The Kitts Trophy
for Impromptu Speech
History
The Trophy was presented by the Mayor of Wellington, the late Sir Francis Kitts,
in 1967 for a contest to encourage excellence in Impromptu Speaking. Sir Francis
is more commonly recognised in the name 'Frank Kitts Park' on the waterfront.
In 1999 the then mayor of Wellington (Mark Blumsky) re-established the mayoral
connection with the contest by hosting the Kitts Final at the Council Chambers.
Rules
1. The order of speaking
shall be determined by lot.
2. Each
contestant shall have a choice of two subjects to speak on.
3. Subjects
shall be chosen by the Host Club Convenor in consultation with the WSU
Non-Debating Contests Convenor. Two subjects shall be placed in each envelope,
which shall then be placed on the chairman's table. As each contestant is
called, he or sheshall select one envelope.
4. From the time
of opening the envelope, each contestant shall have one minute in which to
prepare his or her speech. He or she may elect to have the subject announced by
the chairman, but in any event the adjudicators shall be informed of the
speaker's subject before the speech commences.
5. Each speaker
shall be required to speak for not less than six minutes, nor more than eight
minutes. Any contestant who speaks for less than six minutes shall be
disqualified.
6. There shall
be a warning bell at six minutes and two bells at eight minutes to signal the
expiration of time.
7. Interjections
shall be prohibited unless a speaker elects that interjections be permitted for
his or her speech. Such election shall be communicated to the Chairman before
the speech commences.
8. The immediate
past winner shall be ineligible to compete in the following year's contest.
9. The trophy
shall be awarded to the contestant who, in the opinion of the adjudicators,
best develops and presents his or her alloted subject.
Past Winners
| 1967 | Glen Wiggs | 22 Club |
| 1968 | Brian Burrows | IMPS |
| 1969 | Lindsay Knight | 22 Club |
| 1970 | John West | IMPS |
| 1971 | Noel Cheer | IMPS |
| 1972 | Ben O'Connor | Hutt Civic |
| 1973 | Paul Wah | 22 Club |
| 1974 | Dick Smithies | IMPS |
| 1975 | Darryl Hutchinson | 22 Club |
| 1976 | Burke Fletcher | IMPS |
| 1977 | Jim Hopkins | IMPS |
| 1978 | Gerard McGreevy | 22 Club |
| 1979 | Les Aldridge | Rostrum Club |
| 1980 | Margaret Stott | Wellington Tecorians |
| 1981 | Noel Cheer | IMPS |
| 1982 | Hilary Hudson | IMPS |
| 1983 | Dick Smithies | IMPS |
| 1984 | Ben O'Connor | Rostrum Club |
| 1985 | Dick Smithies | IMPS |
| 1986 | Noeline Hannan | IMPS |
| 1987 | Dick Smithies | IMPS |
| 1988 | Liz Clewley | IMPS |
| 1989 | T. Boyle | Public Service Toastmasters |
| 1990 | Rosalie Carey | Rostrum Club |
| 1991 | Robin Fenwick | IMPS |
| 1992 | Rick Prince | 22 Club |
| 1993 | Chris Corry | 22 Club |
| 1994 | Neil Miller | VUW Debating Socy |
| 1995 | Noel Cheer | IMPS |
| 1996 | Martin Doyle | IMPS |
| 1997 | Noel Cheer | IMPS |
| 1998 | Martin Doyle | IMPS |
| 1999 | Neil Miller | VUW |
| 2000 | Noel Cheer | IMPS |
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