2026 Rotary District Speech Contest-Unite For Good
Each year, Rotary District 6890 sponsors a district-wide speech contest. This is a wonderful experience for you to develop your public speaking skills while learning about the humanitarian work of Rotary International.
Eligibility: The contest is open to all high school students in the Rotary Clubs area and each contestant is asked to speak for five to seven minutes on the same theme: Unite For Good. A panel of judges evaluates the contestants on delivery, originality, and content.
Composition: The topic for this year’s Speech Contest is the 2025-26 Rotary International theme: Unite For Good. Please visit www.Rotary.org for information on this theme and Rotary International's work in general. You may also wish to visit the Rotary District 6890 website: https://www.rotary6890.org/. These are sources upon which you may draw for material, along with considering your own life experiences.
The speech must be between five and seven minutes and will be judged on the following elements: content (40 points), organization (30 points), and delivery (30 points). Notes are allowed but discouraged during the Club Level competition. Notes are not permitted during the Group Level and District Finals.
Competition: There are three rounds of competition. The first round is at the Club Level and will be completed by February 2, 2026. The winner proceeds to the Group Level competition, competing against four or five other Club Level winners. This phase will be completed no later than February 20, 2026. The winner of the Group Level proceeds to the District Finals which will be conducted at 5:00 PM on March 20, 2026 at the Bartow Public Library.
Monetary prizes. Typically, the first prize at the Club Level is $100. The winner of the Group Level usually receives $250. The District Finals winner will receive $1,000.
There are limitations on the number of students who can compete at the Club Level, so please contact us at speechcontest@westchaserotary.org as soon as possible to become a contestant or ask for additional information. Please consider this great opportunity!
2025-2026 Rotary District 6890
Speech Contest Student Application
This year, the theme for the High School Speech Contest is "Unite For Good," Rotary International's global theme. Highlight the transformative power of service and change in our High School Speech Contest—apply now!
Rotary District 6890
2025-2026 Speech Contest Rules
Who: Contestants may be freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors (9-12 grade) enrolled in a public, private, or homeschool and may have competed and won in previous years.
Length: Five to seven minutes with a fifteen-second leeway (five points off for going over or under time).
Delivery: Notes may be used but are discouraged at the local club level; reading is also discouraged. Notes will not be allowed at Group Level or District Finals competitions. Memorized speeches are impressive and will earn points.
Topic: Material must be original in content and apply to the current Rotary theme, Unite for Good. Contestants should prepare a speech with facts, statistics, stories, examples, and quotations. Humor and personal touches may be added, but contestants must not mention their name, school, or city. At the District Finals, the sponsoring Rotary Club may not be mentioned in the speech.
Scoring: Speeches will be scored based on the following criteria, with associated point values:
Content:
10 points for originality, creativity, and imagination;
10 points for human interest and relevant examples from the peer group;
20 points for incorporating the Rotary theme, The Magic of Rotary.
Organization:
10 points for effective introduction and establishment of the Rotary theme;
10 points for an orderly, logical body, clear points and transitions, and vivid illustrations;
10 points for a brief overview or summary at the end and a persuasive and logical conclusion.
Delivery:
10 points for diction, pronunciation, and enunciation;
10 points for vocal clarity and projection;
10 points for body language, posture, gestures, eye contact, and purposeful movement.
Click the button below to download the contest rules. If you prefer to download the speech contest application and email it, you may click the button below. If you have further questions, please contact the committee at speechcontest@westchaserotary.org or call Cassie McSherry at 813-455-5829.