Speech Competition
By Delaney, Middle School student
On Saturday, March 8, a few GSA students left home early and drove to New Braunfels for a speech competition. We entered in three different speech categories: Poetry Interpretation, Modern Oratory, and Impromptu Speaking. Some girls also tried Vocabulary and Spelling, which were tests rather than oral competitions. There were many other options, like Number Sense and Dictionary, but since we are just starting in Private Schools Interscholastic Association (PSIA), The Girls’ School is beginning small.
Most of the Poetry girls had their competition at 8:00 am, so we went straight from the cafeteria where we left our stuff to the classrooms where the different speeches were being made. An audience was allowed, but not electronic devices. The listeners had to be extremely quiet with no clapping or cheering.
I watched some of my friends speak and waited until 11:00 am for the first round of my competition, Impromptu Speaking. After that, I went to a Spelling test, then found out that Maggie, Tillie and I had made it to the Impromptu Finals. During the finals I was surprised at how supportive all six competitors were, even though we were from different schools and competing against each other. We gave each other thumbs-up signs and sympathized when someone got a bad prompt. While nervously waiting for the results I tried to read, but ended up eating a hotdog and a brownie.
Once all the results were announced, all of the other GSA competitors left but me. I stayed with my mom to hear the results of the Spelling and Vocabulary tests. Then we finally left for dinner. We were in New Braunfels from 7:30 am to 5 pm!
At the end of the day my throat was sore, but it was worth it. I learned a lot about public speaking and confidence. I will take this experience to high school and beyond.