Participants from schools across the island participated in a middle school speech competition hosted by Sacred Hearts Academy on Jan. 12. One hundred forty-two participants in grades 5-8 from private and public schools took part in the event. Senior English teacher Jill Sprott coordinated the event with support from the English department, fifth grade speech teacher Susan Phillips, parents, administrators and student volunteers..

“The Academy junior high speech tournament is the largest event of the year, and this year had the highest attendance in the past three years,” Sprott said.

The new Clarence T.C. Ching Student Center served as a gathering place for speech teams and their coaches between rounds. The awards ceremony also took place in the center.

“The student center was very beneficial,” said Sprott. “In the past, participants usually hovered around the campus. The student center allowed teams to congregate in one place.”

High school Speech Club members served as timekeepers and judges.

“I enjoy watching the younger students compete and giving them constructive criticism and advice to improve their performances since I’m a ‘veteran’ speech member,” senior Kimi Hashimoto said. “As a judge, I understand what judges are looking for or what they like to see, which is helpful for me to improve my own performances.”

Senior Missy Corwin also assisted at the tournament.

“I volunteered as a timekeeper and judge for the tournament because I wanted to be more involved in the Speech Club since I’ve been a member for a few years,” said Corwin.

Student judges are essential to such a large tournament.

“Student judges are beneficial judges for the competitors,” Sprott said. “They empathize and understand what kind of comments help the competitor improve their piece without being overly critical or giving blank praise.”

Among the 63 judges were 15 from the Academy, including parents, grandparents and other faculty members.

Besides hosting the event, the Academy had 15 participants in grades 5-8. The Academy team won the tournament, having the largest percentage of superiors in the tournament. The team is coached by fifth grade teacher and lower school speech coach Susan Phillips.

“I work with the girls once a week for 45 minutes to an hour,” Phillips said. “The girls see me for practices before school, at lunch recess and after school.”

Students received certificates with a gold seal for three or four superior ratings in their particular categories.

Fifth graders Nikkita Bandack and Hope Haythorne and sixth graders Cailey Filipo, Autumn Gushiken, Shelby Mattos and Maria Stevenson earned four superiors in the Duo category. Fifth grader Naia Lum was awarded four superiors in Program Reading.

“When the girls go into competition, I always tell them that I do not care if they win trophies or not,” Phillips said. “I just want them to try their best, for they work so hard for these competitions and to have fun. If they tried their best, then in my eyes they are always winners.”