Article by : Theshani Nuradha
Published on The Nation and The Island
Speech Olympiad, the official intra-university speech contest of University of Moratuwa, is organized by the Gavel Club of the university, an affiliate of Toastmasters International. Since its inception in 2005, this event has gone from strength to strength and now has become one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the university calendar. The Speech Olympiad championship has become a crown that all the young undergraduates battle for.
Over the past nine contests it has been proven that the Speech Olympiad uncovers the hidden talents among the undergraduates of the university. Many winners and finalists of ‘Inter University Best Speaker Contest’, ‘All Island Best Speaker Contest’ and ‘CIMA Global Business Challenge’ have been proud discoveries of past chapters of the Speech Olympiad contests.
“Speech Olympiad X- Word your World “
The tenth chapter of Speech Olympiad was launched with the preliminary round on 01st of December 2016. Out of more than 60 registered competitors, the 12 best speakers made their way to the semi-finals after presenting 5-7 minute prepared speeches at the preliminaries. The selected Semi-finalists were: Achini Jayawardane, Ama Kalpani, Chamode Wijayasekera, Dulanjan Uduge, Himesh Siriwardana, Judith Welikala, Kanchana Ranasinghe, Kasun Ranasinghe, Nadarasar Bahavan, Sandaru Seneviratne, Tharindu Senanayake and Yasoda Gamage.
During the battle of the semi-finalists on 10th of December, they were given the challenge of making a 1-2 ½ minute impromptu speech in addition to the 5-7 minute prepared speech. After a thorough evaluation of both the impromptu and the prepared speeches, the university’s five best public speakers were selected for the Grand Finale by a panel of eminent judges who are actively engaged in the Toastmasters movement.
Judith Welikala (Faculty of Information Technology), Kanchana Ranasinghe (Electronics and Telecommunication Department), Kasun Ranasinghe (Chemical and Process Engineering Department), Sandaru Seneviratne (Computer Science and Engineering Department) and Yasoda Gamage (Transport and Logistics Management Department) will take the stage of Speech Olympiad X Grand Finale on December 22.
Who will be crowned as “The Best Speaker of the year”?
Whose name will be etched in the prestigious Speech Olympiad Challenge Shield?
It is time to make their dreams come true
It is time to “Word your World”
Follow us on https://www.facebook.com/speech.olympiad.x/ for updates of the 10th chapter of Speech Olympiad.