High school students of Frisco have been invited by the Peter J Courcy Post 178 to compete in its 2021 Oratorical Scholarship Contest. The invitation to enter this year’s competition was extended by Ed Reed, Vice Commander-Public Relations. The contest for Frisco students has been arranged with the full cooperation of Frisco ISD officials.
The contest is open to qualified ninth (9th) thru twelfth (12th) grade students of public, parochial, military, private, charter, and state accredited home schools. The subject in the prepared oration portion of the contest must be about some phase of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing the duties and obligations of a citizen to the U.S. government. The prepared oration must be an original effort of each contestant and must be 8-10 minutes in length. An additional element of the contest will require each contestant to deliver extemporaneous remarks lasting 3-5 minutes about one of the four amendments to the Constitution.
In addition to the awards by winners of the various elimination rounds of competition, college scholarships totaling $203,500 will be awarded at the national finals in Indianapolis, IN in April 2021. The national winner will receive $25,000, second place $22,500, and third place $20,000. Each state winner who competes in the first round of the national contest will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Contestants in the second round who do not advance to the national final round will receive an additional $2,000 scholarship. The top three youth orators who have won all previous elimination rounds will vie for top honors in the national contest.
Interested high school students in Frisco can learn more at friscolegion.org/activities, legion.org/oratorical/about, or by contacting Ed Reed at friscolegion.oratorical@gmail.com.