District 54 will conduct the International Speech Contest and the Evaluation Speech Contest in 2025. 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 schedules will be posted below. If you would like to assist in any of these contests, please contact your Division or Area Director.
***Clubs must complete their contests by February 15, 2025.***
Area 10
March 1, 2025
Location: Wesley Willows,
4142 Johns Farm Rd, Rockford, IL
Area 10 time: 8:30 am
Combined Area 11 & 12 Contests
February 23, 2025
Location: Valley Sheltered Workshop,
325 main St, Batavia, IL
Area 11 time: 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM
Area 12 time: 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Division A Contest
March 30, 2025
Location: Dekalb Public Library,
309 Oak Street Dekalb, IL
1:30 pm
Combined Area 20, 21, 22 Contests
March 1, 2025
Location: 3001 West Grand Parkway, Peoria, IL 61615
briefing to start at 10:00am (tentative) and
10:30 am (tentative) contest start
Division B Contest
March 22, 2025
Location: North Peoria Library
3001 West Grand Parkway, Peoria, IL 61615
briefing to start at 12:30 pm (tentative) and
1:00 pm (tentative) contest start
Combined Area 30, 31, 32 Contests
March 8, 2025
Location: Country Financial
1701 Towanda Ave
Bloomington, IL 61701
Drive to the back of the building.
Enter through Door #4 (there is an ADA ramp to this door).
9 am briefing; 9:30 am contest start (times tentative)
Division C Contest
April 12, 2025 (date tentative)
Location: Country Financial
1701 Towanda Ave
Bloomington, IL 61701
Drive to the back of the building.
Enter through Door #4 (there is an ADA ramp to this door).
Combined Area 40, 41 Contests
March 8, 2025
Location: New Life Church, New Lenox
9 am doors open/briefings
10 am Area 40 Contests
11:45 am Break with refreshments
12:05 pm Area 41 Contests
2:00 pm Awards and closing
Note: No contestants for Area 42, thus no contest
Division D Contest
March 29, 2025
Location: Messiah Lutheran Church,
40 Houbolt Rd, Joliet, IL 60431
Doors Open: 9:00 AM
Briefings: 9:30 AM
Contest Starts: 10:00 AM
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.
This rulebook contains contest rules and checklists for the Contest Chair, Chief Judge and Contestant.
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.
Noel Ganay conducted a webinar to help clubs understand how to conduct a quality speech contest. The PowerPoint he used in the webinar can be dowloaded below.