Department winners selected to compete in National Oratorical Contest 

For the past two years, The American Legion National Oratorical Finals in Indianapolis has not been held in person because of safety measures regarding the pandemic. This year, The American Legion is looking forward to hosting the program in person April 23-24 with 49 high school orators speaking on the U.S. Constitution and competing for over $203,000 in scholarships. 

The youth won their respective American Legion post, district and state-level Oratorical Contest to earn a spot at the national level. See the 49 participants here. 

The contest will get underway Saturday, April 23, at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel with the high school orators competing in the quarterfinals; the top nine contestants will advance to the semifinals. The contestants will present a rehearsed eight- to 10-minute oration on an aspect of the Constitution in front of judges, as well as a three- to five-minute speech on an assigned topic discourse — a phase of the Constitution selected from its Articles and Sections. The top three semifinal contestants will advance to the championship finals.

The championship finals will be held Sunday, April 24, at 10 a.m. EDT, and will be streamed live on The American Legion National Headquarters Facebook page and YouTube channel.