4-H Clubs gather for districts
Amy gregson – Times Reporter
Presentations and speeches on various topics were delivered at the Civic Center March 13 as 4-H clubs from the Wheatland District gathered to compete for a chance to move on to regionals.
Marleen and Dale Palsson won the senior division for the presentation portion after speaking and demonstrating golf.
“We golf quite a bit in the summer so we know it really well and it would be easy to talk about,” said Marleen. “For the presentation especially, there are lots of visual things you can show.”
This was the first time Marleen had completed a presentation, while it’s Dale’s third time.
Presentations are a relatively new thing for the Wheatland District and aren’t as popular as the public speaking portion.
“Public speaking is a really good skill that 4-H teaches us,” said Marleen. “Presentations are a little bit more fun because you can go in a group and have the visual aids to talk with instead of standing up there and doing a speech.”
Each member in 4-H must complete some kind of communication activity throughout the course of the year, whether it is public speaking, presentation or being the master of ceremonies at an event.
For the presentation, participants can present within a group up to three people.
They are to chose a topic and deliver a presentation about it, between four and 10 minutes depending on the age group.
Some topics presented at the district presentations were how to make a mocha milkshake, our outer appearance, African drumming, and curling.
Judges and audience members are able to ask questions after the presentation is complete. Judges base their mark on content and presentation.
Susan Fowler was one of the three judges marking the presentation and said they were ‘fabulous’.
“You could really tell that the kids spoke about things they really are interested in and have a passion about,” said Fowler.
Fowler said what the judges look for varies between the age groups. With junior they look to see if the confidence level of standing in front of a group is there.
With the intermediates they are looking for that confidence to grow and if they are starting to enunciate and project their voices more.
By seniors, they must be fully confident and know their topic.
“There’s very little room for stuttering or error,” said Fowler. “They have to draw their audience in and make us hear what they have to say about what they are talking about.”
Her advice to those moving on to regionals is to know their topic 100 per cent.
“There is no room for error once you get to the regionals because you are bringing the best of the best together,” she said.
The public speaking portion is done individually. Speakers must prepare a speech and deliver it in front of the judges. They then must complete an impromptu speech where they choose one of three topics and have one minute to make notes before giving a two-minute speech.
The public speaking portion at districts had 12 juniors, nine intermediates and six seniors competing against each other, while one junior, two intermediate teams and two senior teams delivered presentations.
All who delivered a presentation at the districts will be moving on to regionals on March 20 at 1 p.m. at the Civic Center.
Those who placed in the top two in each level for public speaking will be moving on to regionals on March 20.
The Wheatland 4-H District has hosted the regional competition for a couple of years now and will be the host for the next five years.
Five different districts will be attending March 20 to compete.