FFA District Leadership

Development Events
Training for District Hosts

Presented by:
Cheryl L. Zimmerman
Wisconsin FFA Executive Director
 Introduction

• Thank You
• Not difficult but takes planning
• Start Early!
• Website Materials to make your job
easier
• Please follow the instructions you are
given
• EVERY DISTRICT MUST FOLLOW THE
SAME PROCEDURES
Leadership Development
Events
• Creed Speaking
• Prepared Public Speaking
• Extemporaneous Public Speaking
• Discussion Meet
• Quiz Bowl
• Parliamentary Procedure
• Employment Skills
Setting Up a District Event

• Select a date and time frame

• Mid-January (Jan. 20) to Mid-February
(Feb. 20)
• Dates selected by Sept. 1
• Coordinate dates with UW-River Falls if
planning to use their judges for
parliamentary procedure
 Contact Chapters

• Dates will be published on the website

and Weekly Updates
• Send out Letters About Events before
Holiday Break
• Online Registration System
Remind chapters of important
items
• Number of participants allowed
• Creed speaking can only compete once
• Make sure students are listed as FFA
members
• Number of events a participant can be
in
• Official Dress Required
• Manuscripts and Resumes due dates
 Online Registration

• Specific site on Wisconsin FFA Website

Events > Leadership Development Events
• All registration comes to Wisconsin FFA
Center and then reports will be sent to
the District Hosts.
• Deadline for online registration - 2
weeks before contest. When the site is
closed registration for that district event
is closed.
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Select Judges
• 3 judges for each event
• Select judges that have backgrounds in
speaking, communications, understands
agriculture and the FFA, etc.
• Orientate Judges - Send rules before
contest
• Remember - Decision of the Judges is Final
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Manuscripts for Prepared Speeches
• Must be postmarked two weeks before
your contest
• Send to judges to review - Include score
sheets
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Resumes, Cover Letters and Job
Descriptions
• Must be postmarked two weeks before
your event
• Send to judges to review - Include score
sheets
• Have judges develop questions based off
of resumes and job description
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• 2 Timers needed for each event
• Except Creed, Quiz Bowl and Employment
Skills
• Good job for reliable FFA members
• Give them the information provided
online
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Discussion Meet Moderator
• 1 individual needed for Discussion Meet
• Introduces topic and keeps the discussion
going if participants stop discussing
• Outline will be provided online
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Door and Hall Monitors
• Important next to event rooms
• People cannot enter or leave rooms during
contest
• Hallways must be quiet during competition
• Provide a fair environment for all contestants
• Collect cell phones & electronic devices
Reminders for Audience in
Competition Room
• State adopted “Open Door” policy - However
this means that you need a holding room for
participants.
• Districts can decide how to handle audience
viewing of participants
• All Cell Phones Must be Turned Off
• If videotaping, they can only video tape their
team because of privacy rules.
• If anyone disrupts an event, they will be
asked to leave and may be banned from
viewing any events in the future.
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Holding Room
• Required if you use the “Open Door” policy
• NO Cell Phones allowed in Holding Room
or while a student is in any portion of the
competition
• A continuing challenge
• Should be monitored
• Important for Creed, Extemp & Quiz Bowl
• Discussion Meet if more than one Round 1
is conducted
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Extemporaneous Speaking Preparation
Room
• Use an advisor
• Materials will need to be checked before
contestants enter
• Topic will need to be selected
• Every competitor gets to select from the
complete list of topics
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Refreshments
• Milk, cookies and cheese
• May decide to have more food depending
on your resources and time since members
and advisors are just arriving after school
for the competition
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Registration Table
• Contestants check in
• Make sure all contestants are listed under their
appropriate event.
• Review correct spelling of names and identify
correct chapter.
• Review names of all team members for
parliamentary procedure and quiz bowl
Registration Table Supplies

• Extra 3 X 5 card and pins for parli pro

teams
• Programs for participants and advisors
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Draw for Order of Competition
• Do before events
• When done before events, advisors know
when members are scheduled to
participate.
• Bracketing for Quiz Bowl. Teams from the
same school do not have to compete
against each other in the first bracket
unless they are the only teams.
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Room Set-Ups
• Creed, Prepared, Extemp - Have podium
available
• Discussion Meet - See Diagram
• Parliamentary Procedure - See Diagram
• Quiz Bowl - Each team seated at a table in
front of judges
• Employment Skills - Table in front of room
with a chair in front
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Program
• Select a central gathering place
• Follow a sample agenda
• Include a printed program with room
numbers for events, judges’ names, other
who helped, list of donors and volunteers,
etc.
Setting Up District Leadership
Development Events
• Role of State FFA Officer
• To help where needed…
• Registration, greetings, escorting, monitor,
moderator, etc.
• Do not use as a judge
• Assist in presenting awards
Official Contest Rules and
Materials
• Rules for each event included in your
handbook
• Make copies as needed
• Provide to judges ahead of event
Official Event Rules and
Materials
• Confidential Information
• Provided one week before your event
• For judges to open only - Everything will
be included
• Confidential information includes…
• Creed Questions, Extemp Topics, Parli Pro
items of business and questions, Discussion
Meet topics and Quiz Bowl Questions
 Creed Speaking LDE

• Each chapter can have 2 participants

• Only for members in 7, 8 & 9th grades
• Members can only compete once
• Recite the official FFA creed without
lengthy opening or closing comments.
• Three questions will be asked following
creed presentation.
• Questions provided by Wisconsin FFA
Center
Prepared Public Speaking LDE

• Each chapter may have 2 participants

• Speeches between 6-8 minutes
• Manuscripts must be submitted to host 2
weeks before contest
• Biblography must accompany manuscript
• Documentation of sources - we follow National
FFA’s documentation sources
• Five minutes of questions asked after speech
Extemporaneous Public
Speaking LDE
• Each chapter can have 2 participants
• Speeches between 4 - 6 minutes
• Five minutes of questions asked after
speech
• Topics provided by Wisconsin FFA
Center
Extemporaneous Public
Speaking LDE
• Topics not provided before event
• Topic areas include 6 areas:
• Agricultural literacy and advocacy
• Current agricultural issues
• Advancing agriculture through agriculture science
• Current technology uses and applications in
agriculture
• Agrimarketing and international agriculture
• Food and fiber systems
Extemporaneous Public
Speaking LDE
• Preparation Room
• 30 minutes to prepare
• Draw three topics from the envelope of
topics - select one
• All topics should be back in the envelope
for the next draw
• Limited amount of materials to be used by
contestant
 Discussion Meet LDE

• Each chapter can have 2 participants

• Topics posted on Wisconsin FFA
website in November
• Number of Rounds determined by
number of participants
• More than 7 participants divide into two
groups
• Use the same topic for all Round 1
competitions
 Quiz Bowl LDE

• Each chapter can have 2 teams

• Three people needed to conduct
contest
• Reader
• Scorekeeper
• Timekeeper
 Quiz Bowl LDE

• Each Bracket divided into…

• Round 1, 2, 3 and tie breaker
 Quiz Bowl LDE

• Round 1
• No talking amongst team members
• 1 question per team member - 5 questions
each team
 Quiz Bowl LDE

• Round 2
• Talking amongst team members allowed
• 1 question per team
• If one team fails to answer a question,
other team can steal
• Questions worth 1 point each
 Quiz Bowl LDE

• Round 3
• Talking amongst team members allowed
• 1 question per team
• If one team fails to answer a question,
other team can steal
• Questions worth 2 points each
Parliamentary Procedure LDE

• NEW RULES FOR 2018

• 1 team per chapter allowed
• Must have 6 members on a team
• Judges available from UW-River Falls -
also from UW-Platteville
• REVIEW NEW NATIONAL and STATE
FFA’s RULES.
Employment Skills LDE

• Each chapter may have 2 participants

• Contestants must submit four copies of
resume, cover letter and job description two
weeks before contest
• Contestants must provide a job description
• Contestants complete a job application on
site
• Provided by Wisconsin FFA Center
• Judges conduct interview - 10 minutes
Employment Skills LDE
Procedures
• This can be a long event…to avoid
delays…
• Have all students complete the job
application at one time in a designated
classroom.
• Have a separate set of judges review the
job applications and then provide the
scores to the interview judges
Employment Skills LDE

• Points to Remember…
• Contestants can bring in a padfolio into the
interview. No portfolios allowed.
• Resumes need to be current information
about the contestant
• Have judges develop general job interview
type questions
• Don’t get caught up in the career area
selected or technical questions about the
career area
 Score Sheets

• Provided in online under Host Materials

• Make copies as needed for each
contestant/team
• Send score sheets with prepare
manuscripts and job interview resumes
• Decision of the judges to share score
sheets
• Final placing made by Sum of the Rank
 Comment Cards

• A master comment card is provided

online
• Make copies for judges so that contestants
can receive feedback
• This has been really emphasized by FFA
advisors so members get feedback
• Give comment cards to contestant or their
advisor when announcing placings
 Results
• Decision of the Judges is Final
• Official result sheets provided online under
host materials.
• Make sure ALL participants are listed for each
contest
• Make sure at least top 5 students or more are
placed and no ties.
• Clearly print names and chapters
• All judges must sign official results sheets for
their contest.
 Results
• Handing Out Awards
• Gather in a central location
• Make sure all participants of the event are
present unless they had to leave
• Wisconsin FFA Foundation provides
plaques
• 1st and 2nd place plaques provided for
individual or team
• Both 1st and 2nd places advance to the
Sectional Contest
• Give comment cards to contestant/advisor
Immediately After Event

• Send the following information to the

Wisconsin FFA Center
• Official Results Sheet – FOUND ONLINE!!!
• All contestant and team member names
• ALL confidential information
• Final scores of quiz bowl events
Immediately After Event

• Send thank you letters to judges and

other individuals who assisted with your
event.
Advice from Past Hosts
• Start Early
• Copy off the materials from the website and
put in a three ring binder.
• Have a few extra judges available if someone
cancels at the last minute
• Make judges packets
• Assign advisors in the district specific
responsibilities
• Use volunteers and members to assist. This
is a team effort.
Thank you