League Policies

1. These rules represent integrity in competition. A confirmed violation of these rules will result in a penalty.

   1. All material presented in the speech must be either the competitor’s original work or include the source(s) for any information, details, research, theories, stories, lyrics, tunes, or ideas obtained from another person or source–whether directly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
      1. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited.
      2. Sources must be verbally mentioned.
      3. Sources must be included on a Works Cited page.
      4. Common knowledge that is known to most people does not need to be cited in any way (e.g., George Washington was the first U.S. President, Jesus rose on the third day, etc.).
   2. Any blocking, characterization, etc. must be original and developed primarily by the competitor.
   3. Speeches used for competition in a prior season may not be used in any other competition season. The submitted script must be recited during all competition rounds.
   4. During championship tournaments, competitors must perform the same piece that they performed when they earned the invitation to compete at the championship tournament. In other words, it is the combination of both the piece and the person that is awarded an invitation to the higher level of competition. Minor revisions are allowed, but the competitor should not go so far as to change the main theme, storyline, or derivative external source while preparing for advanced competition with a speech that has already qualified.
   5. Script or note use at a Regional or National Championship will result in disqualification from the event.
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