Toastmasters Fun Rally ‘Get to the Point’ livens up Colombo

The Toastmasters of District 82, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR), have come together to launch the Toastmasters Fun Rally – Get to the Point. 

This exciting event will begin on 22 October and is set to commence from Independence Square and the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI). 

This initiative was the brainchild of DTM District Director Ajantha Jayawardena and is being put forth as an awareness exercise to educate the public about what the Toastmasters are really all about. The idea is to engage the Toastmasters together with the public through a fun-filled evening. The event will include video feeds streamed from the rally vehicles, music, food, action stations and many other forms of entertainment.

‘Get to the Point’ is a fun inspired rally which will include aspects of Time, Speed and Distance (TSD). The route will cover approximately 125 km, going into Colombo’s suburbs, and will comprise around 12-15 checkpoints along the way. A closing time has been allocated for each checkpoint and the team needs to reach the point within an allocated time. The rally is scheduled to start at 2.00 p.m. and end at 7.30 p.m. with refreshments available throughout. So far, 35 competitors have signed up to participate in the rally.

“The expansion of the Toastmasters message en route will change people’s lives with an ultimate outcome which will transpire through this rally. So, an event of this calibre is bound to add on a level of excitement and knowhow as well as inspire young adults and middle-aged individuals to come forward and learn more about the Toastmasters and what it really means to hold such a stance in today’s social sphere,” said Toastmasters International President D.T.M. Balraj Arunasalam.

Providing insight into the involvement of Toastmasters at a rally, SLARDAR Vice President and Toastmaster Kamil Hussain said: “This rally will act as an empowering platform where it will create an environment for youth in urban areas to come forth and understand what it would mean to become a Toastmaster. There have been instances when people did not identify with what a Toastmaster stood for and the title has often been mistaken with that of a chef or pastry maker and this shows that a segment of this society is not aware or does not know about Toastmasters in general. As a country, if more individuals adopt this movement then imagine the kind of society that we can build.”

A club can submit unlimited entries under the categories of Category 1– Jeep/ Double Cabs, Category 2– Cars/Vans – Above 1000 CC and Category 3– Cars – Below 1000 CC. Clubs can also combine to form teams. A team will consist of four members with at least two being Toastmasters and the rest non-Toastmasters. 

The event is set to be broadcast via SLARDAR TV and will be streamed worldwide. The event is open to all and the entry to the event premises will be allowed at a nominal fee for the public to cheer for their teams or to just attend and enjoy the event with family or friends. 

Commenting about the event, DTM Ajantha Jayawardena stated: “We see opportunities for the development of communication and leadership skills as a need of the hour and with the unfolding of this timely event, we believe that our objective of creating awareness and spreading the value of the toastmaster organisation to the public will bring a lot of benefit, especially to the public in outstation locations. We want to promote the Toastmasters across Sri Lanka and the Get ToThe Point Motor Rally will add a sense of fun and excitement in the process of spreading the message to everyone involved.”