Youth Competitions

From local heats to national finals, Rotary Youth Competitions in a range of creative areas let young people’s skills flourish.

Rotary’s youth competitions offer a platform for talents to shine.

 

From local and regional heats through to national finals, these contests are a great way to be challenged in a fun and friendly environment, plus there are great prizes up for grabs too.

With support all the way from your local Rotary club, there is no reason not to take the leap and enter.

 

What competitions are there?

 

Young Chef

Fancy yourself as a budding cook?

The Rotary Young Chef competition, sponsored by Filippo Berio, gives entrants the chance to put their culinary skills to the test and be judged by leading industry professionals.

Entrants plan and cook a three course meal, develop their food presentation skills and gain experience in high pressure situations.

Whether you’re keen for a culinary career or just an enthusiastic home cook, this competition is a fantastic opportunity.

Download the 2023-24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

Rotary Young Chef has proudly been sponsored by Filippo Berio for over 10 years.

 

Young Citizen Awards

These awards recognise young people under the age of 25 who have demonstrated their commitment to citizenship, goodwill and understanding through various activities.

The awards can be for individuals or groups, for projects and initiatives that showcase positive citizenship and the important responsibilities assumed by young people.

Nominees do not necessarily have to be working on a Rotary project to be eligible, they just have to be recognised by a local Rotary club as worthy of nomination.

Rotary Young Citizen Sporting Hero Award

We also invite nominations for the Rotary Young Citizen Sporting Hero Award to recognise and highlight the achievements and contribution, as a positive role model to others, of a disabled or non-disabled sports participant or group, or an individual or group who is enabling others to participate in sport.

Rotary Young Citizen Peacemaker Award

The Rotary Young Citizen Peacemaker Award, reflecting Rotary’s area of focus on Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention, is to recognise young people, aged under 25, who have made a significant contribution by building peace and understanding, whether in their school, local community or with a peace project internationally.

Rotary Young Citizen Environmentalist Award

The Rotary Young Citizen Environmentalist Award is a new award, reflecting Rotary’s new area of focus on the Environment, to recognise young people, aged under 25, an individual or group, who are passionate about protecting the environment.

2023/24 Rotary Young Citizen Awards – Guidance Notes (available shortly)

Download the Poster

Download the 2023/24 Nomination Form (available in the members’ area only). (available shortly)

Meet the 2022 Young Citizen winners

 

Young Artist

Share your creative talents with a wide audience by taking part in our new Young Artist competition. Express yourself with your interpretation of this year’s theme ‘Sunrise and Sunset’ and submit a piece of artwork (two dimensional please).

Your artwork will go through a local stage first, followed by the district heats and then, if you are lucky, on to the national final.

The competition is open to artists upto the age of 17.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

2021-22 Young Artist Winners

Rotary Young Artist is proudly supported by the Fine Art Trade Guild, the Art and Framing industry’s trade association, responsible for encouraging and promoting the best in art and framing.

 

Young Musician

Share your gift of song or mastery of a musical instrument in Rotary’s Young Musician competition.

Participants will get the chance to experience performing on a public stage and receive feedback from experienced judges, plus it offers a great chance for future collaboration with fellow musicians.

Entrants can be either a vocalist or instrumentalist.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

 

Young Filmmaker

We know there are many talented young filmmakers out there, all keen to showcase their talents. That’s why we have introduced the Young Filmmaker competition.

Focus on your talents with this brand-new opportunity and be one of our first winners. Send a five-minute piece which shows your interpretation of the theme ‘Challenge’ and you could win a mentoring experience which will further enhance your talents.

Your work will go through a local stage first, followed by the district heats and then, if selected, on to the national final.

The competition is open to filmmakers upto the age of 17.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

 

Young Photographer

Photography has the power to capture special places, moments and memories.

The Rotary Young Photographer competition gives participants the chance to express themselves through photography, interpret the competition’s annual brief in an imaginative way.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster  and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

 

Youth Speaks: A Debate

Challenge your public speaking abilities and perform, persuade and entertain the audience with your display of wit and knowledge of a topic.

In teams of three participants present arguments and points of discussion, before taking questions from the judging panel who are, themselves, skilled orators.

Participants can select a topic which is important to them, giving them an opportunity to delve deep into research, formulate ideas and build confidence.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

 

Young Environmentalist

This new contest is looking for people like you, who care about the planet. Present your unique solution to environmental problems by entering this competition and change how we look at waste.

You can enter as a team or as an individual and come up with a clever way to address the challenge of waste minimisation.

Submissions are in project form and must show your ingenious way of tackling the issue.

Your reward? A mentoring experience to take your idea forward and a chance to save the planet.

Your project work will go through a local stage first, followed by the district heats and then, if chosen, on to the national final.

The competition is open to environmentalists upto the age of 17.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

Rotary Young Environmentalist is proudly sponsored by Veolia.

 

Young Writer

This competition offers participants chance to express themselves and get creative with the written word.

After being given a theme, participants can choose to write fiction or non-fiction, a story or a poem. It’s a chance to be imaginative.

Download the 2023/24 competition Information Pack (available shortly) and Poster and contact your local Rotary club for an entry form.

Rotary Young Writer is proudly sponsored by Kenilworth Books.

 

 

Technology Tournaments

Technology Tournaments are one day events for multiple teams of four students to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by collectively solving a previously unseen technology task.

Rotary also offers Junior Technology Tournaments for younger pupils.

Each team is required to design, develop, build and then test their solution, with the tournament offering a fun way to develop team building, communication and time management skills.

 

All the above competitions have the full support of your local Rotary which will back you through your progression in the various stages. Contact your nearest club and see what happens!

 

What is involved?

Most competitions are run on a multi-stage format, starting off with local heats run by individual Rotary clubs, running through until national finals.

Generally, competitions pan the course of an academic year from approximately September to June.

 

Who is eligible?

Each competition varies, but all competitions are open to secondary school pupils aged 11-17, with a number of competitions also open to pupils as young as 7-years-old.

Competitions are split into appropriate age bands to allow participants to compete against those of a similar age.

 

How to get involved

All the above competitions have the full support of Rotary in your area who will support you through your progression in the various stages. If you want to take part, please fill out our enquiry form and we’ll point you in the right direction.

 

Get involved