Toastmasters International District 54
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    • Home
    • ABOUT
      • What is Toastmasters?
      • Testimonials
      • District Team
      • District 54 Map of Clubs
      • Open volunteer positions
      • Prison Clubs
      • Our History
    • D54 Conference
      • D54 2026 Conference
      • Speakers Spot
      • Conference Sponsorship
    • Events
      • Calendar of Events
      • DEC and Council Meetings
      • TLI's
      • Contests
      • Webinars/Zoom Calls
    • EDUCATION & TRAINING
      • Pathways
      • Training
    • RESOURCES
    • District changes
    • AWARDS/RECOGNITION
      • Awards
    • Contact Us
Toastmasters International District 54
  • Home
  • ABOUT
    • What is Toastmasters?
    • Testimonials
    • District Team
    • District 54 Map of Clubs
    • Open volunteer positions
    • Prison Clubs
    • Our History
  • D54 Conference
    • D54 2026 Conference
    • Speakers Spot
    • Conference Sponsorship
  • Events
    • Calendar of Events
    • DEC and Council Meetings
    • TLI's
    • Contests
    • Webinars/Zoom Calls
  • EDUCATION & TRAINING
    • Pathways
    • Training
  • RESOURCES
  • District changes
  • AWARDS/RECOGNITION
    • Awards
  • Contact Us

2026 Speech Contests

Speech Contests will be held in 2026

    District 54 will conduct the International Speech Contest and the Tall Tales Speech Contest in 2026.  All contests will be held in person. 

    Contests are a great opportunity for members of our clubs to showcase the best speakers as they compete, starting at the club level.  

    To be eligible to compete, a member must be a paid member of a club in the Area, Division, and District in which they are competing, and the club must be in good standing (minimum of 8 paid members).  For the International Speech Contest, the contestant must also have completed Levels 1 and 2 in a Path or have earned a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award.  

    Contest dates will be posted below.  If you would like to assist in any of these contests, please contact your Division or Area Director.


CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT UPCOMING CHIEF JUDGE TRAINING!!

          ***Clubs must complete their contests by February 15, 2026.***

District 54 Speech Contests

District 54 Int'l and Tall Tales Speech Contests will held on Apr 25, 2026 at the Annual Conference

2026 Area and Division Speech Contests Schedule

Division A

Division A

Division A

Combined Area 10 & 14 Contest

March 14, 2026

Time:

Area 10 begins at 9:30 AM

Area 14 begins at 11:00 AM

Location:

Westlake Village Community Center

3677 Westlake Village Dr, Winnebago, IL 61088


Area 11 & 12 Contest

 March 14, 2026 

Time: 

Area 11 begins at 1:00 PM

Area 12 begins at 2:30 PM

Location:

Messenger Library in North Aurora 

113 Oak St, North Aurora, IL 60542


Area 13 Contest

March 7, 2026

Time: 10 am - 1 pm   

Location: New Life Church

500 Gougar road

New Lenox, IL  60451

Briefings at 10:30 am and contest at 11 am. 


Division A Contest

March 28, 2026

Time:

Briefing starts 10:00 am, followed by contest

Dekalb Public Library

309 Oak St, Dekalb, IL

 

Division B

Division A

Division A

Combined Areas 21 & 22 Contests

February 28, 2026

 Spring Bay American Legion

500 Legion Ln, East Peoria, IL

Doors open at 9:30 with briefings starting at 10

contest starting at 10:30 


Combined Areas 20, 23 & 24 Contests

March 7, 2026

 American Legion Hall (207 W Hely St, Towanda)

Doors open at 1, briefings at 1:30, 

Speech contests start at 2:00


Division B Contest

April 11, 2026

American Legion Hall (207 W Hely St, Towanda)

Doors open at 1, briefings at 1:30, 

Speech contests start at 2:00

Contest Resources

Speech Contest Kits

Speech Contest Plan (rev 4 - updated November 2024)

2025-2026 Speech Contest Rulebook

All the forms you need for any of the speech contests are right here at your fingertips!  The below link goes to the TI website, where you can select and download the desired contest kit.

Download speech contest Kit(s)

2025-2026 Speech Contest Rulebook

Speech Contest Plan (rev 4 - updated November 2024)

2025-2026 Speech Contest Rulebook

This rulebook contains contest rules and checklists for the Contest Chair, Chief Judge and Contestant.


Download speech contest rulebook

Speech Contest Plan (rev 4 - updated November 2024)

Speech Contest Plan (rev 4 - updated November 2024)

Club Training - Quality Speech Contests Webinar Resource

This document is step by step plan for speech contests including before, during and after the event.  It also includes guides for briefing contestants, judges and other functionaries, as well as tips for virtual contests.

DOWNLOAD SPEECH CONTEST PLAN

Club Training - Quality Speech Contests Webinar Resource

Club Training - Quality Speech Contests Webinar Resource

Club Training - Quality Speech Contests Webinar Resource

Noel Ganay conducted a webinar in 2024 to help clubs understand how to conduct a quality speech contest.  The PowerPoint he used in the webinar can be dowloaded below.

DOWNLOAD SPEECH CONTEST WEBINAR RESOURCE

Chief Judge Training Webinar Resource (15 Jan 2025)

Club Training - Quality Speech Contests Webinar Resource

Chief Judge Training Webinar Resource (15 Jan 2025)

Christinae Evans presented a very informative webinar session on Chief Judge Training, including Hints and Tips from the Speech Contest Rulebook and Experienced Toastmasters.  The PowerPoint she used in the webinar can be dowloaded below.

DOWNLOAD Chief judge training ppt

Copyright © 2023 Toastmasters International District 54 - All Rights Reserved.

The information on this website is for the sole use of Toastmasters’ members, for Toastmasters business only. It is not to be used for solicitation and distribution of non-Toastmasters material or information.

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