by Nancy Ellenson, EH5
Autumn is upon us, and we are well into the new Toastmaster’s year. Area Visits are in full swing, clubs are back from summer break, and Division Directors are already talking about contest season. Why should we talk about it already? Because this year, Toastmasters has informed us that all contests beyond club level are to be in person only. No more Zoom links, no hybrid option, just good old-fashioned in person contests. For many of us, including myself, this is new territory; and for some of us it means more planning is necessary to be involved.
As a Division Director I am supposed to be the Chief Judge at the Area Contests and the Contest Chair for the Division Contest. The problem I have with this is that I am a 3-hour drive away from Winnipeg (one-way). This means finding housing (either hotel or bunking at a friend’s house), needing to eat, and taking time off work to make the trip. Now multiply this by five!
How can we find a happy solution to this? If we expect the clubs outside the city of Winnipeg to participate in contests, there needs to be cooperation. Make room in your homes for contestants and officials to spend the night and save them the cost of a hotel. Band together and have joint contests. Volunteer to be a contest official “stand in”.
Unfortunately for the clubs that are the farthest away from the city (Dryden, Flin Flon, etc) this will not help much. They are still very far away and have no cheap option for travel. How can we keep them involved and feel like they are a valuable part of things? If we can’t keep them involved, we will lose a fairly large number of contest officials and contestants.
So what do you do? Step up. Be involved. Offer assistance. Take the training to be a contest judge. Consider district leadership for next year. Write to TI to voice your concerns (especially with the upcoming district realignment). Show understanding when clubs do not participate in contests. And most of all, be compassionate with your district leaders when they cannot make it in person for contests. Some of us have a long drive and a short budget of time and money.