St Stanislaus College wins GBTI’s impromptu speech competition

Nov 21, 2012 News

With victory valued at 683 points by the judges, St Stanislaus College was duly rewarded yesterday when the fifth hosting of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry Limited’s (GBTI) annual impromptu speech competition concluded.
The win came after a near 30-minute long showdown between St Stanislaus and St Rose’s High School at the Bank’s Kaieteur Road, Bel Air, Georgetown, Recreational Centre.

Students of the competing schools flank Ms Doodmattie Singh (fifth from left) and GBTI officials.

The finalists were in fact the last two institutions standing after 15 weeks of intense inter-school verbal duelling. St Rose’s High secured second place with 629 points.
With three students defending either school, the final act was kicked into motion yesterday with the First Speakers delivering unrehearsed speeches in their quest to fulfil the request to impersonate sales persons attempting to sell a broken cellular phone. Geneive Daniels represented St Rose’s High while Kendra Warner represented St Stanislaus. Although both sought to amplify the importance of having a broken cell phone, with Daniels premising her speech on a BlackBerry and Warner on an iPhone, neither fully succeeded in the imitation task.
Round two saw a match-up between Saaif Panday of St Rose’s and Saint Stanislaus’ Khadidja Ba, with both seeking to deliver an impromptu speech as the winner of a Mr or Miss Universe pageant. While Panday’s presentation was deemed more spirited, neither fully met the expectations of the three judges – Ms Bonita Hunter, Dr Joyce Jonas and Mr Kenneth Bentinck.
The fight was up to the last two speakers – Anastacia James of St Rose’s and Daryll Goodchild of St Stanislaus – to make the much needed impression on the judges. They were required to speak on beauty. James was unsettled with her line of thoughts which was evident by repetitiveness in her speech. Goodchild, on the other hand, at the ding of the bell captured both the judges and audience’s attention with his confident declaration of his understanding of beauty. He delivered examples and the effects of beauty with clarity. In fact his speech was so convincing that the judges unanimously handed him the best presenter of the day title, while at the same time offering the championship title to his school.
In presenting the judges’ decision, Chief Judge, Ms Hunter, noted that the presentations yesterday were not of a comparable quality to the earlier phases of the competition. She speculated that nerves played a part in depreciating the quality of speeches. The former Education Officer also took a swipe at the school system, insisting that the inability of the participating students to role play is an indictment on the schools. According to her, there is an urgent need for this to be addressed.
She nevertheless commended the competing students for their efforts as she delivered the judges’ scores.
GBTI’s Head of Credit, Ms Sheleeza Shaw, in brief remarks noted that both St Stanislaus and St Rose’s are winners, since they were able to prove themselves worthy of reaching to the final bout of the competition. In fact she disclosed that “it was a beautiful experience to listen to each and every one of you” even as she assured that GBTI intends to ensure that the competition remains an annual feature.
Speaking at the event yesterday, too, was Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Ms Doodmattie Singh, who commended the efforts of the Bank to aid the Education Ministry in its literacy development mission. She insisted that “the development of literacy skills is vital, and we embrace all efforts to satisfy this goal,” as she expressed conviction that the participating students would gain experiences which will last a lifetime.
According to GBTI’s Customer Care and Business Development Officer, Mrs Roma Narayan-Singh, a total of 16 schools participated in the competition this year which had a focus on youth development.