Club Contestant Criteria... who goes to Area Contest?

Steve Rock writes...

Hi Dave,
It is my understanding that a club can send any two of its club members to compete in either or both of the contests, regardless of how that club determines which two people it will be. Is that true?

One club in A4 wants to send someone to compete, despite the fact that they did not have a contest. A club in A2 had a contest with only two contestants, one of which cannot attend the Area contest, so they would like to send someone else.

Is there anything other than a person not being a member (of TM and the source club) in good standing that would prevent a person from competing in an Area contest? If so, could you please clarify the pre-requisites?

Thanks, Dave!

Steve

Steve Rock
BI Toastmasters
"Editor-elect", Yankee Activator

RESPONSE.....

Steve,

The club "decides" who will represent them at the area contest.

If they have more than two contestants for a particular contest, they should have a contest to determine which two will go to the next level. A club does not have to run a contest if they have less than the number of contestants they can send to the area contest... although a club contest is a good idea since it gives the contestant a chance to practice their speech and get feedback that will help them at the next level.

Please keep in mind that at the Area level, two contestants from each club are permitted for each contest. That means they can send as many as 4 contestants to the area contests (2 Humorous, 2 TableTopics).

I hope this helps clear things up!

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Dave Wheeler
Div.A Governor, 2006-8

P.S. We welcome suggestions or clarifications via the comments section of this blog... so if you have a similar problem or something else, please let us know!