Contest season tips!
The Humorous Speech & Table Topics contest season is now in full swing. Winners at the club level will take part in Area contests whose winners will in turn represent their Areas at Division contests. Winners of the Division contests will then take part in the District final at the Ashford Conference in early May. All four District level finals will take place in Ashford, Table Topics, Humorous Speech, International Speech an Evalations.
While many clubs have already run their contests, some have not so here are some tips for you. Remember that all contest need the following functionaries in order to be valid:
– A minimum of five (5) anonymous voting judges
– One (1) tie-breaking judge appointed by the chief judge
– One (1) chief judge
– One (1) contest chair. You can also have one per contest
– Three (3) ballot counters
– Two (2) timekeepers
A club contest is an excellent way to showcase your club and for members to earn leadership experience, so don’t forget the following:
– Thoroughly brief all functionaries and contest chairs.
– Allow plenty of time for the judges and functionaries briefings.
– Remember to print all the necessary forms and documents beforehand.
– Plan ahead and delegate as needed.
– If in doubt about anything, please refer to the contest rulebook!
– Have fun and be energetic!
Pathways is 6 months old!
It is hard to believe that Pathways was rolled out in our District 6 months ago. Nearly half of our members are already on Pathways and as of today, your clubs submitted 36 Pathways educational awards, including some Level 2 ones! While Pathways is slowly becoming the new normal for our newest members, I understand that a lot of you (including myself!) are actually very unfamiliar with Pathways. With this in mind, the District will be laying out some webinars on the 14th and 18th October that all of you can attend.
Other Districts have also developed useful resources such as the Pathways Companion Guide and the Pathways Fast-start Guide. A lot of helpful videos crate by Mark Wiltshire are also available on London Public Speakers website.
I would like to encourage every club to make the most out of Pathways and to use the resources available to get to grip with it. Remember that only the President, VPE or Secretary are Basecamp managers, so one of these three leaders has to take the lead and be a Pathways pioneer!
Last Updated on 21st November 2020 by Susan Rayner