Return To Official Information
Revised
6/92
BY-LAWS
of the
IOWA HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I
School Membership
Section 1. School Membership. Two memberships are
available for the constituency. (1) Senior and (2) Junior, each
commanding the annual membership fee payment.
Section 2. Junior Membership is restricted solely to
ninth grade students.
Clause 1. The ninth grade residence center may
(1) be attached or (2) separated from the senior center for
legal membership.
Clause 2. A Junior membership established for an
attendance center, requires all ninth grade students of that
center being certified on a common junior eligibility listing.
Section 3. Each coach will receive an IHSSA personnel
roster of coaches.
ARTICLE II
Coaches
Section 1. Responsibilities.
Clause 1. To insure each contestant is fully
acquainted with specific rules of his/her category as outlined
in the Constitution & By-Laws and Coaches Manual previous to
contest.
Clause 2. To exercise mature judgment for guiding
students in selection of materials and speaking aids.
Clause 3. To file all required forms.
Section 2. Ethics.
Clause 1. To refrain from assisting contestants
in extemporaneous speaking, radio news announcing,
improvisational acting and group improvisation following the
drawing and after preparation has begun.
Clause 2. To teach by example good sportsmanship
in both winning and losing situations.
Clause 3. To refrain from exerting undue
influence on the judging situation. However, if the student has
a particular disability, then the coach should inform the
contest manager, who will alert the judges.
Clause 4. To refrain from any harassment of
judges.
Clause 5. To register legitimate complaints with
the contest manager.
Clause 6. To file "By-Laws Violation Report" with
the State Administrative Office when warranted.
COACHING ETHICS
Subject: Ethical practices of officers and directors of the
Iowa High School Speech Association.
The following problem areas were brought to the attention of
the Executive and Advisory Committees. Their statements are
prepared for review by administrators and speech teachers of
member schools of the Association:
Revised
6/94
1. Royalties. It is the duty and responsibility of the
director to secure appropriate production rights for all
dramas which are presented in contest production, and is
required whether or not admission is assessed. The mere
permission for a performance for the home high school in the
case of a three act play is not license for using copyrighted
dramatic material either in portion or totally in a contest
presentation.
2. Permission for use. In the case of other non-original
material used for contest work, it is also necessary to
secure permission for performance. Copying and reproducing
copyright material is prohibited. Taking material from
records or magazines without inquiry and permission is
dangerous.
3. Student Participation. Students are not permitted to
appear in more than four areas of competition, with no more
than two entries in either single or group events. A director
will not enter a student in any area under a pseudonym or
fictitious name. Debate and Student Congress are a separate
eligibility and will not count as a large group or individual
event.
4. Contest Material. Directors are not to mis-title material,
in an effort to permit a student to use material in
successive rounds of competition where change is required. In
like manner, material should not be provided false titles
with intent to conceal the actual title and avoid royalty
payment.
5. Student Instruction. The director should not encourage
students to engage in speaking practices which are contrary
to good speaking experience. This would include urging
students to utilize modes of dress which might be
objectionable to judges or utilize material which is of such
sophisticated nature that it might offend.
6. Acceptance of decisions. Directors should not subject
judges to harassment because of decisions and evaluations.
The director should utilize his avenues of protest and
question which are provided in the Constitution & By-Laws.
7. Prompt entrance of reports and appearance. Directors
should conform carefully to the calendar for all entries and
reports. The director should not expect acceptance of late
entries unless approved by proper authorities. In like
manner, the director should make every effort to have
contestants appear on time and at the proper place.
8. Informational sessions. The director should make every
effort to read all material carefully and avail
himself/herself themselves of workshops, clinics, and
conferences which are sponsored by the association for the
purpose of education.
9. Student utilization. The director should make every effort
to extend the speaking experiences among as many students as
possible.
10.Plagiarism. A director should exert sufficient effort to
assure against willful "listing" of material with no evidence
of acknowledging the source.
11.Materials used by, or the manner of presentation by
students at contest deemed by the local contest judge(s) to
be obscene or disruptive, may receive lower ratings, or in
some cases may result in disqualification.
12. It is the policy of the Iowa High School Speech
Association not to discriminate on the basis of race,
national origin, religion, creed, sex, marital status,
alternative lifestyles, age, or disability in its educational
programs, activities, or employment practices.
13. "Prompting" on the part of coaches, contestants, or any
audience member will result in disqualification.
Revised 6/95
ARTICLE III
Contestants
Section 1. Eligibility. Contestants must be under
twenty years of age and bonafide members and undergraduates
of their respective schools. They must have had passing
grades in at least four regular subjects last semester in
which they were in attendance. They must be making passing
grades in four regular subjects at the time of contest.
Attendance of twenty days will constitute a semester.
Superintendents/Principals of the respective schools will
verify the eligibility of their contestants at least two and
1/2 weeks before any contest.
Section 2. Contestant Entry Fees.
Clause 1. Each contestant will pay an entry fee
of five dollars ($5.) per each event entered at District
Contest and six dollars ($6.) per each event entered at State
Contest.
Clause 2. The entry fee for One-Act Play will
be thirty dollars ($30.) at District Contest and thirty
dollars ($30.) at State Contest.
Clause 3. The entry fee for Debate will be:
Two-Person will be sixteen dollars ($16.) per team.
Lincoln-Douglas eight ($8.00), Student Congress eight dollars
($8.00)
Clause 4. The entry fee for Readers Theatre
will be sixteen dollars ($16.) for District Contest and
eighteen dollars ($18.) for State Contest.
Clause 5. The entry fee for Choral Reading will
be twelve dollars ($12.) for District Contest and fifteen
dollars ($15.) for State Contest.
Clause 6. The entry fee for Ensemble Acting
will be ten dollars ($10.) for each ensemble act entered at
District Contest and fifteen dollars ($15.) each ensemble at
State Contest.
Clause 7. The entry fee for Group Mime will be
ten dollars ($10.) for each mime selection entered at
District Contest and thirteen dollars ($13.) for each mime
entered at State Contest. Entry fee for Solo Mime will be
five dollars ($5.) for each entry in District Contest and
eight dollars ($8.) for each entry in State Contest.
Clause 8. The entry fee for Television
Newscasting will be thirteen dollars ($13.) at District
Contest and fifteen dollars ($15.) at State Contest.
Clause 9. The entry fee for Group Improvisation
will be ten dollars ($10.) for each group entered at District
Contest and fifteen dollars ($15.) per group entered at State
Contest.
Clause 10. All District entry fees are to be
made payable to the Iowa High School Speech Assn. and
delivered with the eligibility forms to the State Office. The
State Office, in turn, forwards the respective district sites
proper remuneration for entry fees; however, eligibility
forms will not be forwarded to the district site until the
entry fee has been fully paid by the participating school.
Contest entries which do not include names will not be
accepted.
Clause 11. All state entry fees are to be made
payable to the Iowa High School Speech Assn. The State
Office, in turn, forwards to the respective sites proper
remuneration for entry fees; but contestants are not eligible
for the State Contest until the entry fee has been paid fully
by the participating school. UPON QUALIFYING FOR STATE SPEECH
PARTICIPATION, THE ENTRY FEE WILL BE PAID WHETHER THE
PARTICIPANT APPEARS OR NOT.
Revised 6/96
Section 3. Field Entered. A contestant may compete in
four fields of speech in which contests are held in a given
school year. No contestant will compete in more than two
categories at large group contest or more than two categories
at individual contests. Any experimental category must be
considered as one of these four areas. No contestant may
compete twice in the same category at the same contest.
Debate and Student Congress are a separate eligibility and
will not count as a large group or individual event. No
contestant may use the same selection in more than one
category.
Section 4. Rehearsal. Contestants may try out their
voices and check other details of delivery on the platform
from which they are to compete if local conditions permit
such brief tryouts.
Section 5. Responsibility for the appearance of
contestants on the program. Contestants are responsible for
their prompt appearance.
Section 6. Penalty for time violation. A contestant who
fails to stop speaking promptly when the time limit signal is
given by the timer will be given a Division IV except in
Debate. For uniformity in all contests except in Radio News
Announcing, all timers will follow this procedure: At the
expiration of the designated time limit for the particular
contest, the timer will rise and give the stop signal. The
speaker will stop immediately even though he/she is in the
middle of a sentence, with the exception of Radio News
Announcing and Television Newscasting, which have a maximum
and minimum time limit. If a student is mistakenly stopped,
he/she may offer the selection over again in its entirety.
Section 7. Competition Limit. A contestant who receives
a Division I rating at State Contest in any individual event
may compete again in that category the next year unless they
receive an outstanding. If the student enters the area a
second time, the student must use a different selection. A
contestant who receives a Division I rating at State Contest
in a group event, Debate or Student Congress or is chosen an
Outstanding Performer may compete in that event again the
following year. Solo Mime is considered a large group event
for this competition limit.
Section 8. Materials. A contestant who received a
Division I at State Individual Events may not reuse his/her
material in any other category at any time in Individual
Events.
Section 9. Any speech student participating on a team
roster for any state association sponsored event will be
allowed to participate in the nearest State Speech Contest if
so desired by that school administration. The school would
not be required to pay a double entry fee.
Section 10. The IHSSA will not approve individual event
tournaments on scheduled dates of IHSSA individual event
contests nor approve large group festivals/tournaments on any
scheduled dates of IHSSA large group festivals/ tournaments.
Section 11. Coaches who want their ballots mailed to
them must supply the Contest Manager with a self-addressed
envelope with sufficient postage.
Section 12. Wearing Apparel. No contestants are to wear
any clothing with their school name or emblem on it, or
identify their school in any other manner.
Section 13. All presentations must be delivered in
English with the exception of brief foreign phrases as part
of the speech.
Revised 6/96
CASEBOOK
Questions - Answers
1. Q. Can an eighth grader participate in a junior
high membership?
A. No.
2. Q. My student received a one rating in acting last year.
May he/she enter the acting area of speaking this year?
A. Yes. A student who has received a Division I rating
in an individual event may enter that event again the next
year unless they receive an outstanding.
3. Q. If a contestant receives a Division I rating at
the State Contest in Solo Mime may the student
compete again the following year?
A. Yes. Solo Mime is considered a large group event for
this competition limit.
ARTICLE IV
Judges
Section 1. Number and Naming of Judges. There will be
a single critic for each event center in all District
Contests except One-Act Play where there will be three
judges. There will be three judges used for each event
center in all contests at the State level. The judges used
for these contests will be selected from an approved list of
judges provided by the State Office and contest manager.
Section 2. Qualifications. A judge will have speech
knowledge and will have secured certification by attendance
at one of the association-sponsored judge certification
meetings and will have passed an initial test as designed by
the State Office. Certification will be good for three
years. After the three year period, a judge will be required
to re-attend a certification clinic.
Clause 1. To maintain certification a judge is
required to attend a further training session to begin at a
designated time the morning of the contest.
Clause 2. Each judge will fill out a card
containing information pertinent to his/her judging
assignment. This card will be forwarded to the
State Office for maintaining a current list of active
judges.
Section 3. NO COACH WILL JUDGE HIS/HER OWN STUDENTS IN
ANY ONE CONTEST. Nor will any coach judge in a section at
state large group contest in which he/she has any entry
competing. If substitute judges are used, they will judge an
entire section.
Revised 6/95
Section 4. Equipment and Inspection. The local
contest manager will see that each judge (or judges) is
seated in such a place that he/she can readily hear and see
each contestant. The judge will be supplied with the proper
ballot, comment sheet and envelope for each ballot. The
local manager will make certain before the contest begins
that each judge thoroughly understands the directions in
reference to the method of rating, the order of speaking, the
need for written comments, and the method by which he/she
will turn in his/her ballot when it is completed. Each judge
will be provided with a copy of the appropriate contest area
rules for the section he/she is judging.
Section 5. Procedure.
Clause 1. District Contests. In the District
Contest, the single critic judge will offer brief oral
comments to the speaker(s) following each presentation. In
One-Act Play at district there will be three judges. The
judge(s) will also provide appropriate written comments on
the comment sheet. The Local Manager will name one of the
three judges assigned to a given section as a Chairperson
Judge.
Clause 2. State Contests. Three critic judges
will be used for the state competition. The local manager
will name one of the three judges assigned to a given section
as a chairperson judge.
Clause 3. The Judge at District or the Chairperson at
a State Contest will report violations of the Constitution to
the contest manager who, in turn, must ask the District
Officers or a designated representative for a ruling. These
violations are to be reported immediately. Other than a
constitutional violation, judges will not be permitted to
confer with each other nor any unauthorized person.
CASEBOOK
Questions - Answers
1. Q. If a student has chosen a selection that in
the judge's opinion is far below the student's
potential, what should the judge do?
A. He/she should suggest more challenging material, but
give credit for what the
student has accomplished with the selection.
ARTICLE V
General Contest Provisions
Section 1. State Series. The contests held by this
Association will be known as the District and State Contests
in all fields of speech covered by the Association, (Article
II, Section 2 -- Constitution) subject to such modifications
each year as the number of schools enrolled requires.
Section 2. Local Manager. In all District Contests,
the local superintendent or his delegated agent of the school
will be the local manager, to whom a contest has been
assigned by the State Office, contest managers are
responsible for finding their own judges. It will be the
Local Manager's responsibility for carrying out all
provisions of these By-Laws applicable to that particular
contest or contests.
Section 3. Contest Groups. For District Contest
purposes, the State Office, designating one school as a
center, will organize the schools by geographical centers.
Revised 6/94
Section 4. District Eligibility Certificate. As
soon as any school has chosen its contestants for the
District Contest, that school will fill out FOUR copies of an
eligibility certificate provided by the State Office,
certifying eligibility as provided for an Article III,
Section 1 of these By-Laws, giving names of the contestants,
the fields in which they compete, the titles and the authors
of the selections, and such other information as may be
called for. Eligibility forms that do not include the above
information will not be accepted. Not later than Wednesday,
two and one half weeks prior to the date of the District
Contest, two copies of this certificate will be mailed to the
State Office, the member school will retain the third copy
and one copy will accompany the cards to the site.
Section 5. Penalty for Violation of Eligibility. A
student violating Article III, Section 3 will be declared
ineligible for events beyond that provided in Article III,
Section 3.
Section 6. Entry Cards. A contestant is not an entry
in any District Contest (group or individual) until the pink
or green entry card is received by the contest manager two
and one half weeks prior to contest date for both individual
and group contests. Entry cards are to be mailed direct to
District Contest Manager. The Contest Manager will report to
the State Office any school whose pink or green cards have
not been sent to the Contest Manager nor have been postmarked
by the Wednesday two and one half weeks prior to the date of
the contest. The State Office will then notify the
administration of said schools penalty.
Section 7. Penalty for Late Fees. Any member school
who does not have its entry cards delivered to the Contest
Manager or postmarked by the Wednesday two and one half weeks
before the contest will be fined 50% of the entry fee to be
paid to the State Office. Fines of one-half the entry fee of
the particular entry will also be assessed on all entries
listed on entry cards but not included on entry forms or vice
versa. The penalty must be paid to the State Office before
any student from that school will be allowed to perform.
When any member school fails to meet the entry deadlines the
State Office will notify the coach and the administration of
said school that the entry is late and the penalty fee must
be paid prior to the schools student's performance.
Section 8. Participant Substitution. In District
Contest, substitutions in the same category may be made for
participates listed on the original eligibility entry list
provided the substitute is eligible in every respect, and
that the Contest Manager is notified in time to establish the
substitution. The State Office must be notified of all
substitutions. If a coach employs a substitute the day of
the District Contest, the coach will dispatch a letter signed
by his administrator to the State Office on the following
Monday notifying of students substitution. If this is not
done, rating for that substitute will not be validated. The
student who substituted at District Large Group or the
original student entered may participate in the State Contest
or All State Festival. Substituting an eligible individual
may be made between district and state contest and state and
all-state when the original participant can not perform for
group categories.
Section 9. Date of Contest. The contests for all
groups of competing schools in the District and State
Contests will be held on a day designated by the State
Executive Committee and the Unified Iowa High School
Activities Federation.
Revised 6/95
Section 10. Meeting of Judges. The Local Manager, prior to
the beginning of the contest, will call a meeting of all
judges at which time he/she will make sure that each judge
understands his duties and the method of marking his/her
ballot. Each judge will take a test for each area he/she is
judging on that day. He/she will furthermore explain in
detail the purpose toward which this Association is striving
and remind them that they are to judge on a high school level
of performance and that the contestants are to be rated, not
ranked. He/she will invite all coaches of competing schools
to attend this meeting.
Section 11. Lighting. In all contests except One-Act
Plays, lights will be turned on, both the platform and the
audience chamber, as for ordinary platform speaking.
Footlights will be used only if the regular lights are found
inadequate by a consensus of contestants and coaches.
Section 12. Properties will be defined as any object
movable from one place to another, but the utilization of
normal wearing apparel will not be considered a prop. The
chair as allowed in Acting, as well as the chairs and table
as allowed in Ensemble Acting and the chairs in Group
Improvisation are considering both a stage accessory and a
usable prop.
Section 13. Announcements of Speaking Order. The
Chairperson will announce each speaker, in turn, by name and
title of selection and topic, but never by the school which
the contestant represents.
Section 14. Disqualifications. A student may be
disqualified for a constitutional violation. All
disqualifications must be approved by a district officer or
representative and the ballot(s) initialed by the
officer/representatives.
Section 15. Announcements of Results. After the
judges' ballots have been tabulated, the Local Manager will
post the ratings together with the names of the contestants
and the school each represents.
Section 16. District Contest Reports. Immediately
following the District Contest, the manager of that contest
will mail to the State Contest Manager by Special Delivery
letter the Local Manager's Report of Division I Rating form
and Qualifiers pink and green entry cards. A copy of the
Division I Report will also be forwarded to the State Speech
Association Office.
Clause 1. He/she will list all Division I
winners including the contestant's name, school, the field of
speech, and the title and the author of the selection of each
contestant.
Clause 2. In the case of a One-Act Play, Readers Theatre,
Choral Reading, Ensemble Acting, and Group Mime, he/she will
list the entire cast including the names of the students and
the role each plays. He/she will include the title and length
of play.
Section 17. State Contest. The State Contest Manager
will arrange the State Contest Program. The District
Executive Committee will serve as an appeal board whose
duties at the contest will be the instruction and supervision
of judges and interpretation of Constitutional questions
which may arise.
Revised 6/92
Section 18. All-State. The State Office and any
appropriate All-State Committee will arrange the All-State
Festival.
Section 19. No equipment other than what is
specifically stated in the Constitution by-laws will be
provided by the host school.
Section 20. No photographic or video cameras or
recording devices may be used by any member of the audience
during a performance except by special permission from the
State Office.
Section 21. The timing of Individual Events will begin
with the start of the contestant's presentation.
Section 22. Contestants in individual events may not
leave the performance room as part of their performance.
ARTICLE VI
Contest Blanks - Speaking - Order
Section 1. Source and Preparation. In all contests
the official ballot forms and the record sheets and all other
documents will be furnished by the State Administrative
Office to all Local Contest Managers at least two weeks prior
to the contest. These forms will be properly filled in by the
Local Managers before each contest and will be delivered to
the individuals who are to use them.
Section 2. Comment Sheets. Each member school is
responsible for filling out it's own contest comment sheet
prior to the contest. The appropriate number of completed
comment sheets will be hand carried into the contest center
by the contestant(s) and delivered to the judge(s).
Section 3. Method for Determining the Order of
Appearance of Speakers. In the District and the State
Contests - except in debate - the Contest Manager, sometime
prior to the contest, will determine the order of speaking
appearances of all individual contestants in each division.
The method used for debate is described in Article XXIX,
By-Laws.
Section 4. Order of Names on Programs. If printed or
mimeographed programs are used, the names of the contestants
and the order of plays will appear thereon, except in debate,
in the order drawn by the Local Manager.
Section 5. Timer and His/Her Equipment. The Local
Manager will designate an official timer for each contest
center and provide him/her with a set of timing cards if
these are called for in these By-Laws for that particular
field of speech. The timer will be a person experienced in
the proper use of a timing device. Any violation of timing
limits must be reported immediately to the judge(s).
ARTICLE VII
Rating System - Tabulation - Outstanding Performer
Section 1. Rating the Contestants. In all contests
except debate, each of the judges will indicate on the
official ballot a rating for each contestant. This will be
his/her estimate of the quality of the performance against
the amateur standard for the field being judged. The ratings
available for use are as follows:
Division I -
Excellent
Division II -
Good
Division III - Fair
Division IV -
Disqualification because of a
constitutional violation.
Revised 6/95
Section 2. Comments and Comment Sheets. The judge's
comment sheets may be retained by each judge until he/she has
given such constructive comments to contestants as time
permits. Oral comments will be given after each district
performance, except for One-Act Plays. Written comments will
be filed with Local Manager and then be forwarded to the
coaches and contestants to whom they pertain. Critique Sheets
are to be picked up by COACHES ONLY at the end of their
contest day. Coaches who want their ballots mailed to them
must supply the Contest Manager with a self-addressed
envelope with sufficient postage.
Section 3. Tabulation. The Contest Manager or
delegated representative will tabulate the ratings given each
contestant towards determining the final rating of the
contestant according to the plan outlined in Section 4 of
this Article.
Section 4. Rating Combinations: Rating combinations
which will determine the rating of the contestant at the
State level are:
Division I(Excellent) (1-1-1)
(1-1-2) (1-1-3)
Division II(Good) (1-2-2)
(1-2-3) (2-2-2) (2-2-3)
Division III(Fair) (1-3-3)
(2-3-3) (3-3-3)
Division IV
Disqualification because of Constitutional violation.
Clause 1. Debate. Certification for subsequent
competition in debate is determined on a won-loss basis
according to the provisions of Section 4 of Article XXIX. All
teams certifying for state competition will be awarded
Division I(Excellent) ratings. All teams winning four rounds
in the District round will be awarded Division II(Good)
ratings.
In Student Congress the top 40% of the students will be given
Division I ratings in each house. The next 40% will be given
Division II ratings.
Clause 2. Large Group and Individual Events
Outstanding Tabulation.
POINT ALLOCATIONS
For a ranking of: These points
are assigned:
I............................................................
.......... 20
I
I............................................................
........ 16
II
I............................................................
........ 13
IV...................................................................
10
V............................................................
......... 7
VI...................................................................
4
VII..................................................................
1
Then, points are added to give total. After totaling, this
number is divided by the number of judges who nominated a
given performance. If only two of the three judges nominated
a given performance, while the third filled out his/her
ballot making other nominations, then the performance
receiving two nominations suffers a two point penalty after
the averaging of points is determined.
Revised 6/92
POINT ALLOCATIONS
For a ranking of: These
points are assigned:
I......................................................... 20
I
I........................................................ 16
II
I....................................................... 13
I
V...................................................... 10
V........................................................ 7
V
I....................................................... 4
VI
I...................................................... 1
Then, each assignment of points is added to give the total, after
which that total is divided by number of judges voting. If, in any
section, three judges did cast votes for those they felt outstanding,
but if any performance failed to be included on one of the three
judge's ballots, two points will be deducted from the result after
the division is made. This protects those students who, for whatever
reason, performed for a judge who did not complete their outstanding
ballot. Itinerate, substitute, or perfectionist judges might be
examples. Thus, people who receive two I's (rankings), when the
third judge abdicates, ought to be regarded on an equal footing with
another group who received three I rankings. This has precedence in
the way we regard a I rating - (IE. I II III is no less than II I or
I I I.)
I I I - 20 II II IV -
14
I I II - 18.6 II II V -
13
I I III - 17.6 I II VI -
12
I I IV - 16.6 II III II -
15
I I V - 15.6 II II III -
14
I II I - 18.6 II III IV -
13
I II II - 17.3 II III V -
12
I II III - 16.3 II IV IV -
13
I II IV - 15.3 III III III-
13
I II V - 14.3 III III IV -
12
I III I - 17.6 III IV IV -
11
I III II - 16.3 III III V -
11
I III III- 15.3 IV IV IV -
10
I III IV - 14.3 IV IV V -
9
I III V - 13.3 IV V V -
8
II II II - 16 V V V -
7
II II III- 15
Revised 6/92
X + Y + Z div by 3 or When 3rd Judge
When 3rd Judge
X + Y div by 2 did vote - 2
Abdicates
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------- I I
18 20
I II 16
18
I III 14.5
16.5
I IV 13
15
I V 11.5
13.5
II II 14
16
II III 12.5
14.5
II IV 11
13
II V 9.5
11.5
II VI 8
III III 11
13
III IV 9.5
11.5
III V 8
10
III VI 6.5
IV IV 8
10
IV V 6.5
8.5
IV VI
IV VII
IV VIII
Section 7. Winners. All contestants in events with
the exception of debate, receiving Division I in the District
Contest will be eligible to compete in the State Contest.
Debate teams from each district will enter State Competition
according to the provisions of Section 4, Article XXIX.
JUDGES PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of the Iowa High School Speech Association
always embraces the encouragement of young people toward
speech participation and subsequent refined human
communication. Since assigned judges are the intended testing
guide, students' future activities are determined by the
decision of judges. Contestants should not be served by
judges on a professional or highly restrictive basis, but
rather with an open mindedness that recognizes the high
school range of ability and training. The judge is to be (1)
knowledgeable in a current perspective for the assigned
category; (2) receptive with a constructive and promotional
attitude; (3) prepared to present the student with a tactful
justification for any rating given; (4) willing to recognize
that unfamiliar material may qualify as acceptable subject
matter; and (5) informed of current trends in literary
writing.
Revised 6/92
Section 6. Outstanding Performers. At the State
Contest level, outstanding performers in the various events
will be named (excluding Debate). In Readers Theatre,
Ensemble Acting, Choral Reading, One-Act Plays, Group Mime,
Television News and Group Improvisation the outstanding casts
will be named.
Clause 1. At the conclusion of a judging
assignment the completed ballots will be made available to
the judges if needed.
Clause 2. Each judge will name the truly
outstanding performer(s).
Clause 3. INDIVIDUAL CONTEST. If a speaker
has been named an outstanding performer, the contestant will
be identified in a communication from the State Office. A
ranking system will be used to determine festival performers.
Clause 4. LARGE GROUP CONTEST. If an entry
has been named an outstanding entry, the entry will be
eligible for outstanding performer ranking. Outstanding
entries will be identified in a communication from the State
Office. A ranking system will be used to determine festival
performers.
Clause 5. Appropriate ballots will be provided
for naming the outstanding performers.
Section 7. Large Group All-State Banners. The purpose
of the All-State Banner representing the Critic's Choice is
to install an atmosphere of excitement. Before the banners
were introduced, participants came and left immediately after
they performed. Now everyone remains to see who receives the
banners.
CASEBOOK
Question - Answers
Rating System - Tabulation - Outstanding Performer
1. Q. Is it necessary for a judge to confine his/her
judging to a single area in a State Contest and judge
all entries in that area within a given State Contest?
A. It is recommended. However, local situations
might necessitate a group of judges serving in a "
clean up capacity". Also, no judge should be expected
to name "outstanding performers" unless he/she has
judged an adequate number of speakers.
2. Q. How many outstanding performers might be named?
A. This would depend entirely upon the number and
quality of speakers. The greatest premium should be
placed on the actual quality of the speaking
performance. It is hoped that this number would be kept
to a mininum in order to merit prestige recognition.
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