PREPARATION
Once the date of the Area contest is known, choose a date for our Club contests and invite the Area Director to act as the Chief Judge. The VPE is usually the Contest Chairman but, if competing, can delegate that role to another member or the Area Director.
Promote our contests to all members through our Minutes, website and fliers to ensure all members have plenty of notice.
Perpetual trophies to be collected, medallions to be engraved, and Certificates of Participation to be printed.
Arrange for each contest:
* Contest Agenda
* 5 x Judges Guide and Ballots
* Speech Contest Time Record Sheets
* Counter’s Tally Sheets
* Certificates of Participation for each contestant
* the perpetual trophy and medallions for 1st, 2nd & 3rd
* gift for the Evaluation contest test speaker
* Speaker’s Certification of Eligibility and Originality and Speech Contestant Profile forms for the winners going on to the Area contest.
Arrange personnel for each contest:
* 5 voting judges (plus the Area Director can appoint a Tiebreaking judge)
* Contest MC
* 2 x Ballot Counters
* 2 x Timers, equipped with timing lights, coloured cards and stopwatch
* 2 x Sergeant-at-Arms for the Table Topics and Evaluation contests
* Evaluation contest test speaker
DURING THE CONTEST
The Area Director to briefly review the contest rules, advise the Timers of the contest timing, and conduct the draw for the speaking order, then hand control to the Contest MC.
The Table Topics contestants are to be escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms to a quiet room where they are unable to hear any speakers in the contest room. Each speaker is then escorted in speaking order to the contest room in the 1-minute silence between speakers. One Sergeant-at-Arms must always remain with the contestants in the quiet room. The contestants must not take mobile phones or other smart devices into the quiet room.
The Evaluation contestants are to be escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms to a quiet room where they are unable to hear any speakers in the contest. They then have five minutes to make notes using the Evaluation Contestants Notes sheet. Each speaker is then escorted in speaking order to the contest room in the 1-minute silence between speakers. One Sergeant-at-Arms must always remain with the contestants in the quiet room. The contestants must not take mobile phones or other smart devices into the quiet room.