Diane Says: Get Trained, Get Ahead

Club Officer Training

We are now at the halfway stage of the summer training round. So far only 127 Club Officers are shown having received training. That is just under 11% of all club officers. If you have attended training, please check that your Division Director has entered your attendance on District Central.

As last year Club Officers from D91 will be credited if they attend training in D71 and vice vera. If you are a club officer holding the same role in both districts you will only need to attend one training session, if you hold distinct roles then you will have to attend the role specific training session in addition. Please ensure that the Division or Area Director managing the event is aware that you are a member of a club in a different district.

The D91 Club Officer dates are shown on the D91 Calendar https://d91toastmasters.org.uk/members/news/calendar/

Rulebook Changes

As you may have read or seen the Contest Rule Book for 2022/23 has been published in the last few weeks. The most prominent change is that the eligibility rule for the International Speech Contest has changed. The six speeches from the Competent Communicator manual eligibility criteria has been removed. To enter the International Speech Contest, you now need to have either a DTM (Legacy or Pathways) or a Level 1 and 2 Pathways certificate in any Path.

Chris Walker our Chief Judge and I estimate that estimate that approximately 300 members who were eligible to enter under the old system are no longer able to compete under the new rules. That is two members per club. I’d encourage Club Presidents and VPE’ s to check with any member they feel is no longer eligible and plan how they can gain their Pathways Levels 1 and 2 before the International Speech Contest season starts in January, which will allow them to compete. Chris will be running a webinar in early September highlighting the rule changes.

Speechcraft

This year we are encouraging clubs to run many more Speechcraft events than previous years. This years Speechcraft Co-ordinator Nikkita Parks will be running a session this Sunday at 7:00 pm. Nikkita will out outline how organising a Speechcraft course can help members gain their DTM, also how it helps boost a clubs community profile and how it can help clubs grow their membership numbers. Please register via the D91 Calendar.

VPE Drop-In Sessions

I’m delighted to announce that Mary Robson has agreed to host the first VPE drop-in session of the 2022/23 Toastmasters Year. The aim of these drop-ins to for an experienced VPE to answer any questions VPE’s may have about either Easyspeak, Basecamp or Club Central. It will also be a great opportunity to have answers to some of the questions raised on the Easyspeak WhatsApp group and other help forums.

Mary has been a Club VPE on multiple occasions and it is a great opportunity to lean from an experienced Toastmaster, who regularly offers advice on the Easyspeak WhatsApp channel and other forums. To register for this fabulous opportunity to learn from an expert please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIld-iurjIiGtEWYhNGjFkkGr4L2ZApIBAu

Youth Leadership

A note for your diary. In early September Janet Alkema this years Youth Leadership Program Coordinator will be running a Sunday evening webinar on the benefits to both the club, the organiser and to the school of running a registration link shared on the D91 calendar nearer the time.

Diane Richardson,
District 91 Programme Quality Director 2022/23