for the fun, see you then!

We shall meet again on March 10 for SCTMC's regular Toastmasters meeting at Stamford College PJ, Jalan Barat.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to join the fun in our next meeting or if you are in any doubts of our events.

LIM SZE YUE,
Vice President of Public Relations
Stamford College Toastmasters Club
stamford.college@gmail.com / szeyue_88@yahoo.com
Meets on every 2nd & 4th Tuesday, 6.30pm.

Quote of the Evening:
AREA C OFTEN PRODUCES CHAMPIONS. (Fuiyoh!! haha;)