Information about the contest
PURPOSE OF THE CONTEST
To provide an opportunity for competitive public speaking among students on a subject of vital interest to the contestants and to the American people as a whole.
To stimulate self-expression and independent thinking.
To present to the public through the student speakers contests the problems surrounding the maintenance of this commonwealth as a free nation.
To consider the means at our disposal of meeting the present and future world problems.
TIME LIMITATIONS
Students entering the contest shall prepare a talk to be as close as possible to, but not over, ten minutes, nor less than five minutes delivery time.
STUDENT SPEAKERS TOPIC SUGGESTIONS
Anyone may submit topics for the succeeding year. The committee will gladly accept all suggestions. Topics may be submitted online at www.md4lions.org beginning July 1st of each year.
All proposed suggestions are considered by
the Student Speakers Committee and the District Chairpersons. Topics recommended by them are then submitted to the Council of Governors who make the final selection.
TOPIC
This year’s topic has been carefully selected. Entrants should be certain to speak on the topic since points are awarded for adhering to the subject title.
ENTRANTS
The contest is open to students who reside in MD4, including foreign exchange students, grades 9-12, of any high school or junior high school, charter school, private school, home school or independent study.
Contestants may have completed grade 12 prior to the termination of the fall semester of the academic year.
The presentation shall be given in the English language only. Phrases in a non-English language must be immediately followed by a direct English translation.
Winners of the previous MD4 Final Contests are not eligible. Eligible students shall be those of the above grades and under the age of twenty-one as of February 21, 2022.
Only one winner shall be certified to the next succeeding contest.
AWARDS
Awards must conform to the policy set by the Council of Governors of MD4. This provides for an orderly relationship in the amount of the award at the various contest levels.
The scholarship awards are to any accredited two or four year college or university or to any other school approved by the Lions 4th District Student Speakers Foundation, Inc.
The winners shall be allowed seven years from
the date of high school graduation to utilize their scholarships. The winner shall receive 33 1/3% upon enrollment and 33 1/3% at the beginning of each succeeding enrolled quarter. For the semester system, the winner shall receive 50% on enrollment and 50% at the beginning of the succeeding enrolled semester. Scholarship payments may be extended over a longer period of time if it meets the recipient’s needs.
If any winners do not utilize any portion of the scholarship within the seven year period, the money shall revert to the Lions 4th District Student Speakers Foundation, Inc.
A certificate of scholarship provided by the Lions 4th District Student Speakers Foundation, Inc., shall be presented to the winning speakers of the District, Area and MD4 Final Contest.
The high school of the student winning the MD4 Final Contest shall receive an appropriate plaque provided by the Foundation.
Awards furnished at the Club, Zone, Region, District, Area and Final Contest shall be restricted to those approved by the Council of Governors of MD4.
CLUB CONTESTS
The President of each participating Lions Club shall appoint an experienced Lion of the Club as the Club Contest Chairperson.
Clubs on status quo or not in good standing by the date of the Club Contest shall NOT sponsor or participate in the Speakers Contest.
It shall be the duty of the Chairperson to contact all eligible schools and Leo Clubs, other organizations and individuals in the community early enough to allow ample time for student preparation prior to the Club Contest.
An appointment should be made with school representatives to discuss the details of the contest.
Handbooks should be given to the coaches and teachers. If additional copies are needed, PDFs of the handbook are also available online at http://www. md4lions.org/student-speakers-contest.
PDFs of the posters are available online for members to print and they should be displayed in a prominent location.
The Chairperson and student participants should stay in contact with the school representatives to check on the progress of the Contest.
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Where MORE THAN ONE such school exists in a community, speakers from such schools shall compete for first place in a contest sponsored by a Lions Club in the community.
No Lions Club may hold more than one Club Contest in any given year. The winning speaker will represent the Club in the Zone Contest.
If a question arises as to the sponsorship of various schools by neighboring Lions Clubs, the District Student Speaker Chairpersons, with consent of the District Governors, shall allocate the sponsorship.
Well in advance, a date for the actual Club Contest
must be set by December 31st.
The size of the room should be adequate for the anticipated audience. The room must be capable of being closed during the Contest. The room should be reasonably quiet when closed.
If a meal will be served at the Contest, arrangements should be made to pay for contestants, coaches, judges and other guests at the Clubs discretion. If no meal is served, water must be provided for the Student Speakers.
No student shall participate in more than one Club Contest during the Contest year. If only one student is a contestant at any Contest level, the Contest still needs to be conducted.
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CONTEST DATES
1. Each contest must be held separately and completed by the following dates regardless of the number of contestants competing.
If only one (1) student is a contestant at any contest level, the contest still needs to be conducted.
Club Contest
Zone Contest
Region Contest
Area Contest on or before Monday, May 23, 2022
MD4 Final Contest at the Joint Council of Governors meeting, Saturday, June 11, 2022 Holiday Inn San José - Silicon Valley
District Contest
on or before Monday, February 21, 2022
on or before Monday, March 21, 2022
on or before Monday, April 11, 2022
on or before Monday, May 02 2022 (Note: April 29-May 1, 2022- CHSSA)
Zone, Region, District, Area and MD4 Final contest dates must be set and announced no later than the Club level contest.
Failure to complete the contest by the required dates shall disqualify the winners from further competition that year.
The Zone Chairpersons, Region Chairpersons, District Student Speakers Chairpersons, Area Chairpersons, and final Chairperson shall be responsible for their respective contests and for the selection of qualified judges. Where a Governor chooses not to appoint Region Chairpersons for their year, the Region level contests will be conducted by Lions appointed by the Governor for that specific purpose. Zone contests cannot be combined with other Zone contests.
Each of the Zone, Region, District and Area Chairpersons, by entering representatives in further competition, will be affirming that these candidates completed their preliminary contests no later than the dates set forth.
No contest dates or time once announced shall be changed unless all contestants are given a minimum of one week notice.
NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS
Club, Zone, Region, District and Area level Chairpersons should fill out the required information about their contest winner on the form provided and mail or e-mail to the next level Chairperson upon completion of the contest.
Zone, Region, District Area and Final Chairpersons shall give information about their own contest to their prior level Chairperson two weeks before the prior level contests take place. This can be done by filling out and mailing/e- mailing a form letter which will be given to the winner of the prior level contest by that Chairperson. In addition, once the Tellers’ worksheet is received listing the winner, a photocopy of the form letter must be provided to the contest winner. Please cc the MD4 office.
AREA LEVEL CONTEST
All Area Contestants must hand deliver a printed signed hard copy manuscript with all references cited, to include the contestant’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, the name of the sponsoring Lions Club and address, the Club’s President’s name and phone number, and the High School’s name and address to the Area Chairperson at the time the speaking order is selected.
The Area Contest Chairperson submits the winner’s manuscript and all other info to the next level and to the MD4 Office. The MD4 Student Speakers Committee Members of the respective Area will be the presiding Chairperson of the that Area contest. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the selection of qualified judges.
These contests must be completed by the required dates. At the conclusion of the Area Contests there will be four speakers eligible to enter the MD4 contest.
The following Districts will constitute Areas:
Area 1 District 4-C1 District 4-C5 District 4-A1
Area 2 District 4-C2 District 4-C3 District 4-C4 District 4-C6
Area 3 District 4-A2 District 4-A3 District 4-L1 District 4-L3
Area 4 District 4-L2 District 4-L4 District 4-L5 District 4-L6
MULTIPLE DISTRICT FOUR FINAL CONTEST
The 2021-2022 MD4 Final Contest will be held on Saturday at The Holiday Inn San José Silicon Valley June 11, 2022. Each year the location rotates between Areas with the Joint Council of Governors meeting. The winning speakers at each of the Area Contests of California shall be entitled to appear at the Final Contest if all rules have been complied with.
Area winners will receive travel, hotel and meal expenses for the MD4 Final Contest. Travel will be based upon mileage by the most direct route and reimbursed at fifty cents (.50) per mile round trip mileage or airfare, which ever is less. The maximum allowed for one night’s lodging at a hotel will be up to seventy-five dollars ($75.00), and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per meal up to 2 per day all with itemized receipts. It will be the responsibility of the MD4 Area Chairperson to advise the student of the date and place of the Final Contest. Paid receipts shall be submitted to the MD4 office within thirty (30) days following the contest. MD4 positively will not pay any of the expenses of relatives, chaperones or coaches of the contestants.
The Final Contest will be recorded by a videographer authorized by the MD4 Student Speakers Committee.
MEETING AGENDA
Call to Order: start on time — This is the official start of the Contest.
Pledge of Allegiance: song and invocation or other desired opening ceremonies, by the Chairperson.
Draw of Speaker Order
Introductory Remarks: Brief outline of the objects and history of the contest. Announce the subject title of the current contest. State the purpose of the contest:
To provide an opportunity for competitive public speaking among students on a subject of vital interest to the contestants and to the American people as a whole.
To stimulate self-expression and independent thinking.
To present to the public through the Student Speakers Contest the problems surrounding the maintenance of this country as a free nation.
To consider the means at our disposal of meeting the present and future world problems.
CONTEST RULES - MUST BE READ AS PRINTED
A late contestant shall not compete if arrival time is after the draw of the speaker order for that contest.
No one may enter or leave the room while a contestant is speaking. (Call upon Guards to man the doors.) Entry or departure to the room can be made during the intermissions.
No smoking, food or beverages are allowed during the contest, except beverages during intermissions, with the exception, the speakers may drink water during their speech.
Do not applaud the speakers until after the judges’ worksheets have been collected.
Each speaker will speak for no less than five minutes and no more than ten minutes or penalty/scoring deductions will be applied; no warning signals shall be given.
There will be a quiet three-minute intermission between and after speakers, and as much time as needed after the final speaker, to allow judges to complete scoring. There shall be no conferring with judges during the contest.
No photography, video or audio taping will be allowed during the contest. Only an MD4 video representative will be authorized to record the FINAL CONTEST.
All noise-emitting electronic devices such as phones, etc. must be turned off until the contest is completed.
Any protest relative to the contest must be made to the Chairperson before the winner is announced.
The contest Chairperson shall review and verify the Tellers’ worksheets before announcing the results.
THE FOLLOWING ARE CAUSES FOR
DISQUALIFICATION - MUST BE READ AS PRINTED
Use or display of props of any nature.
Uniforms or any method of personal identification, including saying name and school.
Failure to give reference source of quoted material in manuscript submitted at Area level.
Use of notes above Club level in excess of one 3x5 card both sides, or the Braille equivalent. Note: Use of any and all notes at the Club level is acceptable.
Use of prompters.
Publication of speech, except for very brief quotations, in print or electronic media (i.e. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) prior to completion of the Final Contest.
Acceptance of awards other than those approved by the Council of Governors of MD4.
Participation in more than one Lions Club Contest during the contest year.
Watches or electronic devices of any kind shall not be worn or used by the contestants during the Contest.
Violation of these rules must result in disqualification of the speaker by the Chairperson, whose decision shall be final. Any protest relative to the contest must be made to the Chairperson before the winner is announced.
Call speakers only by number in order. Remind audience to not applaud individual speakers during Contest. If only one speaker is present, he/she must still speak and be judged.
Introduce speakers and judges only after the Tellers have collected all worksheets and have retired from the room.
Announce the winner first and present the award. Announce the date, time and place of the next contest.
Publicize the Lions Fourth District Student Speakers Foundation, Inc.
Close the Meeting this is the official end of the Contest. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
The student speakers must draw numbers to determine the order of speaking. Also, the Chairperson should obtain the names, schools, sponsoring Lions Clubs, coaches, etc. for each speaker to use in his/her introductions to be made after the contest.
Contestants and judges must not be introduced by name until after the Contest is completed and the judge’s Worksheets have been collected. Contestants should be designated by numbers indicating the order of speaking only.
Microphones and speaker’s stand should be available for use at option of the speaker.
Clocks in the contest rooms must be removed or covered.
Watches shall not be worn or used by the contestants during the contest.
Judges and contestants shall not engage in conversation prior to the contest.
Worksheets from the contest shall be kept confidential.
No penalty shall be assessed in the event the competitor does not address the chair, or give the topic title.
Students must present speeches in person at all levels. 15
JUDGING SCHOOL CONTESTS
1. One or more members of the school faculty may determine the winners of all school elimination contests.
ALL LIONS CONTESTS
At the Club, Zone and Region level, it is required that at least three qualified individuals who are not Lions, and have had speech training or experience in public speaking, should be selected as judges by the Chairperson of the respective contests.
It is recommended that judges for a given contest, if possible, be from different professions or fields of endeavor and represent each geographical location involved.
At the District, Area and Final Contest, five (5) judges should be used.
The Chairperson or his/her designee of each contest, will meet with all judges to explain rules and scoring procedures prior to the contest.
At least one alternate judge should be selected and available in all contests.
When there are five or more speakers (three (3) speakers are recommended for Club Contests, but shall be limited to no more than six (6)), and in the District, Area and Final Contest, it is recommended that a committee of five (5) judges should be selected.
NO LION, LIONESS, LEO, SPOUSE, PARTNER OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER of any living Lion within MD4 shall be permitted to judge at any level.
NO member of any competing high school faculty shall be selected as a judge.
NO person shall judge the same contestant in any Lions student speakers contest more than once during the same contest year.
If a student who wins a District Contest forfeits attending any contests above that level, for any unexcused reason (except family emergencies, illness, etc.) they CANNOT participate in the following year’s Student Speakers Contest. Extreme care should be exercised in judge selection to avoid a judge and contestant knowing each other.
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11. The judges should not sit together or with Contestants, or confer with anyone during or after the speeches before submitting their worksheets to the Tellers.
12. Allscoringbythejudgesshouldbewholenumbers - not fractions.
13. NO two students shall receive the same score on any judges’ sheet.
14. No judge can discuss scores with the speakers.
SPEECH EVALUATION STANDARDS
The judges will have in mind the following factors as they listen to each of the speeches. Points indicated are maximum scores.
THE TEXT ALONE (Thought content)
Did the speaker present important ideas?Originality.......................................................10 points
The speech adhered to the subject title....................................................................10 points
Main points were supported by evidence..........................................................10 points
Conclusion was clearly presented.........10 points
DELIVERY ALONE
Did the speaker give a formal public speech?
Emphasis, voice control.............................10 points
Enunciation, pronunciation. .................... 10 points
Sincerity, enthusiasm, poise.....................10 points
OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EFFORT.
Was the speech a well-rounded, cohesive
effort?...............................................................10 points
Was it logical and organized?..................10 points
Was the speaker persuasive?...................10 points