http://d71Toastmasters.org INSIDE THIS ISSUE Contests in the 1980s
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PR update
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Club Growth update
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Member spotlight
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#Norwich2019 update
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Division S News
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Educational: New Club Case studies
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Prize Quiz,
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DISTRICT 71 MAGAZINE March 2019 Contest Season By John Cox – Program Quality Director As we move into the contest season many of our members, some who will be new to roles such as chief judge or contest chair, will be meeting the challenge of running an entertaining, well organised, quality contest. I believe that our contests are a real test of our leadership and how well we do in delivering quality and excellence. I have already received several questions regarding eligibility, speech originality, test speakers, clubs not in good standing, whether one or two finalists go through to the next round, and a myriad of other questions. In all circumstances your first port of call should be the Speech Contest Rulebook which can be downloaded from the Toastmasters International website at: https://www.toastmasters.org/resources/speech-contest-rulebook. There is generally an answer to every question in there. Take note of any changes that are highlighted with a diamond in the left margin. Some of the major changes include: • • •
The video recording of the District International Speech contest, where the winner’s video will used for the Regional Quarterfinals. The announcement of the first, second and third place winner in contests with three or more participants. The announcement of the first and second place winner (if applicable) in contests with less than three participants.
If there is an issue of interpretation of any of the rules then raising the question with your District Program Quality Director can provide the District’s guidance, or in some situations it will be referred to the Speech Contests Team at Toastmasters International for a judgement. We recently had one such eligibility question regarding the “minimum of two levels in the Toastmasters Pathways learning experience.” Did this mean Level 1 and Level 2 of one Path, or maybe two Level 1’s of two different Paths? TI confirmed that they would be looking at this rule again next year but for this year both options were allowable. As well as becoming familiar with the Contest Rulebook. I would always recommend that both the chief judge and the contest chair are familiar with all the documentation, the Judge's Certification of Eligibility and Code of Ethics (Item 1170) and the Certification of Eligibility and Originality (Item 1183). Talking of documentation, I have experienced the two extremes of speech contest organisation. On the one hand all the up to date documentation was at hand, divided up nicely into two envelopes one for the chief Page | 1 Editor-In-Chief: District 71 Public Relations Manager Daniel Sandars daniel.pr_manager_d71@sandars.org.uk
