Contests
’Tis the season to be contesting, la-la-la-la-laa la-la-la-laa !
A time when we all smarten up, whether speaking, judging or officiating.
Tuesday Nov 16 – CLUB Contests – on Zoom
Humorous. Barbara and DavidW contested. Both were disqualified for going overtime, both were invited to represent the club as delegates at Area Contest, and both declined. And that’s no joke!
Table Topics. DavidW and Andrew contested on the topic “A day at the beach”.
Personal styles differ. On one hand, for example, Barbara’s fantastic tales get two simultaneous reactions from me: “That can’t be true! Or can it?” and “That’s amazing, but is it true?”.
On the other hand Andrew’s mellow sentences flow “without hesitation, repetition or deviation”, as in the BBC game “Just a Minute” which inspires him.
Sunday Nov 21 – AREA Contests – on Zoom
There were contests in all 4 categories for Area 17 (2 clubs in Coffs) and Area 29 (3 clubs in Grafton and Lismore) in tandem. The efficient officials included !!Zoom Master!! and Sergeants-at-Arms (who monitored the Breakout Room, as in “Keep your hands where I can see them!!”).
In Area 29, first place getters go on to compete at Division level. They are Mark West (International), Rupert Godwin (Humorous), Danni Auch (Evaluation and Table Topics) – all from Jetty club. Congratulations to them!
I keep learning about Zoom. In the Club contests I was speaking to 4 rows of faces, mute and (almost) motionless. It felt like talking to exhibits in an art gallery.
In the Area contests all participants turned off microphone and video unless actually speaking, which reduced listeners even further to nothing more than name cards. Speakers on the other hand could have an enlarged view of themselves. This time it felt like I was speaking to myself in a mirror, while being judged by silent watchful listeners. (Ooo … Spooky!!).
Next
Our last (informal) meeting of the year will be around picnic tables at Boambee Reserve on Sunday Dec 5 between 11am and 5pm. Emails have gone out but if you need more details, please phone our contact numbers.