NORWAY — Local American Legion posts are jointly sponsoring the annual constitutional speech contest — a program designed for high school students to develop a deeper understanding of the United States Constitution.

The contest, sponsored since 1938 by the American Legion, offers students in local communities more than $138,000 in scholarships. To date, more than $3 million has been awarded at the national level.

The contest, sponsored by the Norway, Oxford and Paris posts, will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012, at the Maine Veterans Home in Paris.

“Last year’s local winner from Oxford Hills was Tabitha Hawkins,” said Stone-Smart Post 82 Commander Ron Snow. “Tabitha tied at the state level and was eliminated by a tiebreaker, the first tiebreaker that anyone could remember.”

Snow said Oxford Hills has had at least three students win the state oratorical and go on to the national competition in Indianapolis, Ind.

The winners of the contest will compete at the district level at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, at the American Legion Post in Paris The winner of the district contest will then compete at the state level at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday Feb. 25, 2012, in the Thomas College auditorium in Waterville.

Some of the other objectives of the contest include developing leadership qualities, the ability to think and speak clearly and intelligently, and preparing for accepting the duties and responsibilities, the rights and privileges of American citizenship, said Snow in a recent statement announcing the contest.

The two portions of the contest include prepared oration and assigned topic discourse. The subject in the oration must be about some part of the Constitution of the United States, emphasizing the duties and obligations of a citizen to the United States government, Snow said. The portion shall not be less than eight minutes or more than 10 minutes in length.

The assigned topic discourse will be one of the four listed in the rules and regulations, selected from the Articles and Sections of the Constitution, and presented in no less than three or more than five minutes.

Students have to be a citizen of the United States and be enrolled in a high school that is defined as public, parochial, military, private or home school in which the curriculum is considered to be of high school level, beginning with nine and ending with grade 12.

Snow said local Legion Post awards are determined by the individual Posts, and the district awards by the various districts. On the state level, the first place winner receives $1,000; second place $500; third place $300; fourth place $200; fifth and sixth place $150 each.

Students who compete in the national contest will receive a $1,500 scholarship for competing in the first round of the contest, Snow said. Each first-round winner who participates in the second round but does not win will receive an additional $1,500 scholarship. The final three winners will compete for the first prize of $18,000; second place prize $16,000; or third place prize of $14,000.

“With the three local Posts working together, we ensure that three students from the area will compete at the district level,” Snow said.

For more information, contact Jason Turgeon at 743-2323 or Ron Snow at 744-9146, or call the guidance department at the high school.

ldixon@sunjournal

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