CCDHH 2002-2003 Official Rules

 Section I - General Rules

1 . All competitions must be conducted by Optimists only.  

2 . The CCDHH committee and Chair are responsible for all phases of the contest,
     and their rulings in accordance with the published rules are final .

3 . The contest date, time and place will be determined by the contest Chair.

4 . All contestants must comply with all official rules.

5 . Each contestant must prepare his or her own presentation with limited assistance on content.
     Improvements can be made to the presentation at any time.

6 . The Official Zone/District Entry Form must be completed by each contestant and submitted to
      the sponsoring club’s contest Chair.

Section II - Qualifications for Contestants

1.  The contest is open to young people through grade 12 in the
     United States and Canada, to CEGEP in Québec and grade 13
     in the Caribbean, who are recognized by their school as deaf
     or hard of hearing and verified as such on the entry form.

2.  A student who has won an Optimist International CCDHH or CCHI scholarship
     of any kind is not eligible to re-enter this contest.

3.  Each contestant must present one copy of the text typewritten, double-spaced and identified
     with the contestant’s name on the cover page only. Their name should not appear on the page
     with text .

 Section III – Contest Rules

1 . Contest Minimums

A . Club level - T here is no stated minimum number of contestants that has to be obtained to
       perform a legitimate club level competition.

B. District level - T h e re shall be no fewer than five contestants competing for scholarships
     District-wide. Failure to provide the minimum number of contestants District wide will require
     a special ruling by the International Programs Committee prior to the completion of the contest .
2 . The interpreter is to be provided by the sponsoring Optimist Club / Zone / District.

3 . The contest Chair, prior to the start of the contest, will conduct a drawing for presentation
      order. All contestants will then be re f e r red to as presenter A, presenter B, etc.

4 . All contestants must make a presentation on the official topic.

5 . All contestants must give the official topic before beginning their pre s e n t a t i o n s. If the
     contestant fails to do this, a three - point penalty is automatically assessed by the timekeeper.
     Timing will begin immediately after the official topic is expressed. Timing will stop when the
      contestant finishes.

6 . Contestants can present in sign language, orally or a combination of both. Presentations may
      be delivered in a language other than English if the language used is an official language of the
      country in which the sponsoring club is located.

7 . Any quotation or copyrighted material used in the presentation must be identified with the
     original author’s name.  Failure to identify non-original material will result in disqualification.

8 . No reference can be made that identifies the contestant, his or her family, sponsoring 
     Optimist Club or geographical region. This does not include religion or nationality. The
      maximum penalty to be assessed is five points.

9 . The time limit is not under 4 minutes and no longer than 5 m i n u t e s. Contestants going over
     or under will not be cautioned, but will be penalized one point for each 15 seconds or fraction
     over or under the time limits. These penalties are assessed by the official timekeeper.

10 . The use of pro p s, special costumes or clothing, or the use of prompters will not be
        permitted. Penalty is disqualification.

Notes and lecterns can be used if the contestant desires.

1 2 .Any protest in the conduct of any level of this contest must be made immediately after the           condition is noted. Pro t e s t s received after the next contestant has been introduced, or in
       the case of the last contestant, after the judges leave to total scores, will not be accepted           under any circumstances. The contest Chair will rule on all protests in accordance with the
       published rules. The decision of the contest Chair is the final word, 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 and timekeeper must not be identified in any p re-publicity or at the contest until
      after the contest has been completed.

3 . The judges for the contest must be qualified to evaluate the presentation methods of all
      contestants with or without the assistance of an interpreter.

4 . During the contest, the judges and timekeeper should be seated in different locations.

5 . The timekeeper must be provided with a stopwatch.

6 . Judges are not permitted to discuss or compare scores or opinions on any of the contestants
     with anyone or each o t h e r. Judges must evaluate each presentation independently.

7 . 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 adhere n c e, theme, logic, content and color): up to 40 points

2 . Delivery & Presentation (Delivery, gestures and emphasis): up to 30 points

3 . Overall Effectiveness (Appeal, impression, attitude, effect): up to 30 points

Section VI – Penalties

1 . Use of props, etc.: disqualification

2 . Self - Identification: 1-5 points

3 . Time penalties: 1 point for each 15 seconds or fraction over or under the limit

4 . Failure to announce topic: 3 points

5 . Failure to identify non-original material: disqualification

6 . Failure to complete presentation: disqualification

 Section VII – Awards
 The following are the only awards to be given in the Optimist International Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. These official awards are available from Shumsky
Enterprises (U.S.) or the Canadian Service Centre.

1 . Club Awards: Medallion

2 . District Awards: Plaque and Scholarship

A . Each winner of the District level contest will receive a $ 1 500 scholarship for use at a college,       university or trade school.

B. Scholarships are funded by the Optimist International Foundations of the United States and
    Canada.

C . Districts have the option of donating a matching scholarship to the Optimist International 
      Foundation in order to provide a second $1500 scholarship. Funds must be received by the
      Foundation before either winner will be sent confirmation of their scholarship .

D . All scholarships will be payable to either the student or to the educational institution of the
      recipient’s choice, subject to the approval of Optimist International.

E . All scholarships will be administered by Optimist International.

F. Scholarships are held for 12 years from the effective date.


CCDHH CONTEST DATE - MARCH 8, 2003 ...... Grossmont Community College        CCDHH CONTEST DATE - MARCH 8, 2003...... Grossmont Community College

 ROOM 575 - GROSSMONT COLLEGE  - ROOM 575 

[This page updated 02/24/03]                          {Return to CCDHH page}

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