There are only 30 spots so young Canadians who want to enter a public speaking contest about agriculture must get their applications in soon.
Young Speakers for Agriculture is an annual contest held at the Toronto Royal Agricultural Winter Fair since 1985. The contest started as a way to mark the international year of the youth, said Anne Thompson, media co-ordinator for the event.
It used to be restricted to Ontario residents. Now it is national, with three spots reserved for representatives from each province. Thompson said the speakers are generally selected by whoever gets their application forms back first. However, Alberta saves one of its spots for the annual winner of its provincial 4-H public speaking contest.
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Application forms are available at Farm Credit Corp.’s 100 offices across the country. The deadline to return the forms is Sept. 14.
This year’s competition will be Nov. 3. Top six finalists get cash prizes with the winner taking home $1,000.
The speakers must be between 16 and 24 years of age and deliver, in front of a panel of judges in Toronto, a five-to-seven minute original speech in either English or French, based on one of five suggested topics.
Thompson said they have had applications from city kids because there is no residence or occupation restriction, but usually the speakers have a farm link.
The topics change from year to year to offer “a good balance of information and entertainment.”
