Subchapter A: ACADEMICS (1000-1008)

Section 1001: CROSS-EXAMINATION TEAM DEBATE

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to train the student to analyze a problem, conduct thorough and relevant research, and utilize principles of argumentation and advocacy in orally presenting the most effective case for or against a given proposition. 

(2) Format. Round robin or multiple preliminary rounds leading to an elimination bracket. Each round includes approximately 90 minutes of oral arguments in a structured format debating a policy resolution provided on the UIL website. Each two-member team shall argue the affirmative side of the resolution as well as the negative side of the resolution.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. The debates shall be conducted in one division in each conference. In all conferences a school may enter in its district meet three, two-member teams. In districts where fewer than a total of eight teams are competing, each school with a full entry may enter a fourth team.

(2) Eligibility. Students who graduate during the year are eligible for UIL post-district competition if they have qualified for that competition on or before the date they graduate. Team debaters shall not enter Lincoln-Douglas debate.

(3) Substitutions.

(A) A debate team shall consist of two members. If a team member is substituted at the State Meet, the remaining debater shall be a member of the original team that qualified at the district meet to advance to the State Meet.

(B) Limit on Substitutions. After a given tournament has begun, no substitutions will be allowed. The contest director is empowered to disqualify a team for substituting after a tournament has begun.

(4) Failure to Compete at District. Disqualification from the Cross-Examination Debate Contest for the current academic year may result if an academic coach fails to notify the district contest director, in a timely manner prior to the meet, that a team will not compete and such violations may be grounds for suspension from team debate for the following year.

(5) Alternates. In the event that neither member of the original qualifying team can compete, then the alternate team shall be notified and permitted to advance. Alternates in districts with fewer than 8 teams competing or in districts with only one school competing are subject to the certification requirements. An academic coach who fails to notify the state contest director that a team will not compete is in violation of the Academic Contest Ethics Code and the school shall be disqualified from team debate for the current academic competition and such violations may be grounds for suspension from team debate for the following year.

(c) THE RESOLUTION. The resolution for debate during the current school year shall be posted on the UIL website.

(d) SCOUTING.

(1) Debates Shall Be Public. Debate, by its very nature, is public. Therefore, all debates in UIL district and state competition shall be open to the public, with the exception of debate teams competing in that tournament. Competing debaters shall not observe rounds of district or state competition in which they are not debating.

(2) Notes. With the exception of the final debate in district and state competition, only the judge and the four student participants shall take notes. For example, anyone may take notes in the debates that determine first and second place, and third and fourth place. Refer to Section 1000 (c) regarding taping and filming.

(3) Sharing of Notes. During a tournament, participants or judges may not give or accept notes taken during that tournament. For example, a judge or a debater participating in the district contest is neither allowed to give nor accept notes regarding any rounds in that tournament from anyone else during that tournament.

(4) Penalty for Debaters. Violation by debaters of the scouting rule is grounds for disqualification of the debate team from the current competition. The contest director shall be empowered with the final decision in questions concerning scouting. Such violations may be grounds for suspension of the school from team debate for the following year.

(5) Penalty for Coaches. Violation by coaches of the scouting rule is grounds for disqualification of their teams from the current competition. Coaches who violate scouting rules will also be subject to the full range of penalties as outlined in Sections 27 and 29, and such violations may be grounds for suspension of the school from team debate for the following year.

(e) COACHING FOR DEBATE.

(1) Coaching Before the Meet. Aside from the bulletins furnished by the UIL office and other reading matter, the assistance furnished to contestants in preparing debates should not exceed the following:

(A) aid in outlining the arguments;
(B) citing sources of information; and
(C) suggestions as to delivery.

(2) Coaching During a Debate. In all contests, the debaters shall be separated from the audience and shall receive no coaching while the debate is in progress. Viva voce or other prompting either by the speaker’s colleague or by any other person while the debater has the floor is prohibited. Debaters may, however, refer to their notes and materials and may consult with their teammates while they do not have the floor.

(3) Penalty for Prompting. If prompting occurs during a round, the team in violation of the prompting rule shall be assigned a loss in the round in which the prompting took place. Time signals are not considered prompting.

(f) QUESTIONS.

(1) Questions shall be directed to the contest director before the decision of the judges is announced. The decision of the meet officials in these matters is final. No arguments with the judges will be permitted.

(2) Excessive abuse by either contestants or their coaches shall be reason for disqualification of that school and its contestants for the current competition and may be grounds for suspension for the following year.

Section 1002: LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE

(a) THE CONTEST.  Lincoln-Douglas debate provides excellent training for development of skills in argumentation, persuasion, research and audience analysis. 

(1) Purpose. Lincoln-Douglas debate is an oral one-on-one argumentation in which debaters attempt to convince the judge of the acceptability of their side of a proposition with a communicative style of delivery. One debater shall argue the affirmative side of the resolution, and one debater shall argue the negative side of the resolution in a given round.

(2) Format. Round robin or multiple preliminary rounds leading to an elimination bracket. Each round is approximately 40 minutes. One debater shall argue the affirmative side of the value resolution, and one debater shall argue the negative side of the value resolution in a given round. Each debater will argue both sides of the resolution within the tournament format.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. The debates shall be conducted in one division in each conference. In all conferences, a school may enter three individuals in its district meet. In districts where fewer than a total of eight debaters are competing, each school with a full entry may enter a fourth debater.

(2) Eligibility. The student may not enter more than two speech events; and when entered in Lincoln-Douglas, the second speech event may not be Cross-Examination team debate, prose or poetry. Refer to Section 1000.

(3) Substitutions. During the district meet, substitutions shall not be allowed after a given tournament has begun. Substitutions shall not be allowed after the district meet.

(4) Failure to Compete at District. Disqualification from the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Contest for the current academic year may result if an academic coach fails to notify the district contest director, in a timely manner prior to the meet, that a debater will not compete and such may be grounds for suspension from Lincoln-Douglas debate for the following year.

(5) Alternates. When a debater who qualified for the next higher meet cannot participate in the next higher meet, the alternate should be notified. A coach or designee who fails to notify the regional and/or state contest directors that a student will not compete is in violation of the Academic Contest Ethics Code and the school shall be disqualified from Lincoln-Douglas debate for the current academic competition, and such violations may be grounds for suspension from Lincoln-Douglas debate for the following year.

(c) THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE RESOLUTION. Two topics for debate, one for fall and one for spring, provided by the UIL office, shall be posted during the course of the school year on the UIL website.

(d) SCOUTING.

(1) Debates Shall Be Public. Debate, by its very nature, is public. Therefore, all debates in UIL district, regional and state competition shall be open to the public, with the exception of debaters competing in that tournament. Competing debaters shall not observe rounds of district, region, or state competition in which they are not debating.

(2) Notes. With the exception of the final debate in district, regional and state competition, only the judge and the two student participants shall take notes. For example, anyone may take notes in the debates that determine first and second place, and third and fourth place. Refer to Section 1000 (c) regarding taping and filming.

(3) Sharing of Notes. During a tournament, participants or judges may not give or accept notes taken during that tournament. For example, a judge or a debater participating in the district contest is neither allowed to give nor accept notes regarding any rounds in that tournament from anyone else during that tournament.

(4) Penalty for Debaters. Violation by debaters of the scouting rule is grounds for disqualification of the debater from the current competition. The contest director shall be empowered with the final decision in questions concerning scouting. Such violations may be grounds for suspension of the school from Lincoln-Douglas debate for the following year.

(5) Penalty for Coaches. Violation by coaches of the scouting rule is grounds for disqualification of their debaters from the current competition. Coaches who violate scouting rules will also be subject to the full range of penalties as outlined in Sections 27 and 29, and such violations may be grounds for suspension of the school from Lincoln-Douglas debate for the following year.

(e) QUESTIONS.

(1) Questions shall be directed to the contest director before the official decision of the judges is announced. The decision of the meet officials in these matters is final. No arguments with the judges will be permitted.

(2) Excessive abuse by either the contestant or the coach shall be reason for disqualification of that school and its contestant for the current competition and may be grounds for suspension for the following year.

Section 1003: INDIVIDUAL SPEECH CONTESTS

(a) PURPOSE. The purpose of each of the individual speech contests is to stimulate the student’s ability to communicate ideas and information to an audience. In the extemporaneous informative speaking and extemporaneous persuasive speaking contests, these ideas are essentially those of the speaker, derived from the speaker’s background of research on current events. In poetry interpretation and prose interpretation, the student is challenged to ascertain and communicate the ideas of an author through a literary selection, based on the student’s understanding and research.

(b) GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.

(1) Sections. A section shall consist of no more than eight contestants. If nine or more students enter a single contest, preliminary and final rounds shall be held. Preliminary round sections shall be divided as equally as possible. The following chart shall be used to determine the number of sections and finalists in each section:

No. Entries              Preliminaries                     Participants Advancing to Final Round

1- 8                          None*                                   Final Round

9-16                         2 Sections                           1st, 2nd, 3rd from each section

15-24                       3 Sections                           1st, 2nd from each section

20-32                       4 Sections                           1st, 2nd from each section

32-39                       8 Sections                           1st from each section

* If desired, a preliminary round may be held.

Contestants should be entered on the district online entry form according to strength. Contest directors should section by distributing first, second and third place district entries as equally as possible, avoiding when possible, placing contestants from the same school in the same section. At the regional level, first, second and third place district winners should be distributed as equally as possible throughout the sections.

Section 1004: EXTEMPORANEOUS INFORMATIVE SPEAKING

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to stimulate an active interest in current affairs at the state, national and international levels, and to teach the student to present extemporaneously in a clear and impartial manner the facts about a subject as they appear in the best available sources of information. This contest is an exercise in clear thinking and informing the public on the issues and concerns of the American people. The objective is to present information orally in an interesting way, and an attempt should not be made to change the listener’s mind beyond presenting the information.

(2) Format. Contestants draw five topics, select one and have thirty minutes to prepare an informative speech on the topic. Topics shall be based on current news events and include topics from state, national and international levels. They will be chosen from the general areas of political, social, economic, educational and cultural interests. The speaker is obligated to elicit an informative response. The limit for the oral speech is seven minutes maximum.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member school in all conferences may enter three students in the contest.

(2) Eligibility. Only students in high school are eligible for this contest. Contestants shall not compete in district in more than one extemporaneous event in the same year. See Subchapter M and Section 1000, Eligibility Rules.

(c) RESOURCE. The contest rules and procedures are discussed in detail in the UIL Informative and Persuasive Speaking Handbook and on the UIL website. Coaches are responsible for reviewing this publication in advance of the contest.

(d) LENGTH OF SPEECHES. Informative speeches shall not be longer than seven minutes. There shall be no minimum time. The speaker may complete only the sentence that is in progress without disqualification, after the allotted time has expired. The responsibility of keeping within the seven-minute time limit rests with the contestant.

(e) RESTRICTION ON NOTES. A speaker is allowed to use one notecard, but not required to do so. If used, the notecard shall be no larger than 3x5” when delivering the speech. No limit is placed on the quantity of information on that one card. Use of more than one notecard shall result in disqualification. All source citations orally delivered in the speech should be legitimate.

(f) ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE PREP ROOM. The use of laptop and other electronic retrieval devices by competitors in UIL Extemporaneous Speaking is allowed so long as wired or wireless connections are disabled and remain disabled throughout the contest. Cell phones, smartphones and smartwatches are prohibited in the preparation room.

(g) QUESTIONS. Questions shall be made to the contest director before the decision of the judges is rendered. The decisions of the meet officials in these matters are final.

Section 1005: EXTEMPORANEOUS PERSUASIVE SPEAKING

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to stimulate an active interest in current affairs at the state, national and international levels and to train students to analyze a current issue, determine a point of view, and then organize and deliver extemporaneously a speech that seeks to persuade listeners to agree with that viewpoint. The objective is to reinforce the views of listeners who already believe as the speaker does, but even more so, to bring those of neutral or opposing views around to the speaker’s beliefs or proposed course of action. 

(2) Format. Contestants draw five topics, select one and have thirty minutes to prepare a persuasive speech on the topic. Topics shall be based on current news events and include topics from state, national and international levels. They will be chosen from the general areas of political, social, economic, educational and cultural interests. The speaker is obligated to elicit a persuasive response. The limit for the oral speech is seven minutes maximum.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member school in all conferences may enter three students in the contest.

(2) Eligibility. Only students in high school are eligible for this contest. Contestants shall not compete in district in more than one extemporaneous speaking event in the same year. See Subchapter M and Section 1000, Speech Eligibility Rules.

(c) RESOURCE. The contest rules and procedures are discussed in detail in the UIL Informative and Persuasive Speaking Handbook and on the UIL website. Coaches are responsible for reviewing these publications in advance of the contest.

(d) LENGTH OF SPEECHES. Persuasive speeches shall not be longer than seven minutes. There shall be no minimum time. The speaker may complete only the sentence in progress without disqualification, after the allotted time has expired. The responsibility of keeping within the seven-minute time limit rests with the contestant.

(e) RESTRICTION ON NOTES. A speaker is allowed to use one notecard, but not required to do so. If used, the notecard shall be no larger than 3x5” when delivering the speech. No limit is placed on the quantity of information on that one card. Use of more than one notecard shall result in disqualification. All source citations orally delivered in the speech should be legitimate.

(f) ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE PREP ROOM. The use of laptop and other electronic retrieval devices by competitors in UIL Extemporaneous Speaking is allowed so long as wired or wireless connections are disabled and remain disabled throughout the contest. Cell phones, smartphones and smartwatches are prohibited in the preparation room.

(g) QUESTIONS. Questions shall be made to the contest director before the decision of the judges is rendered. The decisions of the meet officials in these matters are final.

Poetry And Prose

Section 1006: POETRY INTERPRETATION

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to encourage the student to understand, experience and share poetry through the art of oral interpretation.

(A) Oral interpretation, or the study of literature through its performance, can be defined as a demonstration of analysis, performance and communication skills offered publicly on behalf of literature.

(B) Oral interpretation focuses on literature in performance through expressive oral reading. The goals of this contest are to encourage the contestant’s exploration of a variety of literary selections, and to enhance the performer’s and audience’s appreciation of literature through the performer’s interpretation of the work.

(2) Format. Contestants shall prepare selections from both Categories A and B. The literary categories are designed to encourage students to explore the wide variety of feeling and form available in poetry. In any one contest round, the contestants shall be bound by the one selected category. Contestants who fail to read material from within the selected category shall be disqualified. Oral reading of the selection(s), including the introduction and transitions, shall not exceed seven minutes.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member school in all conferences may enter three students in the contest.

(2) Eligibility. Only students in high school are eligible for this contest. Poetry contestants shall not compete at district in prose interpretation or in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Refer to Section 1000 for specific speech eligibility requirements.

(c) RESOURCES. The categories are discussed and defined in detail in the UIL Prose and Poetry Handbook and on the UIL website. Coaches are responsible for reviewing these publications in advance of the contest.

(d) STANDARDS. In selecting material to be read in the contest, the coach and student are challenged to explore literature of high quality and are encouraged to prepare selections of literary merit that the same student has not performed in a previous year. Students shall not use selections from the same literary work more than one year at UIL State Meet and strongly are discouraged from repeating the same selection at district or regional contests that they performed in a previous year. Selections used by contestants should not offend the moral standards of the community nor be in bad taste. Academic coaches should revise or reject all selections that in any way fail to meet these qualifications, as not all material by an author is appropriate for contest material.

(e) INTRODUCTIONS. An introduction is required in both categories. The introduction and/or transitions during the performance shall include the name of the writer(s) and the selection(s) to be performed and should prepare the audience to listen to the selection. The introduction should reflect spontaneity, though it should be prepared ahead of time.

(f) MANUSCRIPTS OR COPIES. The contestant should perform the selections reading from manuscripts or copies of the selections that are in a binder. Students shall not read from books or magazines or perform without a manuscript or copy of the selection.

(g) TIME LIMIT. The time limit for each performance including introduction and any transitional material may not exceed seven minutes. There is no grace period. The responsibility for keeping within the restricted time limit rests with the contestant. The penalty for exceeding seven minutes is disqualification from the round by the contest director, with the exception of the final round of State Meet when the contestant shall receive last in the round.

Section 1007: PROSE INTERPRETATION

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to encourage the student to understand, experience and share prose works through the art of oral interpretation.

(A) Oral interpretation, or the study of literature through its performance, can be defined as a combination of analysis, performance and communication skills offered publicly on behalf of literature.

(B) Oral interpretation focuses on literature in performance through expressive oral reading. The goals of this contest are to encourage the contestant’s exploration of a variety of literary selections and to enhance the performer’s and audience’s appreciation of literature through the performer’s interpretation of the work.

(2) Format. Contestants shall prepare selections from both Categories A and B. The literary categories are designed to encourage students to explore the wide variety of points of view and feeling available in prose. In any one contest round, the contestants shall be bound by the one selected category. Contestants who fail to read material from within the selected category shall be disqualified. Oral reading of the selection(s), including the introduction and transitions, shall not exceed seven minutes.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each member school in all conferences may enter three students in the contest.

(2) Eligibility. Prose contestants shall not compete at district in poetry interpretation or in Lincoln-Douglas debate. See Speech Plan, Section 1000, for specific speech eligibility rules.

(c) RESOURCES. The categories are discussed and defined in detail in the UIL Prose and Poetry Handbook and on the UIL website. Coaches are responsible for reviewing these publications in advance of the contest.

(d) STANDARDS. In selecting material to be read in the contest, the coach and student are challenged to explore literature of high quality and are encouraged to prepare selections of literary merit that the same student has not performed in a previous year. Students shall not use selections from the same literary work more than one year at UIL State Meet and are strongly discouraged from repeating the same selection at district or regional contests that they performed in a previous year. Selections used by contestants should not offend the moral standards of the community nor be in bad taste. Academic coaches should revise or reject all selections that in any way fail to meet these qualifications, as not all material by an author is appropriate for contest material.

(e) INTRODUCTIONS. An introduction is required in both categories. The introduction and/or transitions during the performance shall include the name of the writer(s) and the selection(s) to be performed and should prepare the audience to listen to the selection. The introduction should reflect spontaneity, though it should be prepared ahead of time.

(f) MANUSCRIPTS OR COPIES. The contestant should perform the selections reading from manuscripts or copies of the selections that are in a binder. Students shall not read from books or magazines or perform without a manuscript or copy of the selection.

(g) TIME LIMIT. The time limit for each performance including introduction and any transitional material may not exceed seven minutes. There is no grace period. The responsibility for keeping within the restricted time limit rests with the contestant. The penalty for exceeding seven minutes is disqualification from the round by the contest director, with the exception of the final round of State Meet when the contestant shall receive last in the round.

Section 1008: CONGRESS

(a) THE CONTEST.

(1) Purpose. The purpose of this contest is to encourage the student to understand real-world social and political policies debated within the framework of a legislative body modeled after the United States Congress, with formal discourse guided by parliamentary procedure.

(2) Format. Contestants will formulate legislative bills and resolutions, debate them, and adopt or reject them by casting votes. Speaking in legislative congress is conducted within a structured environment of specific procedural rules.

(b) ENTRIES.

(1) Representation. Each school desiring to participate in UIL Congress should file an intent to participate form on the UIL website no later than date posted on UIL Congress webpage for the current school year. Failure to submit intent shall require regional committee approval in order for school to participate. Each school in all conferences may enter three competitors in the congressional region competition. Two alternates may be registered. Entries shall be submitted at least ten calendar days prior to the congressional region competition via the UIL website. In the event ten or less total contestants per conference are competing in a congressional region, both alternates from each school with a full entry in that conference may be seated. Only one alternate may be seated if there are 11-15 entries within the conference.

(2) Eligibility. Speech plan, Section 1000 of the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules, regarding specific speech eligibility shall not apply to this contest. Entering the congress competition does not impact a student’s eligibility to enter any other UIL high school academic event (i.e., CX Debate, LD Debate, Number Sense, Journalism).

(3) Entries Submitted After the 10-day Deadline, require majority consent of the regional congress committee.

(c) RESOURCES.

The contest is discussed and defined in detail in the UIL Congress Handbook and on the UIL website. Coaches are responsible for reviewing these publications in advance of the contest.

(d) STRUCTURE.

Congress will be organized into regions according to the twenty Educational Service Centers (ESC) designated by the Texas Education Agency. All schools, regardless of UIL conference, will compete with each other within their school’s region ESC unless conference entry numbers warrant separate chambers. Regardless, each conference competing in the congressional region will be eligible to advance a minimum of three representatives to the state congressional competition.

(e) CONGRESSIONAL REGION CONTEST DIRECTORSHIP.

A directorship of five for each congressional region contest within their Education Service Center region will conduct the region contest. A congressional region clerk appointed by the UIL office will chair the directorship. The congressional region clerk shall be the final authority until the congressional region competition is completed.

(f) ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN CHAMBER.

The use of laptop and tablet computers and other electronic retrieval devices by competitors in UIL Congress is allowed so long as wired or wireless connections are disabled and remain disabled throughout the contest. Cell phones, smartphones and smartwatches are prohibited in the chamber. Traditional timing devices are permitted.

(g) CONGRESS SHALL BE PUBLIC.

Congress is public discourse. Therefore, all congressional chambers shall be open to the public. No coaching or cheering shall be permitted during the contest.

(h) RECORDING.

Schools and/or individuals are prohibited from recording (audio and/or video) region or state congress sessions. The UIL reserves the right to record for educational purposes.