This year's tournament was slightly different from the previous tournaments we've had. During past years, the tournament would be held after our annual conference. So we would have a global leader and a few Student Instructors from the US to help out with the running of the tournament. But this year, the date of the conference was shifted and so we had no global leaders and Student Instructors to help us. As a result, the East Asia Area Leadership Team had to work together to run the whole tournament by ourselves-- from the speaking fixtures to the Showcase at the end of the tournament. Even though there were some mistakes and miscommunication, the Tournament was still generally a success. Here's what some of our Chapter members had to say:
John Teoh: This year’s tournament was like none of the other tournaments I’ve participated in before. It was way more busy and way more intense. For starters, it was because I was taking part in 5 speech events, 4 of which were new to me. Even as I was running from room to room, I was having to take and give instructions, because of the second reason-- this was the first time we were running the tournament all by ourselves.
Because I am the first and only Area Student Leader Council (ASLC) member, I had to take up additional responsibilities of emceeing the tournament Showcase together with our Area Leader, Mrs Cassandra Shepherd. I’m really glad that I also had the help of other older students who are working towards joining the ASLC. The tournament pretty much ran smoothly and even though I made a few mistakes during the Showcase, I’m glad that I still managed to not make it so awkward.
Owen Ngeow: It was my first time competing in the tournament and I had a fun experience. At first I was nervous for Radio Broadcasting, but I just did my best and I feel that the tournament is very encouraging for practicing speeches. The new Round Table was also fun, and I think it does convey better life skills than the outdated debate.
Lai Jia En: I had a lot of fun as I had a chance to try round table and present a story with Owen. I also did radio broadcasting and I found that I had improved slightly compared to last year. Last year I was very nervous and had no idea what the timekeepers meant when they raised their hands and gave signals. When I spoke my voice was scared and I did not have much inflection. This year however, I understood the signals and managed to have some inflection in my voice! From the whole experience this year, I learned something new about myself. I learned that I actually enjoy trying new things. This taught me that the next time I see something that I have never tried before, I should give it a shot.
