Contest Management Team officials ....................................................................................................

2
Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) script .............................................................................................................. 3
Contest Chair Script ............................................................................................................................... 4
Being a Timer ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Briefing by Contest Chair ....................................................................................................................... 9
Ø To Contestants ............................................................................................................................... 9
Ø To Contest Master ........................................................................................................................ 10
Ø To Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) .......................................................................................................... 11
Briefing by Chief Judge ........................................................................................................................ 12
Ø To Judges ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Ø To Tiebreaking Judge .................................................................................................................... 13
Ø To Timers ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Ø To Tally Counters .......................................................................................................................... 13

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Contest Management Team officials

Number of Contest Chair – 1 across all levels of the contest (i.e. Club, Area, Division & District)

Number of Contest Masters – 2 (i.e. 1 for each contest type from Area level and beyond)

Chief Voting Tiebreaking Ballot/Tally Timers Additional Condition

Judge Judge judge (TBJ) Counters Pointers (if not
(CJ) (VJ) minimum #
suggested for
VJs)
Club 1 At-least 5 1 2 2 (plus 1
back-up**)

Area 1 Minimum 1 2 2 (plus 1 Equal # of VJs from

of 5 back-up**) each member club

Division 1 Minimum 1 2 2 (plus 1 Equal # of VJs from CJ, VJ & TBJ must not
of 7 back-up**) each Area be a member of any
club in which a
contestant is a
member

District 1 Minimum 1 3 2 (plus 1 Equal # of VJs from CJ, VJ& TBJ must not
of 7 back-up**) each Division in the be a member of any
District club in which a
contestant is a
member

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) script

Instructions to the SAA (do not read it aloud):

ü Please do not mention about the guideline on the sensitive/taboo topics (like politics, religion, sex etc.) –
since in a contest, a speech could contain sensitive content
ü Since it is a contest, no need to mention about the Club’s mission statement

Welcome all the Toastmasters and guests to the ___________ [<<contest type>>] of the __________ [Club
Name], Area __, Division __, District 120.

I am Toastmaster/Distinguished Toastmaster __________ (Name) – the Sergeant-At-Arms for today’s

contest.

[You can try to attempt to share a humor or a one-liner of your part in being a role player at the contest]

Let me share the guidelines that we need to adhere during the contest.
ü To ensure a smooth noise free contest, request all to put your cell phones and other electronic
devices in silent mode
ü All are requested to strictly refrain from moving around, in or out of the hall when the contest is in
progress
ü Photography or video recording is strictly prohibited and if done – should be with the consensus
from the contest management team, Chief Judge and the venue chair
ü When the contest is in progress, request all the audience members to maintain absolute silence
ü [Prior to the contest itself, get the safety protocols to be followed at the venue (if any in case of
a corporate setup) and mention that]
ü [Mention where the rest rooms are located – prior to the contest itself, take a note of that]
ü [Mention where the water supplies/dispensers are located – prior to the contest itself, take a
note of that]
ü For contest’s further proceedings, hereby, I would like to introduce a person [prior to the contest
itself, get the introduction of the Contest Chair and introduce] – Toastmaster/Distinguished
Toastmaster – ___________ (Name)

[Note: The above is not the only final list of guidelines that has to be shared. Feel free to include any other
guideline which might be specific to the venue or the environment etc.]

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Contest Chair Script

Instructions:
ü Only for club contests – online/hybrid contest guidelines/instructions are additionally applicable
ü Instructions in the script are marked in square brackets, bold and italics – please do not read that aloud –
it is for your understanding
ü On the day of the contest, Sergeant-At-Arms introduces the Contest Chair and hands over the stage

[Contest Chair script begins]

Thank you so much Sergeant-At-Arms – Toastmaster/Distinguished Toastmaster ________________

(Name) for setting the contest stage.

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening! Hereby, I welcome you all to the International Speech
Contest and/or Table Topics Speech Contest of our ________________ (Club Name), Area ___, Division
___, District 120!

[If the Club Contest is online/hybrid] Let me read the Online Speech Contest statement:
By attending this online speech contest, you agree to the privacy policy of Toastmasters International as
well as the un-associated online hosting service. Some of your personal information, such as name, image,
and any shared messages may be shared with other meeting participants and will be recorded by
Toastmasters International who may use the recording in the future as it sees fit. Your online attendance
hereby discharges Toastmasters International from all claims, demands, rights, promises, damages, and
liabilities arising out of or in connection with the use or distribution of said video recordings, including but
not limited to any claims for invasion of privacy, appropriation of likeness or defamation.

[Contest Chair can choose to give additional opening remarks (for example, like his/her experience being
a contest chair, significance of being a part of the contest, learnings – something inspiring and so on)
which is purely at the discretion of the Contest Chair and Contest Management team to adhere to the
timing allocated to Contest Chair on the stage]

[Prior to the contest, Contest chair has to get a crisp and interesting introduction from the contest master]
To conduct the [<<Contest Type Name>>], we have a Toastmaster/Distinguished Toastmaster –
___________ (Name) [give the introduction]

[During the contest, Contest Chair has to be extra attentive to guide role players, attend to any difficulties
faced by any role players or contestants, handle protests if any which arises etc.]

[Once the respective Contest Master ends the contest, he/she hands over the stage back to Contest Chair]

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Thanks to the Contest Master – Toastmaster/Distinguished Toastmaster ________________ (Name) for
effectively conducting the contest. With this, we come to the end of [<<Contest Name>>] and hereby, I
officially adjourn the [<<Contest Name>>] contest.

[Note: After this adjournment, no protests should be entertained. After each contest, it is the Contest
Chair’s responsibility to adjourn the contest.]

Instructions to the Contest Chair: do not read it aloud

ü If there are two contests (International Speech Contest & Table Topics Speech Contest) happening one
after the other, it is mandatory that the respective contests are adjourned by the Contest Chair – this
adjournment marks the end time, a protest could be raised for that contest type (by either the contestant
or the voting judge)
ü Post results declaration/announcement, deliver the vote-of-thanks (in case if there a co-chair – he/she can
take that responsibility)
Announcements of Results Script:

[Results have to be announced only by the Contest Chair. Chief Judge would hand over the results in the
Results Form with the details of the Contest’s Type, Top 3 winners names and any time disqualifications]

Now, I would like to invite the District Trio [if present], Division Director [if present], Area Director [if
present], Chief Judge and [<<Contest Type’s>>] Contest Master to the stage.

[For Club level contest – mostly Division Director and leaders above won’t be present. If present for any
level contest, the order to invite them on to the stage is as above]

First, let me announce the results of the [<<Contest Type Name>>] Contest

[If there are any time disqualifications] I am sorry to announce that, there are ____ time disqualifications.
[If there are no time disqualifications] I am happy to announce that, there are NO time disqualifications.

[Wait for audience applause (if any) to subside]

The THIRD PLACE winner is ___________ [after the award is given and the photo session (if any)]

The SECOND PLACE winner is __________ [after the award is given and the photo session (if any)]

The FIRST PLACE winner is __________ [after the award is given and the photo session (if any)]

[Let the photography session get over and continue the announcement of results for the other contest
type like the above]

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
[Note: In contests with fewer than three (3) participants, a second place winner (if applicable) and a first-
place winner will be announced. Winners will be announced in reverse order.]

Reference document to be held handy during the contest:

Speech Contest rulebook à
https://toastmasterscdn.azureedge.net/medias/files/department-documents/speech-contests-
documents/1171speechcontestrulebook2024-2025/1171-speech-contest-rulebook.pdf

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Being a Timer
Timers are appointed by the Chief Judge who briefs them before the Contest.

Basic details of the Timing signals at various contest types:

Contest type Lower qualification time Green Yellow Red Upper qualification time
limit limit
Humorous Speech Contest 4 minutes 30 seconds 5 minutes 6 minutes 7 minutes 7 minutes 30 seconds
Evaluation Contest 1 minute 30 seconds 2 minutes 2 minutes 30 3 minutes 3 minutes 30 seconds
seconds
International Speech 4 minutes 30 seconds 5 minutes 6 minutes 7 minutes 7 minutes 30 seconds
Contest
Table Topics Contest 1 minute 1 minute 1 minute 30 2 minutes 2 minutes 30 seconds
seconds

Silence time between each 1 minute

contestant
Silence time after last 2 minutes
contestant
Test Speaker’s Speech NA 5 minutes 6 minutes 7 minutes NA
timing in an Evaluation
Contest
Silence time after Test 5 minutes
Speaker’s Speech in an
Evaluation Contest

When to start the timing?

ü Timing begins with the contestant’s definite verbal or non-verbal communication with the audience
ü If it is found that the contestant is delaying the contest unnecessarily after the stage is handed over
by the Contest Master, timing would be started after 3 seconds from the time the stage is handed
over to the Contestant.

Important pointers:
ü Ensure with the contestants if the colour cards are clearly visible from the stage
ü In case of any unforeseen technical glitches and if informed by the Chief Judge, additional 30
seconds is added to the upper disqualification time limit (which changes the disqualification time
limit of Humours Speech Contest/International Speech Contest to 8 minutes instead of 7 minutes
and 30 seconds and for Table Topics Contest to 3 minutes instead of 2 minutes and 30 seconds)
ü Keep the time record sheets confidential and should be shared only to the Chief Judge
ü If time based disqualified contestants are announced as winners, ask the announcer to hold from
proceeding further. Notify the Chief Judge, in private, to validate and correct.
ü Discard the digital form of the time record sheets (if any) immediately after the contest

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
For Table Topics Contestants:
ü Green card should be displayed at 1 minute and remains displayed for the next 30 seconds
ü Yellow card should be displayed at 1 minutes 30 seconds and remains displayed for the next 30
seconds
ü Red card should be displayed at 2 minutes and remains displayed until the speaker completes
his/her speech

For International Speech Contest Contestants:

ü Green card should be displayed at 5 minute and remains displayed for the next 60 seconds
ü Yellow card should be displayed at 6 minutes and remains displayed for the next 30 seconds
ü Red card should be displayed at 7 minutes and remains displayed until the speaker completes
his/her speech

Between each contestant, 1 minute of silence is provided and after the last contestant, 2 minutes of silence
is provided. Timer should display the Red card once the respective silence time elapses.

How many timers should a contest have?

ü Two timers are appointed by the Chief Judge (if needed appoint one more back-up timer)
ü One timer is provided with a stopwatch and the other with a signalling device/colour cards namely,
green, yellow and red
ü The timer with the stopwatch maintains and delivers to the Chief Judge the written record of
elapsed time of each speech on the Speech Contest Time Record Sheet and Instructions for Timers
(Item 1175). This constitutes the official time

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Briefing by Contest Chair

Instructions to the Contest Chair:

ü Speech Contest Rulebook should be the base reference for all these rules, protocols and guidelines.
ü Check eligibility of contestants at every stage of the contest. Request help from club President, AD, DD
or PQD depending on the level of the contest.
ü Also reach out to next available contestant as a back-option in case the winners are not available.
ü Kindly do the briefing in the presence of the Chief Judge (best practice). This ensures both the Contest
Management Team and the Chief Judge is in sync with the contest’s operations.
ü Do get this Contest Chair role mentored from your leadership team like your Area Director, Division
Director or a senior Toastmaster or even have a prior discussion with the Chief Judge.
ü Make sure the Contest Master is comfortable with the pronunciation of the Contestant’s names and
their speech title (speech title is applicable for International Speech Contest and Humorous Speech
Contest). Also, instruct the Contest Master to get in touch with the respective contestants’ to check on
this.

[Note: Below points are just pointers which could be covered during briefing. Feel free to include any other
guideline which might be specific to the contest per the Speech Contest Rulebook]

Ø To Contestants

[Note: Before the contestant’s briefing, ensure Speaker’s Certification of Eligibility and Originality
form is duly signed and received from all the contestants.]

ü Congratulate the contestants for winning the previous level of contest [for Area contest and
beyond].
ü Share the venue and timing details of the contest.
ü Share the contest’s agenda.
ü Emphasize on the need to read and go through the Speech Contest Rulebook – if contestants are
new, do share this rulebook with them.
ü Inform the timing at which the lot picking (drawing of the speaking position) would be done to
decide the speaking order and instruct the contestants to be available for this ceremony.
[Note: Once the speaking order/position is finalized, it can’t be swapped to adjust any particular
contestant’s availability].
ü Instruct the contestants about the guideline that no special tune or tempo would be entertained
while calling out the Contestant’s Speech Title (applicable for International Speech Contest &

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
 Humorous Speech Contest). Also, the title/topic (in case of Table Topics Contest) would be read
only twice in the prescribed format mentioned in the Speech Contest Rulebook.
ü Give instructions to the contestants to strictly occupy the first two or three rows at the contest
venue during the entire duration of the contest [applicable for all in-person contests].
ü Instruct the Contestants when handshake on stage would be exchanged between the Contest
Master and the Contestant. For example, as soon as the Contestant is called on stage – the Contest
Master can exchange a handshake and proceed towards doing the checks for audio etc.
ü Mention about any specific guidelines on when the audio/video check would be done at the
venue/platform.
ü Review and share the timing protocols to the contestants [refer to Being a Timer segment in this
document itself].
ü Discuss about the Protests and Disqualifications [refer to Protests and Disqualifications in the
Speech Contest Rulebook – Page 17, Point 7].
ü Specify how a protest would be handled/addressed? [refer to Speech Contest Rulebook – Page
29, Point 6 – Address any protests].
ü Make the contestants aware about the concept of the contest’s adjournment.
ü Mention about the rules related to the usage of props that any contestant has planned to use
[refer to Speech Contest Rulebook – Page 17, Point – 8 – Use of Props and Electronic Devices].
ü [For in-person contests] Explain on how the contestants would be escorted to the holding-area
(in case of Table Topics Contest), decorum has to be maintained at the holding area etc.
ü [For online/hybrid contests]
• Provide details about the naming convention with which each contestant has to login to
the platform (be it Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc.).
• Explain on how the timing cards would be displayed in the virtual background of the timers
(Note: Refrain from sharing the screen to display the timing cards since it distracts the
video view of the contestant).
• Provide instructions on how to pin the timers [alternatively – the Host/Co-host can
provide multi-pin option to that particular contestant or the contestant can choose to hide
non-video participants (provided, this option is available in that platform)].
• Set the context on when the contestant’s audio/video should be enabled.
• Explain the procedure on how the breakout room would be handled, how the contestants
should maintain the decorum while in the breakout room, timing guidelines in case of
sudden drop due to network issues etc. (particularly in case of Table Topics).

Ø To Contest Master
ü Ensure the Contest Master has the latest Contest Master script for the respective contest.
ü Work and facilitate multiple rehearsal sessions (if needed in the presence of Chief Judge at least
once) so that the Contest Master gets comfortable with the script.

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Ø To Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA)
ü Review the Chief Sergeant-at-Arms script to verify if all the necessary guidelines are covered [refer
to Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) script segment in this document].
ü Clarify on the duties and responsibilities of each of the SAA.
ü For Table Topics Contest – there should be at least one SAA present at the Holding area along
with the contestants. [For online/hybrid contests – ensure there are two SAAs present in the
Breakout room]. SAA(s) is/are responsible for ensuring the contestants doesn’t have any access
to any electronic/digital devices and also maintain the decorum/silence.
ü Make a plan and divulge information on how the communication amongst the SAAs at the holding
area/breakout room and the SAAs in the main room would happen, so as to escort the contestants
in/out of the main contest area.
ü Ensure the logistics like a bag to collect the mobile phones & other digital devices and instruct
which SAA would take care of the activity.

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
Briefing by Chief Judge

Instructions to the Chief Judge:

ü Speech Contest Rulebook should be the base reference for all these rules, protocols and guidelines.
ü In the Voting Judges’ briefing session, the Tiebreaking Judge shouldn’t be included
ü Even though there are District leaders, District Chief Judge or past senior leaders or very senior Toastmasters
as part of your judges group – it is mandatory to conduct the briefing session
ü Every other voting judge and the tiebreaking judge should duly and mandatorily sign the Judge's
Certification of Eligibility and Code of Ethics form (preferably before attending the briefing session)

[Note: Below points are just pointers which could be covered during briefing. Feel free to include any other
guideline per the Speech Contest Rulebook.]

Ø To Judges

ü Share the venue and timing details of the contest.

ü Share the contest’s agenda.
ü Share the contestants’ speaking order (if the drawing of the speaking position is completed).
ü Go through the key points specified in the Speech Contest Rulebook.
ü Instruct on their seating position – judges should be seated in such a way to mitigate any
disturbances or challenges like malfunctioning technical system. They should be able to see and
hear the contestant very clearly (even if the audio system fails).
[For online contests] Provide details about the platform in which contest is going to happen.
Judges should be connected throughout the contest’s duration with uninterrupted internet
connection. Even if a judge misses to watch and hear few seconds of a contestant’s speech (due
to network glitch), their ballot should be considered void.
ü Review and go through the Judge’s Guide and Ballot. If needed – discuss and clarify on the ballot
criteria.
ü [Applicable only for voting judges] Discuss about the Protests and Disqualifications [refer to
Protests and Disqualifications in the Speech Contest Rulebook – Page 17, Point 7].
ü [Applicable only for voting judges] Specify how a protest would be handled/addressed? [refer
to Speech Contest Rulebook – Page 29, Point 6 – Address any protests].
ü Make the judges aware about the concept of the contest’s adjournment.
ü Ensure to pass on the following basic instructions:
• The bottom portion of the ballot should have exactly one contestant’s name written in each
place winner.

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.
 • Mandatorily, both the name and the signature of the judge should be filled (else, the ballot
would be considered void).
• The ballot should be folded and passed on discreetly to the Tally/Ballot counter.
• The results of one judge shouldn’t be discussed with another judge (in case, if a judge gets
to know about the identity of another judge)
• Never discard the upper portion of the ballot (with criteria and marking) at the contest
venue – dispose separately by completely shredding the sheet.
ü Introduce the judges’ respective Tally/Ballot Counter immediately after you have finished the
voting judges briefing.
[Note:]
• The voting judges should be made aware to whom they should hand over the bottom
portion of the ballot sheets.
• The ballot should be collected from the tiebreaking judge only by the Chief Judge (since the
tiebreaking judge is known only to the Chief Judge).

Ø To Tiebreaking Judge
ü Briefing has to be conducted separately with the tiebreaking judge.
ü All the points covered above under the section – To Judges should be covered.

Ø To Timers

ü Confirm if the timers or the Contest Management team leads are responsible for arranging the
timer cards.
ü For briefing, refer to the content written in Being a Timer segment in this document itself.

Ø To Tally Counters
ü Introduce the voting judges to the Tally/Ballot counters, preferably immediately after judges
briefing.
ü Give them guidelines on how to get the ballots discreetly from each of the assigned Voting Judges.
ü Explain how to do fill and calculate the scores using the Counter’s Tally Sheet, how a tie would be
resolved etc.
ü Explain yet another important duty of a Ballot counter to interrupt the result declaration in case
the result is declared incorrectly.

This Document was prepared by District Chief Judge DTM Subramanian S in January 2025.