World Headquarters has released their annual revision to the Speech Contest Rulebook.  While changes are marked with a diamond in the text, there’s no indication of what the change is, and there’s no official summary of what’s different.

So I carefully compared the two editions and made my notes.  The changes most relevant to running a contest are:

1. A member who INTENDS to compete may not serve as a judge (probably to cover club contests where the member hasn’t actually competed yet).
2. Contest functionaries may not compete in the contest they’re serving in.  Did someone try to be a timer or contest toastmaster at an event they were also competing in?  Hopefully no one is shocked by this.
3. The rule permitting districts to allow areas with four or less clubs (eight weeks prior to the area contest) to have two contestants from each club is clarified so that the club count refers to clubs in good standing.
4. No more than 25% of the speech may be quoting, paraphrasing, or referencing another person’s content.  The “substantially original” requirement has not changed.
5. The statement that contestants may only speak from the designated area is removed (though they must still be advised of a speaking area).
6. Requirements for judges representation have been slightly relaxed, requirements at lower level contests are now “unless impractical”.
7. Judges no longer have to be a member in good standing since the previous July 1, but for a minimum of six months (makes things more consistent for the two rounds of contests).
8. Judges shall remain anonymous when practical.  This was not in the old rulebook at all, though almost everyone followed it.
9. There is now a Judge’s Certification of Eligibility and Code of Ethics (Item 1170). The form must be signed and returned to the chief judge.
10. The Chief Judge sends a ranked list of ALL the contestants to the next level, not just the winners.

For a more detailed comparison of the texts, see this document, which shows the before and after text from the two editions side by side.