Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest Handbook
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
RICHARD D. KING ANNUAL YOUTH SPEECH CONTEST
INTRODUCTION
We are pleased to provide this Handbook for your review and for use as a reference of procedures, timelines, and action plans necessary to make our annual District 5170 Youth Speech Contest successful.
The job that you have undertaken is a very important one. Our youth will have the benefit of working with our District and being introduced to Rotary – what the organization and individual Rotarians represent in community and worldwide service. It is through this type of speech program that we bring awareness and the knowledge of Rotary for future generations to share and to enhance.
If you have suggestions for improvement of the Handbook, or have questions, please feel free to contact the District Youth Speech Contest Chair (DYSCC).
Thank you for contributing your time and your talents to our Speech Contest.
NOTE: Please keep this Handbook in your Club’s Reference Library.
The only pages of information that will change on an annual basis are:
PAGE 8 CURRENT LISTING OF AREAS AND CLUBS IN DISTRICT 5170 TWO REGIONS
The names and number of Clubs.
PAGE 11 RULES OF COMPETITION “Theme for the Speech”
PAGE 14 SPEECH CONTEST TIMELINE/ACTION PLANS
PAGE 19 INSTRUCTIONS FOR JUDGES
Appendix pages are to be used as examples. They should be updated annually according to the annual speech theme, contest dates, and names of key contest coordinators.
PURPOSE
The Rotary Clubs of District 5170 sponsor the Richard D. King Annual Youth Speech Contest each year with three goals in mind for the Club Members and each Speech Contest Participant:
Ø To increase the personal knowledge and awareness of the importance of being able to speak effectively before a group.
Ø To increase public knowledge of what Rotary is and does throughout the world, especially among young people. Through this knowledge, we hope that they will learn, as we have in the past, ‘He profits most who serves best”.
Ø To increase participation in the contest and to provide all high school contestants an opportunity to win prizes as Top Public Speaker, or Runner-up, in District 5170.
The prizes are awarded with “no strings attached”. However, it is hoped that the award may be used to further the student’s education. Our goal as Rotarians is to recognize and to support these young people who are tomorrow’s leaders.
CHAIRPERSON’S RESPONSIBILITIES
(CLUB, AREA, REGIONAL AND DISTRICT LEVELS CONTESTS)
Initial Preparation for the Club and Area Contests
Ø Review all the information in the Speech Contest Handbook.
Ø Establish your award structure based on the perimeters listed in the Handbook. Optional participation awards are encouraged by the clubs and should be discussed with the DYSCC prior to publication. (See PRIZES-pages 9-10)
Ø Complete your timeline of contest dates. Forward this to the DYSCC. (See SPEECH CONTEST TIMELINE/ACTION PLANS p 14)
Ø Each Club is assessed. This amount will help defray the basic cost of the speech contest.
How to Obtain Contestants
Club Level
Start early. Contact the high schools in your area to encourage participation. At this time, brochures and contest rules should be distributed and the names of potential student participants acquired. (Note: See SPEECH CONTEST TIMELINE/ACTION PLANS p 14). Personally contact all school participants as an invitation to the contest and as a confirmation of the time and location of the contest. These are high school students. Make sure there is appropriate follow up on all decisions/discussions.
If you are unable to get students from your Area, contact either your Assistant District Governor (ADG) or DYSCC to assist in obtaining students from other Areas of the District.
Area Level, Regional Level and District Level
The Club Level contest should provide the participants for these levels. Make sure that there is adequate participation at the Club Level and follow up with the date, time and place of each of the subsequent speech contests. Encourage all first place winners to continue to the next level. NEVER ASSUME IT WILL HAPPEN. MAKE IT HAPPEN. FOLLOW-UP, FOLLOW-UP, FOLLOW-UP..
HOW TO ORGANIZE CONTEST JUDGING AND ROTARIAN MEMBER PARTICIPATION
Select three (3) Judges for your contest.
Send them the contest brochure, the Instructions for the Judges and the Judge’s Ballot. (See Appendix B and Appendix C)
Note: These judges may be Rotarians at the Club Level but not related to any of the contestants.
Examples of qualified judges are:
Speech Teachers Chamber of Commerce Members
English Teachers Marketing/Sales Presentation Managers
Public Officials ToastMasters
Select a Rotarian to serve as the Timer.
Provide him/her with a copy of the Instructions for Timer (See INSTRUCTION FOR TIMER - Appendix D). This individual should have a stopwatch and three time cards indicating the "4, 41/2, and 5) minute evaluation time constraints. (See TIMER'S REPORT -Appendix E)
Select two or three Rotarians to serve as Tellers.
Designate one of the tellers as "Head Teller" who will serve as a liaison to the judges, informing them of all organizational activities and collecting the judging ballots when the contestants have completed their speeches. (See INSTRUCTIONS FOR TELLERS -Appendix F)
Select a Greeter.
This Rotarian will greet and seat the students, coaches, judges, and all invited guests. Acquaint the Greeter with the names and addresses of the guests for post contest thank you notes. (See INSTRUCTIONS FOR GREETERS - Appendix A)
Create a "BIO" for each of the Contestants and Judges.
Complete a short biography on these individuals. This information will be presented by the Speech Chairperson to the contest attendees at the conclusion of the program. (See BIOGRAPHY CARD EXAMPLE -Appendix G)
HOW TO PREPARE AND CONDUCT THE SPEECH CONTEST
Prepare an outline on how you will conduct the program. (See GENERAL OUTLINE FOR CONDUCTING THE SPEECH CONTEST - Appendix H)
Coordinate activities the day of the contest.
PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES
Ø Make certain that all Rotarians assisting in the program are on time, understand their responsibilities, and are familiar with the activities of the day.
Ø Identify the person(s) who coordinate communication between the timer, judges, and tellers.
Ø Make certain that your PA system is working and that all necessary instructions, ballots, pencils, calculators, prizes/awards are available. Provide extra copies of the ballots/instructions for the judges.
ACTIVITIES AFTER THE CONTEST
Club Speech Contest Chair
Ø IMMEDIATELY following the program, write to the ADG and DYSCC the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the winner and runner-up.
Ø Plan to personally attend each upper level contest that your club contest winner will participate.
Ø Send “Thank You” (SAMPLE LETTERS, Appendix J1 – J3) letters to judges, timer, tellers and all Rotarians who assisted with the program.
Ø Send congratulations (SAMPLE LETTER, Appendix J4 – J5) to the club contest winner and runner-up. Include in the letter to the winner, the time, date and location of the next contest level. NOTE: If the winner is unable to compete at the next level, contact the runner-up and advise the ADG and DYSCC of the change.
Ø Prepare and send a press release to your local newspaper identifying the program and contest winner and runner-up. (See SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE – Appendix K)
Area Speech Contest Chair
Ø IMMEDIATELY following the program, write to the Regional Contest Chair, ADG and DYSCC the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the winner and runner-up. Advise the sponsoring club of the Area Contest of the winner and runner-up.
Ø Plan to personally attend each upper level contest that your Area contest winner qualifies to participate in the program.
Ø Send “Thank You” (See SAMPLE LETTERS, Appendix J2 - J3) letters to judges, timer, tellers and all Rotarians who assisted with the program.
Ø Send congratulations (See SAMPLE LETTERS, Appendix J4 – J5) to the Area contest winner and runner-up. Include in the letter to the winner, the time, date and location of the next contest level. NOTE: If the winner is unable to compete at the next level, contact the runner-up and advise the ADG and DYSCC of the change.
Ø Prepare and send a press release to your local newspaper identifying the program and contest winner and runner-up. (See SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE, Appendix K)
Regional Speech Contest Chair
Ø IMMEDIATELY following the program, write to the DYSCC the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the top two (2) winners and first runner-up. Advise the Sponsoring clubs that their students have won.
Ø Plan to personally attend the District Conference Speech Contest on Sunday Morning to support your Regional Contest winners.
Ø Send “Thank You” (See SAMPLE LETTER, Appendix J1-J3) letters to judges, timer, tellers and all Rotarians who assisted with the program.
Ø Send congratulations (See SAMPLE LETTER, Appendix J4-J5) to the Regional Contest winner and first runner-up. Include in the letter to the winners, the time, the date and the location of the next contest level. NOTE: If the winner is unable to compete at the next level, contact the runner-up and advise the DYSCC of the change.
Ø Prepare and send a press release to your local newspaper identifying the program and contest winner and runner-up. (See SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE – Appendix K)
ORGANIZATION AND LEVELS OF COMPETITION
Club Level
Each of the Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 5170 is eligible to hold a speech contest, drawing contestants from the high schools in the club's local area. At each club, one winner will be selected to participate at the Area Level Competition. The Club Level speech contests must be completed at least six (6) weeks prior to the final District Conference Contest. (See current year's SPEECH CONTEST TIMELINE/ACTION PLANS - Page 14)
Area Level
Within the District, clubs are grouped into ten "Areas", with four to seven clubs in each Area. Every Club Level winner will compete with the winners from the other clubs in that Area. Each winner from the Area Level will be selected as finalists to participate in the Regional Level Competition. The Area Level contests are to be completed at least four (4) weeks prior to the final District Conference Contest. (See current year's SPEECH CONTEST
TIMELINE/ACTION PLANS - Page 15)
NOTE: (See CURRENT LISTING OF AREAS AND CLUBS IN DISTRICT 5170 TWO REGIONS - Page 9)
Regional Level
The District sponsors two Regional Competitions, which will be held at least two weeks prior to the District Conference Contest. The two Regions consist of the Northeast Region (Areas 1 through 5) and the Southwest Region (Areas 6 through 10). The top two finalists from each Regional Competition will go on to the final competition at the District Conference Brunch.
District Level
The District Competition will be held at the District Conference Brunch. At that time, we will host the four contestants from the two Regional Level Competitions. Five judges will evaluate these speakers and the top two finalists will be awarded a First Prize of $ 1,000.00, a Second Prize of $ 500.00 and Third and Fourth Prizes of $250.00 each.
CURRENT LISTING OF AREAS AND CLUBS IN DISTRICT 5170 TWO REGIONS
NORTHEAST REGION
Area 1: Alameda, East Oakland, Oakland #3, Oakland Sunrise, and Piedmont/Montclair. Total of Five (5) clubs.
Area 2: Castro Valley, Hayward, Castro Valley Sunrise, Hayward Sunset,
San Leandro, and Hayward San Lorenzo. Total of six (6) clubs.
Area 3: Fremont, Fremont Sunrise, Fremont/Union City/Newark, Mission San Jose,
Newark, Niles/Fremont, and Warm Springs. Total of seven (7) clubs.
Area 4: Dublin, Livermore, Livermore Valley, Pleasanton, Pleasanton North, and
Tri-Valley. Total of six(6) clubs.
Area 5: Alviso, Milpitas, San Jose, San Jose East/Evergreen, San Jose Sunrise, and San Jose North. Total of six ( 6) clubs.
REGION TOTALS: Areas: Five (5) Clubs: Thirty-One(31)
SOUTHWEST REGION
Area 6: Gilroy, Gilroy South County Sunrise, Hollister, Morgan Hill, and San Juan Bautista. Total of five (5) clubs.
Area 7: Capitola/Aptos, Freedom, San Lorenzo Valley, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Sunrise, Scotts Valley, and Watsonville. Total of seven (7) clubs.
Area 8: Campbell/San Jose West, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Los Gatos Morning, and Saratoga. Total of five (5) clubs.
Area 9: Almaden Valley, Santa Clara, San Jose Willow Glen , Sunnyvale, and Sunnyvale Sunrise. Total of five (5) clubs.
Area 10: East Palo Alto Bayshore, Los Altos, Los Altos Sunset, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Palo Alto University. Total of six (6) clubs.
REGION TOTALS: Areas -Five (5) Clubs -Twenty-eight (28)
DISTRICT 5170: Regions - Two (2) Areas - Ten (10) Clubs -Fifty-Nine (59)
PRIZES
Throughout the District, there is a customary prize structure:
Level of Level of Prize
Contest Prize Amount
Club First $ 100.00
Second $ 50.00
Third $ 25.00
Area First $ 200.00
Second $ 100.00
Regional Top Two $ 250.00 (each)
District First $ 1,000.00
Second $ 500.00
Third and Fourth $ 250.00
The four finalists for the District Contest, with their parents/guardians, will be Rotary's guests for the night at the host hotel of the Conference as well as the Rotary District Conference Brunch.
COST FOR PRIZES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULES
Club Level Contest Prize
Ø The Club Level Prizes are to be paid for out of the host club's budget.
Ø The standard prize is $100.00 for the winner; Second Prize - $50.00; Third Prize - $25.00 . (See PRIZES – page 9)
Ø We strongly recommend that each club provide other awards for recognition of all Speech Contestants. Examples of other awards: gifts, plaques, or certificates. (See PARTICIPATION CERTIFICATE EXAMPLE -Appendix I)
Area Level Contest Prizes
Ø The prize is $200.00 for the First Place winner and $100.00 for the Second Place.
Ø Area Contest Chairperson must let the District Youth Speech Contest Chair know how many contestants were present at the Area Level Contest. After receipt of the names, the District Youth Speech Contest Chair shall provide the winners checks and meal checks to the Area Contest Host Clubs.
Regional Level Contest Prizes
Ø The top two (2) Regional Contest winners, from each of the two Regions, shall receive a cash prize of $250.00 each which will be paid from the District Contest Funds.