PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST
Department W

Superintendent:
   Leslie Vann
Assistant Superintendent:
   Steve Bradshaw

ELIGIBILITY
1. Refer to the General Rules for Wise County Youth Fair eligibility guidelines.

2. The Public Speaking contest is open to all 4-H, FFA and FCCLA members.

3. Contestant will be divided into three age categories. Age is determined as of August 31st of the previous calendar year.
     A) Juniors 3rd through 5th grade
     B) Intermediates 6th through 8th grade
     C) Seniors 9th through 12th grade

4. Previous winners may continue to compete in their same age division for as long as they are eligible by age for that particular division.

SUBJECT MATTER
1. Contestants are free to choose their subject matter as long as it relates to any agricultural topic, anything that can be connected to agriculture and its way of life, or anything relating to the Fair or subjects that can be found at the Fair.

2. Contestants must present speeches composed of original material. If other sources of information are used in preparing the speech, the contestant should give source credit in the speech.

3. Manuscripts must be submitted via email to ([email protected]) no later than 24 hours after the late entry deadline closes. The subject line of the email should read as follows, "Ag Public Speaking- Exhibitor Name." Contestants who fail to submit a copy of the Manuscript with Bibliography deadline are subject to a penalty against their Total Score or disqualification.
     A) Manuscript: The manuscript must be the result of the contestant's own effort and follow the AP A style.
     B) Bibliography: A complete and accurate bibliography or works cited used in writing the speech must be attached to the manuscript and also follow the AP A style.

TIME LIMIT
1. Each speech shall be a minimum of four (4) minutes and a maximum of eight (8) minutes in length. Speeches that are under four (4) minutes or over eight (8) minutes in length will be deducted one (1) point per ten seconds.

2. The judging committee will be allowed five (5) minutes to ask questions of the participants.

GENERAL INFORMATION
1.The judge’s pool shall consist of individuals from area businesses and individual from outside the county and should have knowledge on judging public speaking. Judges will be selected within the agricultural industry and/or education field and will have work experience or knowledge in said fields.
 
2. Dress should be business attire or official 4-H/FF A attire.

3. Contestants from each division will be drawn prior to contest by public speaking committee for speaking order. Based on number of entries, participants will be divided equally within age divisions as heats if needed.

4. Contestants will be permitted to use notes, but excessive reference to notes may result in point deductions by the judges.

5. No props, or visual aids, music, etc. will be permitted.

6. A designated timekeeper will record time used by each contestant, noting under time and overtime.

7. Each judge will be allowed to ask questions which must pertain to the contestant's speech. Each contestant will be judged on his or her ability to answer the questions.

8. Buckles will be awarded to the top one (1) Junior, top one (1) Intermediate, and top one (1) Senior Public Speaking contestants.

9. You may request a copy of your scorecard. These copies will be available two (2) weeks after the Fair and upon a written request to the Extension.

10. ENTRY DEADLINE: Follow Wise County Youth Fair Entry Guidelines.

11. Contest will be held Monday of the Youth Fair at the Decatur Church of Christ. Contestants should arrive at 9:30 am. This competition will be held 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.

12. The Top 2 participants from each division and/or heat will advance to the finals to compete for Overall Division winner. Finalists will be announced thirty minutes after the completion of the preliminary heats. Finals shall begin no earlier that 1 pm. (Actual time to be announced following completion of preliminary round.)
  
13. For information on Protests please see the General Rules.

14. This contest is used as a stepping stone to encourage Wise County youth to compete in 4-H, FFA, FCCLA and major show ag public speaking contests where scholarships are awarded.

CLASSES:
1.  Public Speaking—Junior
2.  Public Speaking—Intermediate 
3.  Public Speaking—Senior   


EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING
The purpose of this event is to develop the ability of all FFA and 4-H members to express themselves on a given subject without having to prepare or rehearse its content in advance.  

1. The first competitor will have their reference material screened ten minutes prior to reporting to the holding room.

2. The first selection of topics shall be held thirty minutes before the event. The contestant will draw three specific topics relating to the industry of agriculture and will select one. After the first contestant selects a topic, all three topics will be returned to the original group of topic areas. The next contestant will then draw three topics and then select a topic. This process continues for each contestant. Each contestant shall have 30 minutes of preparation time prior to their performance.

3. Twelve topics shall be prepared by the superintendent of the event and will include three each from the following categories: (a) agriscience and technology, (b) agri-marketing, and international agricultural relations, (c) food and fiber systems and (d) urban agriculture. They will be typed on cards. There shall be twelve different topics for the preliminary and final heats prepared by the superintendent.

4. When not preparing or performing, contestants will remain sequestered in a holding area until after they perform. Contestants will participate according to the rotation established by state rules. The first contestant will be admitted to the preparation room 30 minutes prior to the event and subsequent contestants at 15-minute intervals. 

5. All reference material must be provided for screening by officials 30 minutes prior to the start of the contest and will be held until the last speaker has spoken. Contestants may choose to use either print (a-b) or electronic sources (c-h) and may not use both. All material, whether print or electronic, will be screened by the officials in charge of the event on the following basis:
    a. Allowed printed material may include books or magazines (cannot be notes or speeches prepared by the students or notes prepared by another person for use for this event.) Materials from industry or academic websites may be used. Authorship of the printed internet material may be subject to verification by the superintendent. URL, copyright, or official website header.       
    b. Shall be limited to five items. To be counted as one item, a notebook or folder of collected items containing NO more than 100 pages (page size should not exceed a typical page of books and manuscripts which is 8 ½” x 11” and should be one-sided only); books, newspapers, and magazines are acceptable under the discretion of the Extemporaneous Speaking Superintendent. All five items may consist of separate notebooks. A typed table of contents or tabs may be utilized but shall be counted as a part of the 100-page limit.
    c. Electronic files shall be limited to those contained on a maximum 4GB USB flash drive, subject to inspection. All files must be saved in PDF format with URL content shown. There shall be no modification to sources. Each document shall be a single, complete source in and of itself. Indexing is allowed. Other formats such as Word, WordPad etc. will result in automatic disqualification. Contestants cannot use computers to prepare speeches. They can use computers to search and read files stored on flash drive but cannot write or organize thoughts on computers.
    d. Students shall not access audio, video, or other multimedia files during the contest. Devices must be muted in the preparation room during the contest. Contestants shall not play games or engage in other distracting activities on their electronic devices. Officials may ask a contestant to power off the device if it becomes distracting.
    e. All computer connectivity to outside sources and wireless capability shall be disabled. For example: no internet, no instant messaging (IM), no outside servers, no cell phone tethers, etc.
    f. Wired connections (Ethernet or phone) during the contest are not permitted. Tablets and iPads are acceptable but must have a USB port for flash drive use.
    g. Computers shall be turned on with files open for inspection by contest officials at any time. No other applications shall be viewable. Contestants must present content at the request of officials.
    h. Contestants electing to use computers are responsible for providing their own computers and batteries, and cords. Contestants who choose to use laptop computers accept the risk of equipment failure. Should equipment failure occur, no special considerations or accommodations, including additional preparation time or speech time will be given. Contestants accept full responsibility for the safety and security of their electronic retrieval devices throughout the entirety of the contest.
    i. Cell phones, smart phones, and gaming devices are not allowed during the contest.

6. Each speech shall be the result of the contestant’s own effort using approved reference material which the contestant may bring to the preparation room. No other assistance may be provided. The event superintendent shall provide all note cards used by contestants if contestants choose to use notecards, 3x5 and 4x6 note cards will be provided by the event superintendent for contestants to use. Any notes for speaking must be made during the 30-minute preparation period.
7. Each speech shall be no less than four (4) nor more than six (6) minutes with five (5) minutes additional time allowed for related questions, which shall be asked by the judges. A 30-second warning shall be provided via a timecard from the timekeeper or a judge for contestants in the Extemporaneous Speaking Development Event. Such a warning shall be provided when the contestant has 30 seconds remaining before going beyond the six-minute time allotment. Contestants will be penalized one point per second on each judge's score sheet for being over six minutes or under four minutes. Time commences when the contestant begins speaking. Contestants may use a wristwatch only to keep record of time.

CLASS:
4.  Extemporaneous Speaking