Glen Abbey Toastmasters held the Club International Speech and Table Topics Contests on February 4, 2026. The evening was filled with engaging speeches, quick thinking, and great energy. The contests were led by our Contest Chair, Zakaria Sekhri.
International Speech Contest
We had three contestants in the International Speech Contest and heard a range of eye opening, thoughtful and humorous speeches on diverse topics. The speakers demonstrated strong storytelling, clear messaging, and confident delivery.
The first- and second-place winners will advance to compete at the Area Contest.
International Speeches are original speeches lasting 5–7 minutes and may be delivered on any subject. They can be serious, humorous, or inspirational. The International Speech Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, District, and International levels.
Congratulations to the winners! 🥇 Vijay Luxmi | 🥈 Lori O’Grady | 🥉 Pramela Nair Panthallore
Table Topics Contest
The Table Topics Contest challenged contestants to think on their feet as they responded to an impromptu question. Each speaker delivered a concise and engaging response, showcasing clarity, creativity, and composure under pressure. The first- and second-place winners will advance to the Area Contest.
Table Topics responses are 1–2 minutes in length. All contestants answer the same question, making this contest a true test of impromptu speaking skills. The Table Topics Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, and District levels.
Congratulations to the winners! 🥇 Kathy Bullock | 🥈 Nilumi Vinodahewa | 🥉 Lori O’Grady
Get Ready for the Area Tall Tales Contest – May 21!
Mark your calendars! The laughter continues at the Area Tall Tales Contest happening on May 21 at 7:30 PM at the Tarafalgarh Community Centre.
Join us for an evening of over-the-top storytelling, creative exaggeration, and unforgettable performances by top speakers from across our area—including our very own Lori O’Grady and Jing Chen, winners of the GATM club contest!
Come cheer them on, get inspired, and enjoy a night of fun and fellowship.
What a night of wild imagination and laughter! Congratulations to Lori O’Grady, our 1st place winner, and Jing Chen the runner-up, for their outstanding storytelling performances!
Both Lori and Jing will represent GTAM at the upcoming Tall tale area Contest—let’s cheer them on! Huge thanks to all participants and volunteers for making this event a tall-tale success!
Glen Abbey Toastmasters held the 2024 Evaluation and International Speech Contests on November 27, 2024. With a full house of members and guests, the contest was a great night of listening to evaluations and speeches. Contest Chair Zakaria Sekhri led the evenings two contests.
International Speech Contest
We had three contestants for our International Speech Contest, and we heard amazing speeches about Why Not Me, Time Travel, and Mistaken identities. First and second place winners will compete in the Area Cotnests in January 2025.
International speeches are original speeches of 5-7 minutes. They can be given on any subject, and can be serious, funny, or inspirational. The International Speech Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, District, and International level, and as it goes all the way to the International level,
Congratulations Kathy Bullock 1st Place – 2024 International Speech Contest
Congratulations Krista Rowan 2nd Place – 2024 International Speech Contest
Evaluation Contest
Thanks to our Test Speaker for the Evaluation Contest – Doug Flowers from Horizon Toastmasters. First and second place winners will compete in the Area Cotnests in January 2025.
Evaluations are 2 to 3 minutes in length. All of the evaluation contestants must evaluate the same speech, so a test speaker from outside the club is brought in to present one speech to the entire group. The contestants are then taken from the room and given five minutes to prepare their evaluations. Then they come back into the room, and one by one, deliver their evaluations. The Evaluation Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, and District level.
Congratulations Pramela Nair Panthallor 1st Place – 2024 Evaluation Contest
Congratulations Niti Goel 2nd Place – 2024 Evaluation Contest
We are excited to announce that Glen Abbey Toastmaster’s very own Lori O’Grady took first place during the Mary Heary Tall Tales Contest held at the Oakville Toastmasters Club. She had the audience captivated and laughing along as she delivered her speech titled “Amen”. Congratulations Lori!
Feast your eyes (above) on our absolutely stunning Glen Abbey Champions: Area 83 Table Topics 2022 Champions are Roger Cogle and Wajiha Sabrani!
Area Table Topics Contest: Facts
There were 5 contestants, from 3 different clubs.
Speakers were given the same topic prompt – the word FREEDOM, and only a few seconds to prep before speaking about it.
Each speaker gave their interpretation on what FREEDOM means to them
GATM’s club-level Table Topics contest in Dec 2021 was the first time either Roger or Wajiha had competed!
Roger joined the club a little over a year ago, while Wajiha joined just 3 months ago in Fall 2021.
Roger will go on to compete at the Division contest in February, but if he cannot attend, Wajiha will compete in his place.
International Speech Contest Snapshot
Feast your eyes (above) on our absolutely stunning Glen Abbey Champions: Area 83 International Speech 2022 Champions are Zehra Raza and Krista Rowan!
Area International Speech Contest: Facts
There were 6 contestants from 3 different clubs
Each speaker had 5-7 minutes to deliver a speech they had prepared in advance
While the speeches were all different, they had common themes – making a difference in people’s lives, being inspirational, and leaving a lasting legacy
This is the SECOND year in a row that Zehra and Krista were the 1st and 2nd place winners in the Area-level contest
In 2021, Zehra won the Division-level contest and went to compete at the District-level (just one level before reaching the World Championship)
Zehra will go on to compete at the Division contest in February, but if she cannot attend, Krista will compete in her place
Zehra has been a member since 2017 and Krista has been a member since 2018
Glen Abbey Toastmasters will be hosting the Club level Table Topics and International Speech Contests in December 2021
Table Topics Speech Contest
Table Topics are 1-2 minutes long. They are impromptu speeches given on a topic that the speaker has no prior knowledge of. The contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, and District level.
The Table Topics Contest will be held on December 1, 2021
International Speech Contest
International speeches should be original speeches of 5-7 minutes. They can be given on any subject, and can be serious, funny, or inspirational. The International Speech Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, District, and International level, and as it goes all the way to the International level, it is the most important of all the Toastmaster contests, and where the World Champion of Public Speaking is decided! In order to be a contestant in this contest, a Toastmaster must have completed at least 6 speeches from the Competent Communicator or Pathways Program.
The International Speech Contest will be held on December 15, 2021
We’re looking forward to seeing and hearing Glen Abbey Toastmasters compete!
Winners At The 2021 Area 83 International Speech Contest
We’re thrilled for two Glen Abbey Toastmasters: Zehra Reza and Krista Rowan. They placed first and second in the Area 83 International Speech contest which was held online on February 26, 2021.
This means that they will both move up to compete with contestants from other areas in the Division D contest on Feb 20th 2021. Congratulations to both of them from the GATM family!
About the International Speech Contest
International speeches should be original speeches of 5-7 minutes. They can be given on any subject, and can be serious, funny, or inspirational. The International Speech Contest is held at the Club, Area, Division, District, and International level, and as it goes all the way to the International level, it is the most important of all the Toastmaster contests, and where the World Champion of Public Speaking is decided! In order to be a contestant in this contest, a Toastmaster must have completed at least 6 speeches from the Competent Communicator or Pathways Program.
Location: Tarafalgarh Community Centre
Time: 7:30 PM, Tuesday, May 21!
