A solo spoken-verse class in which each entrant chooses and recites a poem by an Australian poet, in six age bands with a two- to three-minute limit.
Australian Verse (Own Choice) is a solo verse-speaking class with a twist in the name: the poem must come from an Australian poet, and the entrant picks it. One performer stands before an adjudicator and an audience and speaks the poem aloud, bringing out its story, humour, mood and rhythm through voice, pace and a little movement. The poem can be a bush ballad, a children's rhyme, a verse about the coast, the outback or city life, or a modern poem, as long as it is by an Australian writer and suits the entrant's age.
In eTalenter data the class comes from the speech and drama syllabus of a New South Wales eisteddfod in Australia. It is an individual entry, open to boys and girls together, in English, with six two-year age bands: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17 and over. The time limit grows with age: two minutes for 7-8 and 9-10, two and a half minutes for 11-12, and three minutes for 13-14, 15-16 and 17 and over. The template marks each performance on a nominal scale of 10 and places the first four entrants in each class.
A round runs entrant by entrant within an age class. The performer announces the title and poet, speaks the poem to the audience rather than to the floor, and finishes on a held pause. Because the choice is the entrant's, much of the result is decided before the day: a poem that fits the voice, the age and the time limit gives the performer something to work with, while a poem that is too long, too grown-up or too flat gives the adjudicator little to reward.
Organisers run a class like this because it keeps young people reading and remembering the work of their own country's writers, and because it is simple to schedule: one speaker, one short slot, no equipment. The platform carries the age classes, the time limits and the nominal marking scale. Whether the poem must be memorised, whether the entrant may hold a copy, and what counts as Australian are conditions the organiser sets in their own syllabus.
Where Australian Verse (Own Choice) is run
Australian Verse (Own Choice) is run on one template in the data, the speech and drama syllabus of a New South Wales eisteddfod in Australia. Timed, adjudicated verse-speaking classes in separate age groups are a long-established part of the Australian eisteddfod tradition, and separate Australian-content sections are a common feature of them. This page does not claim wider reach than that one festival: the age bands and time limits described here are the ones its template carries, and other festivals may run a similar class under a different name, such as Australian Verse, Australian Section or Australian Author, with different limits.
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual entry: one performer, boys and girls together, in English.
- Content rule in the title: the poem is by an Australian poet and is the entrant's own choice, not a set piece. What counts as Australian is for the organiser to define.
- Six age bands: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17 and over.
- Time limits: two minutes for 7-8 and 9-10, two and a half minutes for 11-12, three minutes for 13-14, 15-16 and 17 and over.
- Marking: a nominal maximum of 10 per performance; the template prints no per-criterion marks, so none are asserted here.
- Placings: first to fourth, with no points printed for them.
- Idea starters, not rules: a bush ballad about a runaway horse, a funny verse about a school lunch, a poem about a coastal storm, a rhyme about native animals, a modern poem about a city street, a children's verse with a strong chorus.
On eTalenter, Australian Verse (Own Choice) is filed under Literary and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Australian Verse (Own Choice) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 2–3 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Australian Verse (Own Choice)
What a Australian Verse (Own Choice) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The template prints no judging criteria for this class, so none are asserted here. What follows is general advice on what a verse-speaking adjudicator listens for, labelled as advice and not as any festival's own rubric.
- Choice of poem: it should suit the speaker's age, voice and the time limit. An adjudicator rewards a poem the entrant clearly understands and enjoys over an ambitious one that is only half-grasped.
- Meaning and mood: the audience should hear what the poem is about, where it is funny, sad or tense, and where it turns. Flat, sing-song delivery that ignores the sense loses the most marks.
- Voice and diction: clear consonants, a pace that lets the words land, and enough volume for the back of the room. Rhythm should serve the poem, not drown the meaning.
- Memory and security: a poem that is truly learned lets the performer look up and speak to people. Stumbles, restarts and glances at the floor pull the audience out of the verse.
- Presence and finish: a settled start, an honest connection with the audience, and a held pause at the end. Small gestures that belong to the poem help; constant movement does not.
- Time discipline: the poem must fit the limit for the age class. A piece that runs into the bell, or ends far short of it, suggests it was not rehearsed at performance speed.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Australian Verse (Own Choice) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Australian Verse (Own Choice)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Australian Verse (Own Choice) right on the day:
- Settle the rules first: whether the poem must be memorised, the exact time limit for your age class, and what the organiser accepts as Australian. Ask them if the syllabus is silent.
- Read widely before choosing. Try poems by several Australian writers aloud and keep the one you can say with a straight face and a good reason for every line.
- Pick by age and length. For the youngest bands, a lively poem with a clear story and a refrain fits two minutes well; older entrants can take on a longer narrative or a quieter, more reflective poem.
- Mark up your copy: underline the words that carry the meaning, put a slash where you will breathe and note where the mood changes. Then say it without the marks.
- Learn the poem in short blocks, saying each aloud rather than only reading it silently, and join the blocks only when each one is secure.
- Rehearse the opening and the ending as carefully as the middle: a calm announcement of title and poet, a first line you never miss, and a held pause after the last word.
- Time the full piece at performance speed against your class limit. If it runs long, choose a shorter poem or a clean extract if the rules allow it, rather than rushing and losing your pauses.
- Perform it for someone who has never heard it and ask what the poem was about. If they cannot say, your voice is not yet showing the meaning.
- After the result, use any comments the organiser passes on to choose a better-fitting poem next time.
Frequently asked questions
Is Australian Verse (Own Choice) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What is Australian Verse (Own Choice)?
A solo verse-speaking class in which the entrant chooses a poem by an Australian poet and speaks it to an adjudicator within a time limit set by age band.
Is it the same as Australian Section (Verse or Prose)?
Not quite. This class is verse only, in six age bands, on a different festival's template. The Australian Section class lets entrants choose verse or prose in four age groups. Both ask for Australian writing; the organiser's syllabus sets the exact rules.
How long can the performance be?
Two minutes for ages 7 to 10, two and a half minutes for ages 11 and 12, and three minutes for ages 13 and over, according to the template.
Does the poem have to be memorised?
The template does not say. Check the organiser's syllabus, and learn the poem by heart if there is any doubt, since it makes a stronger performance either way.
What counts as an Australian poem?
The template does not define it. Ask the organiser, who may mean a poem by an Australian-born or Australian-resident poet, and keep the title and poet's name ready to announce.
What are entrants judged on?
The template prints no criteria. It uses a nominal maximum score that the organiser can change, and the judging advice on this page is general.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide, or browse every literary competition item.
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