A drawing shall be held by the official in charge of the contest to determine the order in which the contestants will appear. The Contest Chairman shall announce the title of the contestant’s prepared oration immediately after introducing him/her as Contestant No. 1, Contestant No. 2, etc. The chairman will request the audience to refrain from applause until the Judges have made their decision.
A raised platform is not compulsory; however, it is strongly recommended. The use of notes, amplification, lectern or speaker’s stand by contestants or prompting in any manner is NOT permitted. Props are NOT permitted.
The use of any type of electronic/digital data gathering, receiving and/or transmitting equipment in any form by contestants or members of the audience is prohibited.
The time allotted for each contestant to deliver their Prepared Oration shall not be less than eight (8) or more than ten (10) minutes and for the Assigned Topic, not less than three (3) or more than five (5) minutes.
An official timer shall be named by the Contest Chairman whose duty it shall be to keep an accurate time record of each contestant, and he shall be located on the main floor in full view of the contestants. The timekeeper shall begin timing each contestant at the start of the Prepared Oration. The timer should be equipped with a stopwatch and time cards for the Prepared Oration carrying the figures 8, 9 and 10. When eight minutes have been used, the time warning card with the figure 8 thereon shall be placed in full view of the speaker, following with 9 and 10 as the speaker progresses. The same procedure shall be used with cards bearing 3, 4 and 5 during the Assigned Topic Discourse. The Contest Chairman shall announce the time consumed by each contestant for the Prepared Oration and the Assigned Topic immediately after each contestant speaks for the benefit of the Judges.
Contestants are required to remain in a private room where the discourse of the other speakers cannot be heard until it is their turn to speak (contestants will be under the supervision of an individual appointed by the Contest Chairman). As the contestants conclude their Prepared Orations, they must return to a soundproof waiting room. As each speaker concludes his or her Assigned Topic Discourse, they shall not be allowed to associate with contestants who have not fulfilled the Assigned Topic requirement.
Approximately five minutes prior to the time of the delivery of the Assigned Topic Discourse, Contestant No. 1 will be informed of the topic drawn for the Assigned Topic and shall be permitted to retire to privacy under the direction of an individual appointed by the Contest Chairman, whose duty it shall be to see that no contestant is permitted to consult any text matter or notes having any connection with the subject matter upon which he/she is to speak, other than the actual words of the topic provided on the card drawn.
Each succeeding contestant will be called upon in the order in which he/she previously appeared. He/She shall also, in turn, be informed of the topic of the Assigned Topic Discourse and shall then be escorted to privacy in the manner as provided for Contestant No. 1.
Eligibility
Eligible participants in The American Legion National High School Oratorical Scholarship Program, "A Constitutional Speech Contest" shall be citizens of or lawful permanent residents of the United States.
All contestants must be bona fide students herein described as any student under the age of twenty (20) years on the date of the National Contest who is presently enrolled in a high school or junior high school (public, parochial, military, private or state accredited home school) in which the curriculum of said high school is considered to be of high school level, commencing with grade nine (9) and terminating with grade twelve (12). Students must be enrolled in high school or junior high school during the time of participation at any level of The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest.
Contestants must either be legally domiciled within or attend an educational institution within the Department (State) that they enter competition. Contestants can enter competition through only one Department.
The three finalists of the National Contest will be ineligible for further participation at any level.
