By Hans Thoma
Contest season is coming up sooner than you think! With that, let’s talk about who’s eligible to compete, so you can get ready.
Like last year, we will be conducting International Speech Contest and Speech Evaluation Contest in our district.
- The evaluation contest doesn’t have any particular eligibility requirement.
- However, the speech contest requires contestants to have completed Levels 1 and 2 of any Path, or the first 6 speeches of the old Competent Communicator manual (NOTE: A charter member of a club that was chartered in 2020 will be allowed to compete without having completed this requirement).
So please, get the word out now, so that your members have enough time to finish those requirements if they haven’t already.
Competing at the Club Level
The contest season begins with club-level contests in January. A contest is an excellent way to build enthusiasm and motivation among your members, so we encourage all clubs to conduct one.
But even if you don’t, you can nominate a member to advance to the Area contests in February. Members can even nominate themselves!
Your club’s executive team should start planning NOW regarding A) whether your club will hold a contest, and B) how to motivate members to compete and/or nominate themselves.
Advancing to Area Level
You may be asking, how many members of my club can advance to the Area Contest? Normally it’s just one, but if your Area has 4 or fewer clubs, you are allowed to send two members. Talk to your Area Director to find out for sure.
Also please note that if a member belongs to multiple clubs, they’re free to compete in each of those club contests, but they can only advance to one Area contest.
Any questions, let me know at hans302@outlook.com! And happy competing!
Hans Thoma
District 57 Chief Judge
