Sebastian Konyn, 16, last week won the State finals of the competition, which he said was what he had been hoping to do since he entered the Port Augusta competition.

"The state final is the one to win," Sebastian said.

He won both the public speaking and overall awards at the finals, which included the Northern Territory, on April 12.

Sebastian's prepared speech was about video games, and he said it was well-received.

For each stage so far, he has written a new speech, but he said he would re-use this one for the national finals.

"I was a bit more nervous this time," he said.

"These were the people from all around the state … you knew it was pretty tough, what you were up against."

He said the interview questions had been harder this time round, with the judges asking about Zimbabwe and other political issues.

"It was a bit of a shock, because I suppose it's easy to be self-critical" he said.

"It was a pleasant surprise."

Sebastian will compete against the other state finalists in Darwin on May 16.

"I'm hopeful I can do well," he said.

He said he would probably still have to take homework with him when he takes a week off year 11 at Caritas College for the trip.

All the state finalists won a 35-day trip around Australia in January, 2009.

"That'll be a great experience," Sebastian said.

"It should be a good group of kids … they'll be kids with strong viewpoints, so there should be some good conversations."

The contestants were judged on their community involvement, citizenship, academic results and general knowledge, as well as their public speaking.

The competition aims to find the young person who would be the best representative for their communities and regions, and ultimately Australia.

Sebastian competed in the Port Augusta club, district and regional finals before the state finals.