League Policies
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Only feet are permitted to intentionally touch the floor at any time.
- Gymnastics are not permitted. Gymnastics include acrobatic-type blocking such as flips, cartwheels, leaping over people or objects, etc.
- Costumes are not permitted. Costumes include any item(s) worn in addition to the competitor’s tournament attire.
- Visual aids other than the digital presentation 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.
- 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.
- Requesting verbal or physical participation (e.g., raising hand, clapping, verbal responses, closing eyes) from audience members, including judges, is not permitted.
- In online tournaments:
- Other individuals may be present during the speech but must not be intentionally visible on screen.
- A single, stationary camera must be used (i.e., no zooming or panning is permitted).
- Aside from the digital presentation, 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).
- Direct quotations may comprise up to 350 words of the total words in the speech.
- A digital presentation downloaded on a single device (laptop, tablet, or phone) must accompany the speech. A wireless presenter remote and/or external speakers may be used.
- Imported videos and/or audio are not permitted (including GIFs).
- Non-original images or graphics are considered supporting material. The sources do not need to be verbally stated, but must be listed on a Works Cited slide(s) included in the presentation.
- For in-person tournaments, Tournament Administration will provide a single table for device staging. The table must not be relocated.
- If the competitor chooses to display their presentation on their own device, the competitor’s device must be placed on the provided equipment table or held by the competitor.
- Assistance with a competitor’s setup or equipment is not permitted once the competitor has entered the competition room.