Quarterfinals FAQ

Information can be found in the Speech Contest Rulebook. Video recording rules for District International Speech Contests are included.

The sequence for the program year is: club, Area, Division, District, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals.

The top two contestants from each quarterfinal contest will advance to the semifinals, which are held during the Toastmasters International Convention.

Quarterfinal winners will be split into four semifinal contests, each consisting of seven speakers. The top two contestants from each semifinal will advance to compete in the World Championship of Public Speaking.

To accommodate an increasing number of Districts participating in the semifinals and to ensure education sessions and other International Convention business can be fulfilled, region quarterfinals were implemented, beginning in 2019.

Toastmasters members, contest officials, and Program Quality Directors should familiarize themselves with the Speech Contest Rulebook and review the rules that are specific to quarterfinals.

Program Quality Directors will submit video of the first-place winner from their District contest, along with required forms. Toastmasters International will provide specific instructions by email about two weeks before the District contest.

Region quarterfinals was updated to quarterfinals beginning with the 2024-2025 program year. This change occurred because of region realignment that went into effect starting with the 2024-2025 program year, which resulted in the smallest region containing five (5) Districts, and the largest region containing 13 Districts. Quarterfinals now include District winners randomly assigned to contests with no fewer than nine (9) and no more than 10 contestants in each to reduce the disparity in contest size caused by the region realignment.

There must be a minimum of nine voting judges and one tiebreaking judge for each contest. The Immediate Past International President once removed will be the chief judge for all quarterfinals.

Judges must be Toastmasters members of clubs in good standing who have achieved Advanced Toastmaster Bronze, Advanced Communicator Bronze, or Distinguished Toastmaster, or have completed one full path in the Pathways learning experience. No voting judge or tiebreaking judge can be a member in the same District in which a contestant is a member.

Quarterfinal judges will view all videos for their assigned contest in the order provided by the chief judge. Quarterfinal judges must view all videos in one (1) sitting and may only view each video once. Pausing or rewinding is prohibited.