JEDDAH — Toastmasters Area 18 of Division H of District 104 conducted its annual speech contest here recently. The contest, with the theme "Achieving Goals Together," comprised four different categories; humorous speech, table topics speech, evaluation, and international speech contests. Chief Sergeant-at-Arms TM Shakira Begum at the area contest set the stage and read the mission of the Toastmasters while Area 18 Director and Contest Chair TM Rabiyah Mohideen opened the event and welcomed the gathering and thanked the entire contest organizing committee for their support in managing the mega event. The master of the ceremony was TM Mohammed illyas. The timers of the contest were TM Saistha and TM Raihanath The clubs under Area 18 are Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club (JELTMC), Ceylon Toastmasters Club and Pace Advanced Toastmasters Club. The area contest showcased the best talent of the contestants who enthralled the audience with their eloquence and oratory skills. The contest commenced with the humorous speech segment. The first place in this was bagged by TM Smitha of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club, while TM Mehnaz Akther of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club, TM Ashraf Aboobacker of Ceylon Toastmasters Club Toastmasters Club took the first and second runner places. The chief judge for the contest was DTM Mohammed Ibrahim Maricar and the contest master was DTM Assain Illikkal. In the evaluation speech contest, the contestants evaluated speeches given by the test speaker Sheik Khaja Mohideen. TM Mohammed Riyaz Illyas of Pace Advanced Toastmasters Club won the first place, while TM Fathima Zohra of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club and TM Noor Khadija Ashraf of Ceylon Toastmasters Club won the first and second runner-up place respectively. The contest master TM Raju Surest Kumar ran the contest very professionally and DTM Basher Ambalavan was the chief judge for the competition. The Table Topic Speech Contest was another interesting event where the contestants had to deliver an impromptu speech of 1 to 2 minutes on a topic given on the spot. The first place was bagged by TM Raheshwari of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club, while the second and third place winners were TM Surendrapal Singh of Pace Advanced Toastmasters Club Toastmasters Club and TM Azra Kirmani of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club. The contest was anchored by TM Abdul Aziz Thankayathil and the same was judged by DTM Vanecio. International speech segment is the epicenter of the event wherein the champion can compete up to the international arena whereas the other winners will only be able to reach the district level. In the International Speech contest, which was a 5 to 7 minute speech delivered on a topic of speaker's choice devoid of sex, religion or politics, the contestants from the two clubs of Area 16 enthralled the audience with their inspirational and thought-provoking speeches. TM Surendrapal Singh of Pace Advanced Toastmasters Club bagged the first place, while TM Azra Kirmani of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club and TM Fathima Zohra of Jeddah Elite Ladies Toastmasters Club won the second and third places respectively. TM Thasneem Zohra was the contest master for contest, and the chief judge was DTM Mohandas Kumar Ganapathy. All the winners and runner ups were given plaques and the winner along with the first runner up have qualified for the division contest which will be held soon in Jeddah.
