Speakers at the recent Toastmasters Area 34 and Area 37 Division H annual contest impressed the audience with their sharp oratorical skills. The event was held at The Village restaurant in Jeddah and the theme was “Make it happen.”
Keeping in mind the COVID-19 protocols, Toastmasters assembled to witness the speech contest in a variety of categories including humorous, table topics, evaluation, and international.
Area 34 Director Dr. Khaja Yaminuddin was the host and welcomed all Toastmasters and guests. He explained the reasoning behind the theme and expressed his gratitude to contestants and all role players for their active participation.
Division H Director Farhan Malik was the master of ceremonies. He underlined the spirit of positivity with regards to hope and attitude.
The contest began with humorous speeches for which Naser Khursheed was the contest master. Each contestant delivered a five- to seven-minute speech on a humorous topic. Mohammed Hanif took first place followed by Khurram Nasser for Area 34; Ashraf Abobacker of Area 37 bagged the first position, followed by Abdullah Magroor.
In the table topics speech, the contestants were required to deliver an unprepared impromptu speech on a given topic lasting one to two minutes. Ilyas Khan was the contest master. The first place was taken by Khurram Nasser and second and third places by Santosh K.V. and Mohammed Hanif respectively, for Area 34. Area 37 first place was bagged by Khaja Mohiudin and second and third places by Abdullah Magroor and Ashraf Abobacker, respectively.
The evaluation contest was started by test speaker Siraj Khan for Area 34 and Fawzi for Area 37. The contest master was Sumeer, Area 7 director. Khurram Nasser was first and Santosh K.V. second for Area 34; Khaja Mohiudin took first place, while Ashraf Abobacker and Imtiaz Khan took second and third places, respectively.
The international contest was the concluding event with Rabiya Mohiuddin as the contest master. Inspirational speeches were delivered by the contestants, with Khurram Nasser taking first place for Area 34 and Saji Chacko taking second. For Area 37, Ashraf Abobacker was first while Imtiaz Khan was second.
Distinguished Toastmasters Abdullah Flimban, Rashed Ali, Basher Ambalavan and Sara Ansari were in attendance.
“The quality of speeches was excellent and that made the judging difficult,” said Flimban.
The first and second runners-up have now qualified for the division contest to be held on March 4 in Jeddah.
