By Abdul Rahman M. Baig
Jeddah – Amid its ongoing contest season, Division G conducted its annual contest on Friday at Hotel Karam Al Balad, under the leadership of Division Director TM Tasneem Zohra.
The theme of this year’s contest was “Dream, Speak, and Achieve.” This theme was mirrored throughout the contest from the decor, contest proceedings, colors, backdrop, to the functionaries and background music. The contest reflected a strong team spirit and warmth among its members. The audience consisted of toastmaster, dignitaries and guests from the differentdivisions of District 104 who had attended the contest to witness the extravaganza.
The contest commenced with the welcome address by the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, TM Tamim Ansar followed by the welcome address by the Division G director, TM Tasneem Zohra, who introduced the English and Arabic Contest Chair, DTM Basheer Ambalavan and DTM Abdullah Flimban to the audience.
The banner parade was gracefully carried out by the master of ceremony TM Abdul-Aziz Alamri and TM Safa Karumara. All the clubs and areas under Division G flaunted their achievements over the past year.
DTM Balasubramanian Vaidhyanathan, District 104 Director, rendered the inspirational message and touched the hearts of the audience with his uplifting message of how to Dream, Speak, Achieve and move forward and succeed in the contest.
The event featured four engaging contests—Humorous Speech, Table Topics, Evaluation, and International Speech—held across separate segments. Each contest was overseen by a different chief judge and evaluated by a panel of 10 anonymous judges from across District 104, who selected the winners in each category.
Seven contestants participated in the Humorous speechcontest. The contestants entertained the audience with spontaneity and humor. The contest master was TM Asma Thoufiqa while DTM Fatmah Azam Ali was the chief judge. TM Abdurrahman Kaidal got the first prize, with TM Bakiya Raja and TM Mohammed A. Dangrama coming second and third respectively.
Evaluations Speech Contest had seven contestants with a test speech delivered by TM Dr. Shihana Hassan. The title of her speech was “The case of the missing smile”. TM Onelia D.Jimnez was declared the winner, followed by TM Mark G. Lacanilao and TM Faheema Mohammed were the first and second runner up. DTM Shakira Begum took on the role of Chief Judge, with TM Nikkath Naaz managing the event as Contest Master.
In the Table Topics Speech contest, where the contestants had to deliver an impromptu speech for 1 to 2 minutes on a topic given on the spot, seven were in the fray. The title given to all the contestants was “If you could change one habit to accelerate your goals, what would it be?”. The contest master for this impromptu speech contest was TM Naadiya Noushad and DTM Saji Kuriakose was the chief judge. TM Abdurahman Kaidal bagged the first prize; TM Faheema Mohammed took the second and TM Mark G. Lacanilao, third prize respectively.
The contest ended with International Speech contest, a 5 to 7 minutes speech delivered on a topic of speaker’s choice devoid of sex, religion or politics. Six contestants from four different Areas of Division G enthralled the audience with their inspirational and thought-provoking speeches. DTM Riyaz Sarang was the chief judge and TM Sheik Mohammed was the contest master. TM Faheema Mohammed won the first place while TM Mark G. Lacanilao and TM Hania Zainab were placed second and third respectively.
The event management team was led by TM Sumeer Mehboob and TM Abdul Rahman M. Baig, while the contest operations team was headed by veteran Toastmaster DTM Rashid Ali Rathore.
The contest concluded on a high note, marked by jubilation, applause, and celebrations in honor of the Division G champions.
The first place winners of all the four contests will go on to represent Division G at the upcoming Saudi Arabia Toastmasters Annual Conference (SATAC 2026), scheduled to be held on June 6, 2026, at the Hotel Radisson Blu Al Salam in Jeddah.
The Division G annual speech contest was sponsored by Abdul Latif Jameel Motors, Universal Inspection Company, Bshyyah Supermarket, Accreditation Training Center (ACT), Insaf Tech Trading Company, Ajmal Perfumes, 10 Kayan for Sweets, Ahmed Almaghrabi Perfumes, Early Explorers of Child Care, and Geepas.
Sponsors and contest role players were felicitated with certificates and plaques of appreciation by Division G Director TM Tasneem Zohra.
Speaking to the media, TM Tasneem Zohra, Division G director, expressed her gratitude to all Toastmasters who attended the annual speech contest. She noted that securing sponsorship had been challenging due to prevailing geopolitical conditions, but added that thecollective efforts and support of dedicated members helped attract the sponsors, making the event both successful and memorable.
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