by Jason Jett D25 Chief Judge, 2023-2024
When I was first asked to consider the role of District 25 Chief Judge, I replied with the question, “Do I get to wear the robe?” Unfortunately, there is not a traditional judge’s robe for this role (although you could wear one if you wanted). The District Chief Judge role provides a D25 Toastmaster with the opportunity to learn communication and leadership skills by coordinating judges and chief judges for the upcoming speech contest season. Additionally, the District Chief Judge reviews the Speech Contest Rulebook and conducts Judge Training and Chief Judge Training for district members who wish to volunteer as a judge during the upcoming contest season.
At the Area level, each speech contest has one chief judge, five voting judges, and one tie-breaker judge. At the Division level (and for the District Speech Contest), each speech contest needs one chief judge, seven voting judges, and one tie-breaker judge.
If you are interested in judging one of our speech contests, please plan to attend one of the upcoming TLI Sessions that include Judge Training and Chief Judge Training as a supplemental session. Some contestants may even find this training helpful as they prepare to compete this contest season!
These are the dates of the upcoming Judge and Chief Judge Trainings:
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- Tuesday, January 16th – Virtual TLI Session (Judge Training begins at 8:45pm)
- Thursday, January 18th – Virtual TLI Session (Judge Training begins at 8:45pm)
- Tuesday, January 23rd – Virtual TLI Session (Chief Judge Training begins at 8:45pm, Prerequisite: Judge Training within the last three years)
For more information about the upcoming TLI sessions and/or to register to attend the TLI supplemental Judge Training and Chief Judge Training sessions, please see the District 25 Events Calendar: https://www.d25toastmasters.org/events/
Our speech contest season begins with our first Area speech contest on Saturday, February 3rd. There are twenty-four virtual Area speech contests scheduled during February and March. There are six virtual Division speech contests scheduled for April. Our “live hybrid” District speech contest will be held during our Annual D25 Conference on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Please see our D25 Speech Contest Schedule here: https://www.d25toastmasters.org/program-quality/speech-contest-schedule/
Please email me at chief_judge@d25toastmasters.org if you have any questions about Judge Training or Chief Judge Training.
It is a pleasure to serve District 25 in this role this year (even though I don’t get to wear the robe)! I look forward to a wonderful contest season and wish all our speech contestants the best of luck!
