Competitions
Competitions are an exciting way for members to develop their speaking skills and showcase their talent. They take place at four levels: club, area, regional, and national. Winners from each level progress to the next round, culminating in the prestigious national competition. Whether you’re competing or supporting others, these events offer a fantastic opportunity to learn, grow, and celebrate great speaking.
Taking Part
Taking part in ASC competitions isn’t just about competing—it’s also about supporting and contributing to the experience. As a member, you can enter the competition and progress through the levels, from club to national. However, there are many other ways to get involved!
You can support fellow club members as they advance through the competition, cheer on speakers from your area and region, and even attend the national finals to show your encouragement. Additionally, you can volunteer for important roles such as timekeeper, judge, usher, target speaker for the evaluation competition, or chairman to run the event.
Every role plays a vital part in making the competitions a success, and your involvement—whether as a competitor, supporter, or volunteer—helps strengthen the ASC speaking community.
Running a Competition
Organising an area-level competition involves careful planning and coordination to ensure everything runs smoothly. From securing a venue to assigning volunteers and organising materials, each detail plays a critical role in creating a successful event. Below is a checklist of key elements that need to be addressed before your competition takes place, helping to ensure that both participants and attendees have a memorable and well-organised experience.
Pre-Event Organisation Checklist for Area-Level Competitions
Choose Event Space and Location
Select a suitable venue with enough seating for participants, judges, and attendees.
Ensure the room is equipped for any technical needs (e.g. microphones, projectors).
Consider accessibility for all attendees.
Refreshments
Decide if refreshments will be offered (tea, coffee, snacks, etc.).
Determine how they will be paid for—consider covering costs through entry fees, sponsorships, or a donation system.
Optionally, a grand prize raffle could be organised to help fund refreshments or other organisation-related expenses, such as website costs.
Volunteers for Roles
Ensure all necessary roles are filled:
Judges – Ensure diverse and capable judges for each competition.
Chief Judge – The person responsible for overseeing the event and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
Timekeepers – One for each competition, who will be in charge of tracking time and managing penalties.
Usher – Helps manage the flow of contestants and attendees.
Assistant Chief Judge (Optional, as requested by the Chief Judge) – Collects judges’ paperwork and ensures all ties are addressed.
It’s essential to have volunteers available to manage the event’s operations.
Event Materials and Documentation
Print agendas for attendees, judges, and volunteers to keep everyone on track.
Ensure all contestants have a clear understanding of the rules and expectations.
Organise contestant forms, score sheets, and judging paperwork for the judges and chief judge.
Consider having a judge’s table placed at the back of the room, so judges can have a clear view of the speakers and easily organise their paperwork.
Competition Specifics
Assign different chairs, chief judges, judges, timekeepers, and ushers for each competition, if possible. If volunteers are in short supply, doubling up of roles may be required.
Ensure there are enough chairs for the audience and the right seating arrangements for the speakers and judges.
Additional Considerations
If your area is running an Annual General Meeting (AGM), it is typically scheduled alongside the area competition. Make sure there’s time for the AGM and it is planned in advance, with necessary paperwork and reports ready.
Competition Roles
Competitions aren’t just about the contestants—there’s a whole team working behind the scenes to make each event a success! Whether you want to compete, support fellow speakers, or take on an important role in running the contest, there’s a way for everyone to get involved.
Contest Chair – The Leader of the Event
As Contest Chair, you’re the driving force behind the competition! You set the stage, explain the process, and keep everything running smoothly. From drawing the speaking order to guiding the audience on when to cheer (and when to stay silent for the judges), you ensure the contest is fair, organised, and engaging.
Contestant – The Star of the Show
Whether you're a seasoned speaker or stepping outside your comfort zone for the first time, this is your chance to grow. As a contestant, you’ll prepare and deliver your speech, putting your skills to the test in a supportive and encouraging environment. It’s not just about winning—it’s about pushing yourself, building confidence, and learning from the experience. Every great speaker starts somewhere, and this could be your moment!
Chief Judge – The Final Decision Maker
The Chief Judge is the backbone of a fair competition. You’ll lead the judging team, ensure everyone understands the scoring criteria, and collect the rankings. Once the marks are in, you’ll determine the final results and help present the awards.
Judge – The Critical Eye
Judges play a key role in deciding the winner! You’ll assess each speech based on set criteria, rank the contestants fairly, and contribute to discussions on the contest’s outcome. A keen eye for detail and a commitment to fairness make for a great judge.
Timekeeper – The Rule Enforcer
In competitions, every second counts! As Timekeeper, you’ll ensure speakers stay within their allotted time, control the lighting system, and report any penalties. Your role is crucial in keeping the contest fair and on track.
Usher – The Backstage Coordinator
Ushers are the unsung heroes of a smooth-running competition! You’ll support contestants before they step on stage, make sure they know their speaking order, and guide them to the performance area at just the right moment.
Target Speaker – The Challenge Setter
In the Evaluation Contest, the Target Speaker plays a crucial role by delivering a speech for contestants to evaluate. This is a unique opportunity to receive insightful feedback from multiple speakers while helping them sharpen their evaluation skills. If you enjoy sharing your ideas and seeing how others interpret and analyze your speech, this is the perfect role for you! Plus, you might even receive a small token of appreciation for your contribution.
Assistant Chief Judge – The Backbone of the Event
The Assistant Chief Judge is an optional, flexible role offered at the discretion of the Chief Judge, particularly in time-sensitive competitions. You'll help collect judges' paperwork, tally scores, and highlight any ties for the Chief Judge to address before the winner is announced. This role ensures the event runs smoothly and allows the Chief Judge to focus on the results. It’s a great opportunity to contribute and keep the competition on track!
Chairing a Competition
Thinking about chairing a competition? This section provides chairing notes that contain everything you need to confidently run a Topics, Evaluation, or Speech competition. These notes outline the full process, including the official rules and scripts that must be read out during the event.
While these notes are based on the regional competition, they should be used at all levels within the ASC, from club to national. If you’d like to add a personal touch to your chairing style, experienced members of the ASC are always happy to offer advice and guidance.
The chairing notes are correct as of April 2025, so be sure to check for any updates before your competition.
Topics Competition
Topics Contest Notes
Notes coming soon.
Evaluation Competition
Evaluation Contest Notes
Notes coming soon.
Speech Competition
Speech Contest Notes
Before the speech contest starts make sure you know the names of everyone who is speaking and make a note of their speech titles. You will need these when introducing the competitor.
Why do we have a speech contest?
- Raise standards, make us all better
- Encourage healthy competition.
- Challenge ourselves and build our skills, abilities and confidence.
- Entertainment, inspiration, and fun!
Throughout the contest today there will be lots of opportunity to show support and encouragement. Let’s practice that now. Let’s hear some:
- Cheers!
- Applause!
- Whoops!
- Laughter!
Our judges today are going to be looking at three elements in the evaluations:
- Presentation (40%)
- Content (30%)
- Impressions (30%)
If you have a copy of the judging sheet, you can see how the judges will be apportioning scores across these three areas.
- Contestants should be aiming for originality of ideas and material of a high quality.
No plagiarism of content or delivery is allowed. - They should ensure that their speeches are not substantially narrative – although a small proportion of anecdotal or narrative material is permissible if it seen to enhance the speech.
- Contestants must deliver three different speeches in the Area, District and National Finals.
- The Speech for the National Final Contest must not have been previously used in a contest leading to any National Final.
My first task today is to introduce those taking on a role in the contest:
Judges:
- TBC (South)
- TBC (London)
- TBC (Kent)
- TBC (East)
Contestants:
- TBC (South)
- TBC (South)
- TBC (London)
- TBC (London)
- TBC (Kent)
- TBC (Kent)
- TBC (East)
- TBC (East)
Let’s give them all a big round of applause!
The format of the contest
- Pre-determined order of speaking.
- Contestants can wait in the room next door until they are called or can stay in the main room and watch the other speeches.
- Competition speeches should be 6 – 8 minutes long to avoid penalty points.
- There are penalty points for deviation under 6 minutes or over 8 minutes.
Handover to Timekeepers for a demonstration of the lights:
Timing the speeches:
- 5 min – Green light on
- 6 min – Amber on, Green off
- 7 min – Red on, Amber off
- 8 min – Red off
Timing should continue until the Speaker has finished speaking and the total time taken should be recorded in order to calculate any penalty points.
The speaker must therefore finish speaking while the amber or red light is showing.
PENALTY POINTS For deviation under 6 minutes or over 8 minutes:
- Up to 5 seconds 10 penalty points
- 6 – 10 seconds 20 penalty points
- 11 or more seconds 30 penalty point
Now we need to work out our order of speaking. Could all the contestants come to the front please?
A quick reminder that the salutation this evening is:
- “Chair, Speakers and Guests.”
- Please note that speakers must begin their speech with the salutation only—not with ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’. Starting with anything other than the salutation will result in penalty points. This ensures all contestants have equal time to deliver their speech without adding extra content before the salutation.”
Any questions? Are we all ready?
- Judges?
- Timekeeper?
- Contestants?
Please welcome our first contestant today.
- With their speech entitled ___________________
- Please welcome _______________
Repeat the following for all contestants:
- Introduce each contestant in turn.
- Thank each contestant.
- Ask for the times for each speech.
- Give judges a moment and wait for their nod / signal before introducing the next contestant.
Before we close, a quick note on next steps
Club Competition: Only the winner advances to the area competition. If the winner is unable to attend, the runner-up will take their place.
The Area competition will take place on [Date] at [Location].Area Competition: The top two contestants (1st and 2nd place) progress to the regional competition. If either is unable to attend, the 3rd place contestant will be invited to take their place.
The Regional competition will take place on [Date] at [Location].Regional Competition: Only the winner advances to the national competition. If the winner cannot attend, the runner-up will take their place.
The National competition will take place on [Date] at [Location].
(As the Chair, it is your responsibility to actively seek out the details of the next level of competition (including dates, locations, and any other important information) and ensure contestants are fully informed. If you’re unable to obtain the information directly, please defer to the competition chair for the most up-to-date details. It is important that all contestants know the next steps in their journey.)
Thank you so much for your fantastic speeches this evening and thank you again to our Judges and Timekeeper.
I hand you back to our Competition Chair!
Judging a Competition
Being a competition judge within the ASC is a vital role that upholds the integrity and fairness of our contests. Unlike speech evaluation, judging is about comparing performances and measuring them against clearly defined criteria found on the official marking sheets.
Good judging starts with preparation. Judges should thoroughly review the competition rules and marking guidelines well in advance of contest day. On the day itself, honesty, focus, and efficiency are key. Judges are expected to:
Score based on performance, not personal preference.
Begin assessing during the first third of a speech while continuing to listen carefully throughout.
Assign initial marks in the mid-range (50–75%) to leave room for flexibility.
Avoid over-note taking—mark decisively, not exhaustively.
Trust their own judgement, not speculate on how others may score.
Above all, remember that your role as a judge contributes directly to the credibility and success of the competition.
Competition Marking Sheets
To ensure every competition runs smoothly and fairly, we’ve provided essential forms for judges, timekeepers, and the Chief Judge. These sheets help guide the evaluation process and keep everything on track, from scoring speeches and evaluations to timing each contestant’s performance.
Below, you’ll find downloadable forms for the Speech, Evaluation, and Topics Marking Sheets, as well as the Chief Judge’s Tally Sheet and Timekeeper’s Record Sheet. Each one is designed to support you in your role, ensuring a smooth and efficient competition at every level.
These forms are correct as of April 2025. Simply click the relevant button to download the form you need.
Where great feedback meets great judging! This sheet helps assess how well contestants analyse and evaluate a speech.
Quick thinking, clear structure, and audience engagement—this sheet helps judges score spontaneous speeches.
The judges’ guide to scoring powerful speeches—assessing content, delivery, and overall impact.
The master scorecard! The Chief Judge uses this to compile results and determine the winners.
Every second counts! This sheet helps track speech times and ensure fair competition.
Competition Rules
The rules and guidelines for ASC competitions ensure that all contests run fairly, smoothly, and consistently across all levels. This section outlines key requirements for speech, evaluation, and topics contests, including eligibility, timing, judging, and penalties. It also highlights the roles of contest officials, such as the Chair, Timekeepers, and Judges, and the necessary procedures to follow. While this summary provides an essential overview, we encourage you to review the full, official rules on the national website for complete details. Following these guidelines ensures a professional and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Rules and Guidance for All ASC Contests
To ensure fairness and consistency across all levels of ASC competitions, here’s a high-level summary of the essential rules that every contestant, chair, judge, and timekeeper should follow. This summary covers the key requirements, but for the full and detailed rules, please refer to the official ASC competition rules.
Eligibility: Contestants must be paid-up members of an ASC club, with all Capitation fees paid by 31st January in the relevant year. Members can only compete from one club and may not re-enter a National Final after placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.
Contest Structure: Competitions are held at multiple levels—club, area, regional, and national. Each contest is organised to select winners who will progress to the next level.
Chair Responsibilities: The Chair ensures a smooth contest, announces the order of speaking, and calls for a 30-second silence after each speech for the judges to complete their marks.
Timekeeping: Time limits are enforced with visible indicators (green, amber, red lights or audible signals) for each contestant. Timekeepers also record any penalty points for late speeches.
Judging: Judges mark contestants based on specific criteria and provide rankings. In the event of a tie, the Chief Judge’s marks are considered, with additional judges’ input if necessary.
Contestant Preparation: All contestants must be ready to speak at their assigned time and adhere to the contest rules. Contestants should also be familiar with the time indicators and any equipment provided.
These are the key rules for ASC competitions. For a more detailed breakdown, please refer to the official ASC competition rules, which can be found on the national website here.
Note: This summary is for convenience and should not be considered a substitute for the full rules. Please review the complete rules to ensure full understanding.
Last Updated: April 2025
Rules and Guidance for Speech Contests
For those looking to participate in the ASC Speech Contest, it’s important to be aware of the key guidelines that ensure a fair and well-structured competition. Here’s a summary of the key rules:
Time Limit: Competition speeches must be between 6 to 8 minutes in length to avoid penalty points. Contestants should aim to finish speaking while the amber or red light is showing.
Roles Required:
Contest Chair: Ensures that all participants (contestants, timekeepers, ushers, and judges) are prepared and ready for the competition.
Usher: Helps the contestant prepare before they take the stage, including setting up audio equipment.
Speech Content:
Contestants should demonstrate a full range of speaking skills as outlined in the Become a Better Speaker section of The Speakers Guide.
The speech should be original in ideas and material—no plagiarism is allowed.
While a small amount of anecdotal or narrative material is acceptable, the speech should not be predominantly narrative.
Speech Variations: Contestants must present three different speeches at each level (Area, Regional, and National Finals). The speech presented at the National Final must not have been used in previous rounds leading to a National Final.
For the full competition rules and further guidance, please refer to the official ASC Speech Contest Rules on the national website here.
Note: This summary is for convenience and may not cover every detail in the official rules. Be sure to check the full guidelines to ensure compliance.
Last Updated: April 2025
Rules and Guidance for Evaluation Contests
For those taking part in the ASC Evaluation Contest, it’s essential to follow these important guidelines to ensure a smooth and fair competition:
Time Limit: The evaluation speech must be 6 minutes long maximum. There is no minimum time requirement, and no penalty points are given for shorter evaluations.
Roles Required:
Contest Chair: The Chair plays a crucial role in this contest. If the evaluation speech reaches 6 minutes (when the red light goes off), the Chair must rise and say “Thank you for your Evaluation” to signal the Speaker to stop.
Volunteer Speaker (Target Speaker): This speaker delivers the Target Evaluation Speech, which should match the level at which the contestant is working. The speech does not have to be linked to a specific assignment.
Usher/Contestant Supervisor: The Usher, who also serves as the Contestant Supervisor, escorts the contestants out of the contest room for their 10-minute preparation time. After the preparation period, the Usher collects the contestants’ notes and returns them to the competitors when they are called back into the main room.
Chief Judge: The Chief Judge oversees the preparation process, ensuring the 10-minute preparation period is strictly followed and supervises the collection of notes once the time is up.
Evaluation Standards: Contestants must demonstrate exceptional evaluation and feedback skills, as outlined in the ASC guidelines. No preparation outside of the 10-minute allotted time is permitted.
For the complete competition rules and further guidance, please refer to the official ASC Evaluation Contest Rules on the national website here.
Note: This summary is for convenience and may not cover every detail in the official rules. Please review the full rules for complete compliance.
Last Updated: April 2025
Rules and Guidance for Topics Contests
The ASC Topics Contest allows speakers to demonstrate their ability to respond to a given topic on the spot. To ensure a fair and effective competition, the following rules and guidance apply:
Time Limit: Each speaker must deliver their topic in between 2 minutes 45 seconds and 3 minutes 15 seconds to avoid penalty points. Contestants must ensure they finish their speech while the red light is showing.
Roles Required:
Contest Chair: The Chair is responsible for selecting and presenting the contest topic beforehand. They will also announce the order of speaking at the beginning of the contest.
Usher: The Usher brings each contestant into the room in the pre-determined Order of Speaking.
Contestant Supervisor: The Contestant Supervisor stays in the room with the contestants until it is time for them to enter the contest area.
Contestants: Participants are expected to demonstrate a full range of speaking skills, as outlined in the Become a Better Speaker section of The Speakers Guide. They should aim for originality and high-quality material, avoiding plagiarism in both content and delivery. While a greater amount of narrative, storytelling, or personal history is allowed in a Topics contest compared to a Speech contest, these elements must remain a minority of the presentation and support the purpose of the speech. Contestants must keep their speeches focused on the topic at hand.
Topic Delivery:
The topic will be the same for all contestants in the contest and will be revealed only when they enter the contest room.
Contestants will be handed a written version of the topic on a card as they enter. The contest Chair will announce the topic twice and it will also be displayed on the card at the lectern.
For a complete overview of the official rules and guidelines, please refer to the ASC Topics Contest Rules on the national website here.
Note: This summary is for convenience. Please review the full rules for complete details.
Last Updated: April 2025
Timekeeping and Penalty Points
Accurate timekeeping is essential for ensuring fairness in ASC competitions. The timing of speeches and evaluations is carefully monitored and penalty points are applied for deviations outside the allowed limits.
Evaluation Contest
Timing the Target Speech:
- 5 minutes: Green light on
- 6 minutes: Amber light on, Green off
- 7 minutes: Red light on, Amber off
- 8 minutes: Red light off
The Timekeepers will record the actual time taken and relay it to the Chief Judge when requested.
Timing the Evaluation Speeches:
- 3 minutes: Green light on
- 4 minutes: Amber light on, Green off
- 5 minutes: Red light on, Amber off
- 6 minutes: Red light off
Important: There are no penalty points for the Evaluation Contest. At the 6-minute mark, the Chair will stand up, and the red light will go off. The Chair will then stop the speaker by saying, “Thank you for your evaluation.”
Speech Contest
Timing the Speeches:
- 5 minutes: Green light on
- 6 minutes: Amber light on, Green off
- 7 minutes: Red light on, Amber off
- 8 minutes: Red light off
Timekeeping will continue until the speaker finishes. The total time taken will be recorded to calculate any penalty points.
Penalty Points for Speech & Evaluation Contests:
- Under 6 minutes or over 8 minutes:
- Up to 5 seconds – 10 penalty points
- 6-10 seconds – 20 penalty points
- 11 or more seconds – 30 penalty points
Topics Contest
Timing the Topics:
- 1 min 45 sec: Green light on
- 2 min 15 sec: Amber light on, Green off
- 2 min 45 sec: Red light on, Amber off
- 3 min 15 sec: Red light off
Penalty Points for Topics Contests:
- Deviation under or over the 3-minute mark:
- 16-25 seconds – 5 penalty points
- 26-35 seconds – 10 penalty points
- 36 or more seconds – 15 penalty points
Note: This summary is for convenience. Please refer to the official timekeeping rules on the national website for full details.
Last Updated: April 2025
Notice and Appeals Procedure
The Notice and Appeals Procedure is designed to address concerns raised about whether a presentation, in part or in whole, fell outside the contest rules and guidelines. It is not for judging the contestant’s performance, but for ensuring the integrity of the contest process. This procedure is collaborative and involves the contestant in the discussion, with the aim of achieving a fair resolution.
Key Points:
Notices must be raised within one week of the contest to allow sufficient time for review while limiting anxiety for contestants.
Contestants cannot raise notices about other contestants.
The safety and dignity of everyone involved will be protected throughout the process.
Procedure Steps:
Raising a Notice:
The National Education Director (NED) discusses the notice with the member who raised it. The member must clearly state they wish to proceed formally with the notice.
Notifying the Contestant:
The contestant is informed that a notice has been raised regarding their performance. The NED ensures the process is collaborative and provides the contestant the chance to offer their perspective.
Initial Discussion:
A meeting is arranged between the NED and the contestant to discuss the notice, where the contestant explains their perspective. The NED will provide initial thoughts and outline possible resolutions (e.g., withdrawal, removal, place deduction, etc.).
Review of Materials:
The NED reviews all materials related to the notice (e.g., scripts, notes, videos, testimony) against the contest rules and guidance. Tools like textual review software and content analysis may be used.
Decision on the Notice:
The NED will decide whether to uphold the notice (fully or in part) or to reject it. The NED also determines the action to take if the notice is upheld, considering the severity of the breach and the impact on the presentation.
Communication of Decision:
The NED informs the contestant of the decision and outlines the next steps. If the contestant agrees with the decision, the process ends. If the contestant disagrees, they can request an appeal.
Appeals Process:
The contestant may formally request an appeal to a three-person panel: the National President, another national officer, and a member from the contestant’s district.
Both the NED and the contestant prepare reports summarising their perspectives.
Appeals Panel Decision:
The panel will decide whether to uphold the NED’s original decision or support the contestant’s appeal. If the appeal is upheld, the panel will recommend a resolution or, if unable to agree, will meet with the NED and contestant to reach a decision.
Final Steps:
After the appeals process concludes, the NED will communicate the resolution and take any necessary actions as agreed with the contestant. The member who raised the notice will be informed of the outcome, though the level of confidentiality will be determined by the NED and the contestant.
Important: This procedure is designed to be a collaborative and transparent process, ensuring fair treatment and resolution for all parties involved. The National Education Director will always ensure that the process is conducted with respect for the contestant’s perspective and well-being.
Please Note: These rules have been summarised for your convenience. For the official rules and further details, please refer to the National ASC Website.
Last Updated: April 2025
