Olympiada of Spoken Russian

The SEELRC hosts the Carolinas Region, which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

On March 2, 2024, the 10th annual Olympiada of Spoken Russian took place at Duke University. Over 20 high school students, including heritage speakers, participated and received bronze, silver, and gold medals.

If you'd like more information about how your school could participate in the Olympiada (Carolinas region), please contact Cathy Lewis, c.lewis@duke.edu.

10th annual Olympiada flyer

Launched in the late 1960s, the ACTR Olympiada of Spoken Russian is the oldest of ACTR’s secondary school activities. Drawing on the long-established practice of oral exams and competitions, the Olympiada has provided successive generations of American high school and middle school students of Russian with a forum in which to demonstrate their achievement in Russian language study, while conversing with other speakers of Russian and meeting with students of Russian from schools other than their own. 

Working with one or more colleagues, Olympiada coordinators plan, organize, and administer regional or state contests. Each regional contest follows the format of the International Olympiada:
Part I    Speaking about yourself, everyday conversation
Part II   Civilization
Part III  Reading and discussion; recitation of a poem