Terms and conditions  

Individual entries

Students who are enrolled in a schooling program or organisation (private, public or homeschool) may enter individually (through a parent, guardian or external tutor) as a representative of their school. All entries are accepted before the due date, one week before each heat, unless entries have exceeded capacity.

School entries and school invoices

Students can enter the competition through their school via school staff and/or a representative teacher. The representative is encouraged to submit all student entries themselves at the same time to assist in the issuing of school invoices.

The representative can follow these directions:

1. Representatives email the co-coordinators at publicspeaking@esu.org.au with a list of the participating students as well as their grade and division levels.
2. After confirmation via email, representatives can then enter all participating students through the Humanitix event link, or students can enter themselves before the heat closes.
3. On receiving the email confirmation from the school representative, the ESU treasurer will issue an invoice to the school representative’s chosen contact email.
4. Entrance fees are due prior to the date of the heat closing.

Payment of entrance fees

Entrance fees from both individual and school invoices are due before the heat closes, exactly one week before the heat date.

Entrance fee

Entrance fee of $20 currently covers participation in both heats and grand finals.

Cancellation of entries

If a student has entered through the Humanitix event link, but cancels prior to the heat closure date, a refund will be issued. Representative teachers may also swap entries (if one student has cancelled and another not on the original list has decided to participate) prior to the closure of the heat. Refunds will also be issued if the event is cancelled. Refunds will not be issued for any changes after the heat closure date.

Accessibility policy

The ESU (Qld) is committed to ensuring our events are accessible and inclusive for competitors and audience members. If adjustments or accessibility support are needed, please phone 0423 295 721 or email publicspeaking@esu.org.au to arrange.

Discriminatory language and themes policy

Discriminatory language or hate speech, as well as discriminatory themes, will not be tolerated. All efforts should be made to ensure language in speeches is inclusive, ethical and compassionate to our diverse participants and audiences. If a speech is identified as violating this policy, the student will be asked to cease their participation in the competition.

Dangerous weather policy

If students are prevented from attending their competition heat or grand final in person and onsite (for example, where flooding or bushfires are occurring and preventing travel), arrangements can be made with the regional coordinator to compete via Zoom if more than four (4) hours’ notice is given. If notice is not given and a student is unable to compete, a refund will not be issued.

Event cancellation policy

If dangerous weather occurs and it is not safe to travel to the venue (for example, where flooding or bushfires are occurring and preventing travel), notice will be given and the regional coordinator will be in contact regarding a new competition date.

If there are insufficient enrolments in a heat, cancellation notice will be given and refunds will be issued to the enrolled students.

Prizes

Grand Final prize money will be issued to the winners on the evening of the Grand Final in cash. Adjudicators may choose to award joint awards, and the prize money will be evenly split between the two winners.

Certificates will be issued to:

• all participating students at their heat
• place winners in Toowoomba and West, and North Queensland (first, second and third place)
• all winners (first, second and third place) at the Grand Final
• all Senior Division finalists (digital copies are available on request).

Travel assistance

Winners of the Toowoomba and West heats and North Queensland heats will be contacted by the co-coordinators regarding travel assistance, to support students travelling to Brisbane for the Grand Final.

Closure of entries for heats

Entry in heats will be closed one week before the heat date, unless they have already reached capacity. There will be no late entries.

Allocation of students to heats

Students are allocated to 5.30 pm or 7.30 pm heats in random order. If the participating student has a conflict of interest with one of the adjudicators, please let the co-coordinators know in advance (prior to the heat closing) so that they can be placed in a different heat.

Examples of conflict of interest:

• The participating student has been taught or is being taught by an adjudicator.
• The adjudicator is a relative or family friend of the participating student.

Frequently asked questions   

How do I approach developing a speech for this competition?

The best approach is to provide a clear and reasonable link to the quote.

Will a lectern and microphone be available for use?

There is no lectern or microphone in use at the heats or for the Grand Final in each division. Students are encouraged to rehearse clear and supported projection.

Can I use palm cards?

The use of palm cards is allowed (we suggest the size of an index card, study card or postcard or smaller). We encourage students to either memorise and internalise their speech or use small palm cards with dot points to avoid reading them or having a large piece of paper interfering with their presentation style. When giving feedback adjudicators will take into consideration the use of palm cards and how the student has used them.

Can I enter if I’m homeschooled?

Absolutely! We recognise all homeschooling programs in the competition and encourage secondary students from all educational institutions to participate.

Do I need to submit my speech to the regional coordinator beforehand?

No, it is not required to submit your speech beforehand.

Can I use a speech I wrote for school or another competition?

All speeches must be inspired by and use a strong thematic link to the provided division quote.

Where can I find public speaking resources?

Great question! We encourage use of the ESU UK website, which has some fantastic resources for classrooms, to develop and deliver your speech: www.esu.org/resources/

Judging criteria

Here is the ESU (Qld) judging criteria: