IMPROMPTU SPEECH COMPETITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21146, 2 October 1930, Page 6

IMPROMPTU SPEECH COMPETITION.

TO THE EDITOR. SlB, —As one of the competitors in Monday’s impromptu speech competition, may I be permitted a small space to reply to ‘ Competitor,” .< whose letter. greatly surprises me. One would have thought that one who claims to have much experience in competitions of this nature would scarcely need the judges to tell him what was required. _ Each competitor was given six minutes to consider his speech, anti, in my humble opinion, it was the competitor s. duty to show the judges that he knew what was required rather than the judges’ duty to tell the .competitor. Surely that is the spirit of the thing. In conclusion, I may add that I do not consider our friend has taken the judge’s decision in the spirit in which he should. “ Laugh at defeat and come up smiling next time ” is my motto, and unless there is something exceptionally interesting to the public, keep out of the press, hut always sign your name j to that which at any time you do write. The only complaint. that any of the " also starteds ” could have was that there wete no award sheets written for this item, eo that we were uuable to obtain the judge’s criticism, but on bringing this matter to the notice of the secretary, on effort is being made to obviate this in future.—l am. etc., S. M. Cassidy.