Application for the 2020-2021 Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Name M F
Address
City
State/Country Zip Code
Telephone ( ) E-mail
Date of Birth / / Age
Have you participated in any other Optimist Club’s Communication Contest for the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing this school year?
Yes
No
Audiologist Verification:
I verify that the contestant listed above has a hearing loss of 40 decibels or more.
Signature Date / /
Title
Contestant Agreement:
I have studied the rules of the contest, and I will be bound by all of the requirements.
Contestant’s Signature Date / /
Parent or Guardian Permission:
I give my permission for my child/ward to participate in this contest.
Signature Date / /
Relationship
I, grant the Optimist Club/International my permission
to use a picture/video of my son/daughter for their public relations
purposes. Optimist Club/International may use the photo/video in any publication they see fit.
Sponsoring Optimist Club Name
Sponsoring Optimist Club Number
Topic: “Healing the World with Optimism” Please send your application to the address below.
Official Rules
Section I - General Rules
1. Contestants must enter through a local Optimist
Club.
2. The CCDHH District Chair is responsible for
all phases of the contest and his or her rulings in
accordance with the official rules are final.
3. All competitions must be conducted by Optimists
only.
4. The contest date, time and place will be
determined by the Contest Chair.
5. All contestants must comply with the official
rules of the contest.
6. The official application must be completed by
each contestant and submitted to the sponsoring
Club’s Contest Chair.
7. All Zone, Regional and District level contests
must have a minimum of 3 contestants
participating.
Section II - Qualifications for Contestants
1. The contest is open to contestants under the age
of 19 as of October 1 of the current Optimist
contest year and who have not yet completed
secondary school or its equivalent, including
CEGEP students in Québec, Canada. .
Contestants must have an uncorrected hearing
loss of 40 decibels or more in order to be eligible
to participate. Participants must submit an
audiogram or a Cochlear Implant Programming
Report done within 24 months of the date of the
contest from a qualified audiologist
2. Contestants are eligible for only one Club’s
contest during any given year.
3. Each contestant must prepare his or her own
presentation with limited assistance on content.
Improvements to the presentation can be made
at any time.
4. A contestant who has won a District CCDHH or
CCHI scholarship is not eligible to compete at
any level of the competition again.
Section III - Contest Rules
1. All contestants must make a presentation on the
official contest topic and submit a typed copy
of the speech.
2. Contestants can present in sign language, orally
or using a combination of both.
3. Presentations may be delivered in a language
other than English or French.
4. The interpreter is to be provided by the
sponsoring Optimist Club/Zone/District.
5. All contestants must give the official contest
topic in the first sentence of their presentation.
If a contestant fails to do this, a 3-point penalty
will be automatically assessed by the
timekeeper.
6. Any quotation, copyrighted, or largely
paraphrased material used in the presentation
must be identified with the original author’s
name. Failure to identify non-original material
will result in disqualification.
7. The use of props, special costumes or clothing,
will result in 10 penalty points.
8. The use of audience prompters will result in
disqualification.
9. Notes and lecterns can be use if the contestant
desires.
10. The time limit is not under 4 minutes and no
longer than 5 minutes. Contestants going
over or under will not be cautioned, and will
be penalized one point each 15 seconds or
fraction of over or under the time limits.
This penalty will be assessed by the
timekeeper.
11. Timing will begin with first word or sign.
Timing will stop when the contestant finishes.
10. No reference can be made that identifies the
contestant, parents, school, community,
sponsoring Optimist Club or District. This will
result in a deduction of up to 5 points.
11. Contestants must not be identified by name,
school or sponsoring Club until all judges
have started deliberations.
12. Any protest in the conduct at any level of this
contest must be made immediately after the
condition is noted. Protests received after the
next contestant has been introduced, or in the
case of the last contestant, after the judges leave
to total the scores, will not be accepted under
any circumstances.
13. The Contest Chair will rule on all protests
in accordance with the official rules. The
decision of the Contest Chair is final and no
higher appeals will be recognized.
Section IV- Judging and Timing
1. Each contest must have three judges, one
timekeeper and one certified interpreter.
2. The judges must be qualified to evaluate the
presentation methods of all contestants with or
without the assistance of an interpreter.
3. The judges and timekeeper must not be
identified in any pre-publicity or at the contest
until after the contest has been completed.
4. Judges are not permitted to discuss or
compare scores or opinions on any of the
contestants with anyone or each other. Judges
must evaluate each presentation
independently.
5. The judges’ scores and penalties are
confidential and should not be viewed by anyone
except the Contest Chair.
Section V - Scoring
1. Material Organization – subject adherence,
theme, content, color and logic. The maximum
point award is 40 points.
2. Delivery & Presentation – delivery, gestures
and emphasis. The maximum point award is 30
points.
3. Overall Effectiveness – appeal, impression,
attitude and effect. The maximum point award is
30 points.
Section VI - Penalties
1. Failure to give official topic in the first sentence – 3
points
2. Failure to identify non-original material
– up to 10 points
3. Use of props, costume, etc. – 10 points
4. Time penalties – 1 points for each 15 seconds or
fraction of over or under the limit
5. Self-identification – up to 5 points
6. Failure to complete speech – disqualification
7. Use of audience prompters - disqualification
For more information contact:
SPONSORING CLUB SHOULD POST CONTACT
INFORMATION HERE
Contact person:
______________________________________________
Contact address:
______________________________________________
Contact phone or email:
______________________________________________
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