Wyndham Youth Public Speaking Competition 2009

WYNSPEAK FINAL 2009

Thursday, 28^th May saw the final of the 2009 Wyndham Youth Public Speaking Competition, now known as WYNSPEAK, held at the Wyndham Civic Centre in Werribee.

Mayor of Wyndham, Councillor Shane Bourke welcomed a large gathering to the 2009 WYNSPEAK Final in the very fine Function Room at the Wyndham Civic Centre.  Cr Bourke congratulated the local service clubs on their initiative and commended the finalists for taking up the challenge.

This was the fifth year of competition, attracting a field of 60 competitors from 20 Colleges in the West Region of Melbourne. A very high standard was set by the 18 finalists, 9 juniors and 9 seniors. 

The winning student in the Senior Competition was Year 10 student Claire Findlay from Clonard College in Geelong West who gave an enthusiastic account of her family's European Vacation including tips for a successful holiday. The runner-up in the Senior Section was Michael Scalzo from Staughton College whose speech on the Power of Words demonstrated how important it is to think before we speak and how a simple "G'day" said with a smile can make a person's day.

The winning student in the Junior Competition was Sarah Mudaliar, a Year 7 student at Baden-Powell P-9 College, whose speech, which was at once humorous and helpful on Teens and Messy Rooms, provided tips for teens and parents on how to get teenagers to keep their rooms tidy. Runner-up in this section was Jessica Borg who is a student at Carranballac P-9 College - Boardwalk Campus.  Jessica gave a philosophical speech about Dreams and how life doesn't come with an instruction book.  "Make your life a dream that you won't regret waking up from," was Year 9 Jessica's sage advice.

Three hundred dollars is awarded to the 1^st Prize winners in each section and the runners-up each received $150.  The winner of the Senior Competition and the winner of the Junior Competition have gained direct access into the State Final of Rostrum Voice of Youth competition.  Representatives of the schools attended by the winners in each section were awarded Perpetual Trophies to display in their schools for the next twelve months.

The Senior winner in the impromptu section of the competition was won by Alice Burnell, Heathdale Christian College and Holly Briffa from Thomas Carr College was the Junior winner.  This section was sponsored by Coogee Energy and Dr Grant Lukey representing the company presented the winners with JB Hi Fi vouchers.  The speakers in the impromptu section are given 4 minutes to consider a topic on which they are invited to speak for 2 minutes.

Chairperson Roger Howe was delighted with the success of 2009 WYNSPEAK and said that the speakers over the four qualifying rounds and the final reflected the maturity of young people in the West.  Through their speeches, they had demonstrated passionate views on a large range of life influencing topics covered during the event.

Mr Howe acknowledge the hard work of the organisers of the Wyndham Youth Speaking Competition, members of the Apex and Rotary Clubs of Hoppers Crossing and acknowledged the support and assistance provided by Rostrum Victoria, the Wyndham Youth Resource Centre and sponsorship provided by Coogee Energy in Laverton North.  He also thanked representatives from Werribee Secondary College, Wyndham Youth Resource Centre and the Wyndham Civic Centre for use of their premises during the course of the competition.

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