2012 Oratory Contest Rules and Information

Contest Rules

1. Eligibility:  To compete in the state and local contests, contestants must be in grades 9-12 as of January 31, 2012.  To compete in the national contest, students must be a junior or senior.  If the state's first place winner is in grade 9 or 10, he/she will win the first prize and the next qualifying student in grade 11 or 12 will advance to the national contest.  In case of non-traditional students or home-school students, the school must recognize the student as in the equivalent grade or the year the student enters college will be used to determine eligibility.

2. Students can only compete in one local affiliate contest in a contest year.

3. Contestants are to research, write and present an original prolife speech on the issue of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, or embryonic stem cell research (including human cloning if desired).  The speech should address one of these topics directly, using other topics only as support.   Copyrighted speeches are not allowed.  Contestants must use entirely new speeches if they compete in multiple years.  Speeches must be typed in full and submitted with the contestant's application.

4. Because the speech is to be an oration, appropriate gestures are allowed.  The style and speech type should be appropriate to the message, but the speech must not be a dramatic presentation (i.e. protrayal of a baby in the womb, short story, poem, etc.).  Quotes are fine but should not dominate the speech and must be appropriately attributed.  Props are not permitted.

5. The judges' background and qualifications differ, although all are prolife.  The speech should appeal to a broad audience.

6. Speeches are to be 5 to 7 minutes long.  Penalizing speeches outside the 5 to 7 minute range is left to the judges' discretion.  Speeches under 4 or over 8 minutes will be disqualified.

7. When using facts and statistics, contestants should be sure to use the most current information available from reputable sources and may be penalized by judges for using inaccurate information.

8. Judging criteria for speakers includes: introduction, content, conclusion, presentation and judges' overall opinion.

9. Speech content may not be significantly changed as a contestant advances, though fine-tuning for minor incorrections, timing, etc., is allowed and encouraged.  A copy of the winner's speech is forwarded to the state and national levels to ensure that no major changes have been made.

10. Memorization is not required and it is acceptable for contestants to use notes or refer to their written speeches if necessary.  Though not required at the national level, most speeches are memorized.

11. Contestants will have the option to use a podium and a microphone at the state contest. Microphones are generally not allowed at the national contest.

A flyer and application form can be found by clicking the link and downloading the PDF file below. 

For more information and FAQ please visit Right to Life of Michigan's website at http://www.rtl.org/faith_school/oratory/oratorycontest.html

Download PDF for this event.