League Policies

1. In any competitive event, boundaries must exist in order to create a level playing field. These are rules that are in place to avoid a competitive advantage of any competitor over another. A confirmed violation of these rules will result in a penalty.

   1. Tournament Administration will apply a four-rank penalty to the judges’ final ranks for any competitor who has a script or notes within their view during their speech at any tournament other than a Regional or National Championship. Online competitors must announce the script use before the speech begins.
   2. A pre-show is not permitted. A pre-show refers to rehearsed blocking, synchronized movement, or additional performance prior to the beginning of the timed speech.
   3. Only feet are permitted to intentionally touch the floor at any time.
   4. Gymnastics are not permitted. Gymnastics include acrobatic-type blocking such as flips, cartwheels, leaping over people or objects, etc.
   5. Costumes are not permitted. Costumes include any item(s) worn in addition to the competitor’s tournament attire.
   6. Visual aids are not permitted. Visual aids are items used to enhance the speech. In an online tournament, this also includes green screens, virtual backgrounds, or on-screen text.
   7. Competitors must present their speeches center stage (or within the camera frame for online tournaments) and must not infringe on the judges’ table or personal space.
   8. Requesting verbal or physical participation (e.g., raising hand, clapping, verbal responses, closing eyes) from audience members, including judges, is not permitted.
   9. In online tournaments:
      1. Other individuals may be present during the speech but must not be intentionally visible on screen.
      2. A single, stationary camera must be used (i.e., no zooming or panning is permitted).
      3. Only audio presented live from the competitor is permitted (i.e., audio that is computer-generated, recorded, generated by a third-party, etc. is not permitted).
   10. Direct quotations may comprise up to 150 words of the total words in the speech.
   11. Singing may comprise up to 150 words of the speech.
   12. Published songs are permitted. A verbal citation is not required but the source of the published song must be included on the Works Cited page.
   13. Competitors must either present an original literary work or a derivative work, scripted word-for-word by the competitor.
       1. “Original literary work” tells a new and unique story.
       2. “Derivative work” is derived from an external source(s) and adapted to create a new and fresh story.
          1. An “external source” is the existing work that inspired the derivative work.
          2. Derivative works must include at least one literary element (such as characters, plot, and/or setting) that is new and unique from the external source(s).
   14. Introductory verbal elements are required.
       1. For an original literary work, the title of the original literary work must be stated early in the speech.
       2. For a derivative work,
          1. The title of the derivative work must be stated early in the speech.
          2. The title and author of the external source(s) must be stated early in the speech.
          3. At least one new and unique literary element must be stated and used throughout the speech (such as characters, plot, setting, etc.).
       3. The required introductory verbal elements may follow an introduction or teaser.
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