Interested in judging?
Judging is a very rewarding experience and a great opportunity for an adult to see an example of a middle school student putting a tremendous amount of work into something and then seeing it pay off. It is refreshing to be impressed by this age group and you will absolutely be impressed by some of the speeches you hear !
At a Declam meet, all 500-600 students who attend are divided into their categories and then placed into groups of 7 or 8 within each category. Each group is then matched with a judge and put in a room. (All of this is done with a database ahead of time and all the judge has to do is find their room and wait for the students to show up!)
The students will take turns presenting their pieces to the room while the judge listens and critiques their presentation. Each student hands the judge a detailed rubric explaining all the elements the judge should look for and it is the judges job to see how close they come to mastering each individual element. The rubric sheet is very thorough and gives many examples of what to look for with each aspect of the speech.
To make it easier, each meet will have a judges meeting which explains the process, goes through the rubric and helps make sure everybody is comfortable. Any remaining questions can easily be answered by fellow judges or coaches. To top it off, you get a light breakfast and a stipend for the time you spend with us on a Saturday morning! Please consider judging a meet or two this year, but respond soon because these dates might be filling up!
- Declam meets run from 8:30 a.m. until about 12 p.m.
- Judges are paid a referee stipend for their time. Register here to help with judging!
If you would like to judge for one of our meets this year, please send an email to Michael.Mccay@district196.org and indicate which Saturdays you are available.
Speech Judges' Handbook
