Rising Voices Public Speaking Championship

Public speaking isn't all about winning. Core to our mission is helping students develop the skills they need to take on life feeling more empowered and resilient.

So, as nice as it would be for everyone to come out victorious, there is so much more to the Rising Voices Championship - from meeting new people, to challenging ourselves in new and exciting ways, to proving our competence to ourselves and silencing our inner critics.

Join us on an adventure of self-discovery as we go through in-person and online Preliminaries in early September 2024 that will determine the exceptional students (1 from each SSA class, and 10% of online submissions) who will proceed to the Semi-Finals in mid-September, with a further 6 from each division heading to the Grand Final in October!

We've got detailed participant guides for all students who register to participate in the Rising Voices Public Speaking Championship in 2024.

If you have any particular questions about the competition, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at contact@speakingschools.com.au!

In 2024, there are going to be two routes that students are able to take.

For students currently enrolled in a Term #3 program, they are automatically registered for the competition, and will be invited to prepare their speech and present it to their class in the week starting 2 September 2024. The coach will mark all speeches against the rubric we use to judge formal interschool competitions, and choose one student that will go through the Semi-Finals.

For students not currently enrolled in our Term #3 programs, they will be able to participate using an online submission system. Judges will watch all speeches, mark them against the same rubric, and select the best students from each division to go through to the Semi-Finals. The number of successful students will change depending on the number of submissions. Registrations and submissions will close at 5:00pm on Friday, 6 September 2024.

Results and invitations to the Semi-Finals will be provided via email across the week starting 9 September 2024.

If you're not currently enrolled in a Term #3 SSA program, you can register to participate here!

The Grand Final is scheduled to take place in-person at Parramatta, Sydney, on an October weekend (final dates TBC). More details will be provided for the Grand Final in due course.

Whilst finalists in Years 1 to 4 will just need to present their original prepared speech, finalists in Years 5 - 8 will also need to present an impromptu speech on an unknown topic as well.

Should any participants make it through to the Grand Final but not be able to physically attend on the day (either due to illness or location), we will arrange for a live stream of those students.

Given Rising Voices 2024 is going to be run at cost, we are also currently looking for potential sponsors to help us keep the event as cheap as possible for participants.

If you're potentially interested in sponsoring the event, or know someone who might be, please check out our sponsorship guide here, or reach out to us at contact@speakingschools.com.au to learn more!