By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Unless you had some sort of first-hand knowledge, you might have missed the significance of the list posted in last Thursday's edition of the Honolulu Advertiser.

There were the names of champions.

These students did what many adults could never make themselves do, what seasoned professionals still lose sleep over, what some people consider the most terrifying thing of all.

They spoke in public.

Not only that, they did it well. The best in the state.

To see these high school students compete in Hawai'i Speech League tournaments is to witness greatness unfold. There's so much more than voice, diction, and inflection involved. The competition tests character. It fosters grace. The students come to speak after months of practice. They come dressed to impress, sometimes in suits that look like they came from mom and dad's closet, shoes that are straight-out-of-the-box. They come prepared to do their best, to scream at the top of their lungs if they make it to the final round, to sob on a friend's shoulder if they don't, and to cheer on even their stiffest competition in an appreciation of hard work and mastery.

The tournaments are usually held on weekends, so all this drama and character-building takes place at 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning.

Some events require students to deliver stories, dramatic pieces or humorous selections from memory. The pieces they choose must come from published literature, and the speeches run close to 10 minutes in length. If the memorization skills alone don't impress you, consider that the speakers have to interpret multiple characters; have to make eye contact with the judges who sit there and take note of each flub and hesitation; and have to listen to all their competitors try their best to win the round.

Talk about nerve wracking.

Other categories of competition require the students to think on their feet and speak extemporaneously or with just a few minutes of preparation on a topic they've essentially pulled from a hat. There are no softballs here. In one category, the topics encompass foreign policy and world issues.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, a competitor will drop out of the tournament at the last minute. When that happens, often another speaker from the same school is called upon to speak in that student's place so that the entire team isn't assessed a penalty. The substitute is often a competitor in a completely different category, and has to "wing it" for the good of the team. Public speaking without proper preparation takes more than grace. It takes guts.

I suppose I should disclose that I competed in the Hawai'i Speech League when I was in high school. I don't remember much about winning or losing, but I'll never forget the lessons learned. The Speech League teaches you, at a very young age, how to be a pro: how to do your best when you're feeling lousy, how to be a graceful loser and a humble winner; and how to be an individual competitor and a team player at the same time.

Fourteen students from Hawai'i, from private and public schools, will go on to compete in the national tournament this summer. It sounds trite, but it's quite true in this case: those 14 are not the only winners. Each competitor in the many Hawai'i Speech League events throughout the year comes away with lessons that last a lifetime.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.