| Get eMail Updates! |
What better way to hone your speaking skills than to participate in a speech contest! Sure, you get some decent evaluations after speaking to your club, but when you practice and progress through the various levels of competition, you REALLY learn how to choose exactly the right words... exactly the right place for pauses... and you'll learn exactly what needs to be done to connect with an audience!
IMPORTANT NOTE: On June 17, 2006, the District 23 Executive Committee voted on a new speech contest schedule. Every Fall, we will have the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests. Every Spring, we will have the International Speech and Table Topics Contests. The Tall Tales Contest has been removed from the speech contest rotation.
As in previous years, participants will progress from Club level contests to Area level... to Division... to District. For the International Speech Contest (only), they will progress to Regional level.... and hopefully to International!
Looking for resources for your Club, Area, or Division contest? See below for everything you need... except for the contestants!
If you have something to share, please send it to the District 23 Webmaster for posting on this page.
|
||||||||||||
All contests require that contestants be a Toastmaster in good standing in a Toastmasters Club in good standing. (i.e. club dues must have been paid BEFORE the club-level speech contest.)
The International Speech Contest has an additional requirement that a Toastmaster must also have completed at least six manual speeches in the Communication and Leadership Program Manual (a.k.a. the "Basic Manual"). Only one exception may be made to International Contest's six-speech requirement: A charter member of a Club chartered since the previous July 1 is eligible to compete. The Club must be officially chartered prior to the Area contest.
Speech contest eligibility will be verified before each contest, for each contestants.
District level officers are ineligible for competition in any contest. See the current year's rulebook for a complete description of rules and eligibility criteria.
In Areas with FOUR or fewer clubs at the beginning of the Contest Season, clubs will be encouraged to send up to TWO participants each, per contest, to the Area-level competition.
In Areas with FIVE or more clubs at the beginning of the Contest Season, clubs will be allowed to send ONE participant each, per contest, to the Area-level competition.
In Divisions with FOUR or fewer Areas at the beginning of Contest Season, Areas will be encouraged to send up to TWO participants each, per contest, to the Division-level competition. (i.e. In Divisions A, B, and C, each Area will send first- and second-place winners to the Division contests.)
In Divisions with FIVE or more Areas at the beginning of Contest Season, Areas will be encouraged to send ONE participant each, per contest, to the Division-level competition. (i.e. In Division D, each Area will send only the first-place winners to the Division contests.)
All Divisions will have TWO representatives at the District contests.(i.e. each Division sends first- and second-place winners to District.)
Please note... Toastmasters International does not offer the judging forms and rulebooks for free. We are not permitted to publish these forms on the district website.
EACH CLUB receives a copy of the speech contest rules every year from World Headquarters (sent to the Club President on-record).
Any member or club officer can order the current contest judging forms, timers' reports, ballot counting forms, and rulebooks from the TOASTMASTERS CATALOG at a very reasonable cost.