2009-2010 CCDHH Rules
Topic: “Cyber Communication — Progress or Problem?”
Official Rules
Section I - General Rules
1. Contestants must enter through a local Optimist Club.
2. The CCDHH District Chair is responsible for all phases of the contest and his or her rulings in accordance with the official rules are final.
3. All competitions must be conducted by Optimists only.
4. The contest date, time and place will be determined by the Contest Chair.
5. All contestants must comply with the official rules of the contest.
6. The official application must be completed by each contestant and submitted to the sponsoring Club’s Contest Chair.
7. All Zone, Regional and District level contests must have a minimum of 3 contestants participating.
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 Quebec and grade 13 in the Caribbean. Students must have a hearing loss of 40 decibels or more in order to be eligible to participate. Participants must submit an audiogram done within 24 months of the date of the contest from a qualified audiologist.
2. Contestants are eligible for only one Club’s contest during any given year.
3. Each contestant must prepare his or her own presentation with limited assistance on
content. Improvements to the presentation can be made at any time.
4. A student who has won a District CCDHH or CCHI scholarship is not eligible to compete at
any level of the competition again.
Section III - Contest Rules
1. All contestants must make a presentation on the official contest topic.
2. Contestants can present in sign language, orally or using a combination of both.
3. Presentations may be delivered in a language other than English if the language used is the
official language of the country in which the sponsoring Club is located.
4. The interpreter is to be provided by the sponsoring Optimist Club/Zone/District.
5. All contestants must give the official contest topic before beginning their presentation. If a contestant fails to do this, a 3-point penalty will be automatically assessed by the timekeeper.
6. 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.
7. The use of props, special costumes or clothing, or the use of prompters will not be permitted. The penalty will be disqualification. Notes and lecterns can be used if the contestant desires.
8. The time limit is not under 4 minutes and no longer than 5 minutes. Contestants going over or under will not be cautioned, and will be penalized one point for each 15 seconds or fraction of over or under the time limits. This penalty will be assessed by the timekeeper.
9. Timing will begin immediately after the official topic is given. Timing will stop when the contestant finishes.
10.No reference can be made that identifies the student, parents, school, community, sponsoring Optimist Club or District. This will result in a deduction of 5 points or a fraction of based on the degree of identification.
11. Contestants must not be identified by name, school or sponsoring Club until all judges
have left the room.
12.Any protest in the conduct at any level of this contest must be made immediately after the
condition is noted. Protests received after the next contestant has been introduced, or in
the case of the last contestant, after the judges leave to total the scores, will not be accepted under any circumstances.
13.The Contest Chair will rule on all protests in accordance with the official rules. The decision of the Contest Chair is final 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 must be qualified to evaluate the presentation methods of all contestants with
or without the assistance of an interpreter.
3. The judges and timekeeper must not be identified in any pre-publicity or at the contest until after the contest has been completed.
4. Judges are not permitted to discuss or compare scores or opinions on any of the contestants with anyone or each other. Judges must evaluate each presentation independently.
5. 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 adherence, theme, content, color and logic. The maximum point award is 40 points.
2. Delivery & Presentation – delivery, gestures and emphasis. The maximum point award is
30 points.
3. Overall Effectiveness – appeal, impression, attitude and effect. The maximum point award is 30 points.
Section VI - Penalties
1. Failure to give official topic – 3 points
2. Failure to identify non-original material - disqualification
3. Use of props, etc. – disqualification
4. Time penalties – 1 points for each 15 seconds or fraction of over or under the limit
5. Self-identification – 5 points or fraction of based on degree of identification
