From Chris Boden, D71 UK & Ireland Evaluation Champion 2011
I was extremely proud to win the District 71 Evaluation Contest in Windsor this year. As we’re in the next contest season I’ve reflected on how it almost didn’t happen - an important lesson for all competitors and club officials.
Four days before the Division H final I received a phone call from a very stressed contest organiser: “World headquarters have declared you are not eligible to compete.” Oh dear. After winning both Club and Area contests I faced being disqualified from the Division final. How did this happen?
Every entrant in a Toastmasters contest must be a member of Toastmasters International. This applies at every level of competing. The rules state:
3. Maintain eligibility at all levels of any contest.
a) If at any level it is determined that a contestant was ineligible to compete at any previous level, the contestant must be disqualified. This disqualification must occur even if the ineligibility is discovered at a later level and has been corrected.
That means that if you are not a fully paid up member before your club contest, or if your membership lapses between say, club and area level, you can’t compete further even if you sort out your membership afterwards. You don’t become or remain a member of Toastmasters International when you pay your money to your club, but when your club pays your dues to Toastmasters World Headquarters (WHQ). Club officers please note.
It turns out that this is a depressingly regular occurrence. Year on year toastmasters find themselves disqualified from high level contests despite having done the hard work to win. Even Division winners have been told they can’t compete in UK & Ireland Finals due to issues with their membership. Imagine that! A chance to compete at the highest level stripped away from you because someone didn’t submit a form? The rules are there for good reasons, so it is up to us to make sure that we comply.
I was lucky. In my case my new club had done everything correctly and it was only the WHQ website maintenance that caused a delay in the application being processed. If you’re a club officer, please check your official WHQ membership roster before the club’s contest. Make sure that all contestants are registered. Don’t be the one responsible for one of your members losing what they have worked so hard for.
There is one person who also needs a bit of a kicking – me. I should have checked my status before competing. If I had made sure of it a week or two before the contest I would have slept far more soundly for a couple of nights.
Competing is a wonderful experience and the rewards are many. Determining competitor’s eligibility is a simple matter, that every Treasurer and contest organiser must ensure takes place. Enjoy the rest of your contest season. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Glasgow.
photo by Barry Crabtree
