Speak Life Oratory Contest
Georgia Life Alliance is proud to announce Speak Life 2024, the official Pro-Life Oratory Contest in Georgia!
The contest will be on May 9 at 10am in the State Senate Chamber!
All pro-life high school students currently in their Junior or Senior year are invited to participate. This powerful statewide contest is a fantastic way to gain valuable public-speaking experience, help educate your peers, and take a stand for life!
Georgia's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive scholarship monies and cash prizes. Georgia’s 1st place winner will go on to compete at the national level at the National Right to Life Convention on June 29, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The national competition offers another chance to win a scholarship of $1,000 as well as meeting fellow pro-life students from across the country!
Georgia Life Alliance believes that it is only possible to build a rock solid culture of life in Georgia through our next generation of leaders. Two of the four past national champs have come from Georgia!
For more information or questions, please email us: [email protected].
List of Services
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Who Can Enter?List Item 1
Current Georgia public, private, charter, hybrid, and home school high school juniors and seniors (who have not previously won the national competition) as of the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year
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Speech Topics and RulesList Item 2
Topics:
- Abortion
- Infanticide
- Euthanasia/assisted suicide
- Stem cell research
Parameters:
Contestants choose one of the topics above and research, write, and present an *original* pro-life speech that is between 5-7 minutes in length.
Presentations under 4 minutes or over 8 minutes, or which are not original to this competition, will be disqualified
Full Contest Rules and Parameters: https://www.nrlc.org/students/oratory-contest/rules/
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AwardsList Item 3
1st place winner will receive the $1,000 Gracie Eden Educational Scholarship, in addition to $700 prize money from the Faith Thompson Initiative, and will be sent by GLA to compete against other state-level winners from across the country in the National Right to Life Oratory Contest at their National Right to Life Convention on June 29, 2024 in Washington, D.C and will be invited to present his/her speech at our annual benefit gala in the fall. Travel expenses for the 1st place winner are funded up to $500 by The Maxwell Thompson Initiative.
2nd place/Runner Up will receive $200 from The Faith Thompson Initiative.
3rd place winner will receive $100 from the Faith Thompson Initiative.
Funding for the Gracie Eden Scholarship, Maxwell Thompson Initiative, and Faith Thompson Initiative has been generously provided by Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson since 2021. Georgia Life Alliance is so thankful for Commissioner Thompson's continued dedication to protecting the unborn and training up our next generation of leaders to be bold defenders of all human life.
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Judging CriteriaList Item 4
A panel of 3-5 impartial judges will score each speech based on:
Introduction (Does the introduction make you want to hear more? Does it have a clear thesis?)
Length (speeches should be between 5-7 minutes; points may be deducted for speeches which briefly extend over/under the time limits. Speeches which egregiously ignore the time limits will be disqualified)
Presentation (Appropriate eye contact, audibility, rate of delivery, voice inflection, fluency, tone, gestures, pronunciation, general sense of confidence, etc.)
Content (Is each point relevant to the topic and substantiated with current documentation/data/science? Are the facts and figures used current? Good word usage? Does it have a logical, clear organization? Does it send a pro-life message?)
Conclusion (Does the conclusion sum up the main points of the speech?)
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Deadline for Registration
Registration to enter the statewide contest is now open, Registration requires submitting the text of the speech to be delivered..
Registration closes on May 7, 2024, 11:59p.m. without exception. Registrations received after the deadline, or via any manner other than this entry form without documented permission from the contest administrator, will not be accepted or considered.
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National Contest Details/More Information
The National Right to Life Jane B. Thompson Oratory Contest is held each year in conjunction with the National Right to Life Convention, tickets to the full convention and accommodations will be provided up to $500 by GLA (courtesy of the Maxwell Thompson Initiative).
More information on the national contest and convention, and more details on the contest requirements can be found here https://www.nrlc.org/students/oratorycontest/
Questions/comments? E-mail us [email protected]
Speak Life 2022 Winner
Abbey Butte, 2022 Speak Life Oratory Contest Winner
Abbey not only won the 2022 Speak Life Oratory Contest, she also went on to win first place in the 2022 National Right to Life Oratory Contest, making her the second student from Georgia Life Alliance's Speak Life Competition in three years to win first place at the national level! Abbey also presented her speech to an audience of over 250 people at the National Right to Life Convention closing banquet merely hours after the historic Supreme Court Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe V. Wade! We are very proud of Abby and are looking forward to seeing what God does in her life and the lives she will change with her powerful leadership and oratory skills.
