Contests

Below are general information and brief descriptions of the contests. More information can be found on individual contest pages.

 

General: Because of scheduling difficulties and the number of students hoping to participate in the competitions, students should only compete in a single competition. Once set, schedules for events like the choir competitions, culture bowl, and spelling bees will not be changed to accommodate students wishing to participate in more than one event.

Levels for Contests

Level 1 1 or 2 years of Junior High/Middle School French 1 year of Senior High French
Level 2 2 or 3 years of Junior High/Middle School French 2 years of Senior High French
Level 3 3 years of Junior High/Middle School French 3 years of Senior High French
Level 4+  — 4 or more years of Senior High French

Judges Ratings

A winner will be determined and recognized in the team competitions (Choir Contest and Culture Bowl) and Spelling Bees. Runners-up will be recognized as well.

Contestants in the other individual categories will receive one of the following ratings from the judges (descriptions of these ratings specific to the competitions can be found on the individual pages):

Exceptionnel
Mention spéciale
Excellent
Très bien
Bien
Assez bien

Contests

Arts Visuels

This competition will give students the opportunity to create original works of visual art (paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc.) that illustrate the chosen theme for the year. Students will present their work to the judges with a brief oral introduction in French, which can be written ahead of time and read. This year’s theme can be found on the Arts Visuels contest page.

Each school is limited to 2 entries.

The judging criteria will be:
40% demonstration of the theme
40% aesthetic quality
20% student’s oral presentation of the work

After judging, the room where the works are displayed will be opened as Le Musée for other Fair participants to visit and appreciate.

Choir Competition

Each school may enter only ONE choir.

  • A choir must consist of 5 or more students.
  • Choose your own song (3 minutes maximum).
  • Each school is responsible for its own accompaniment (there will be a piano and CD player as well as Internet capability in the room) or you may sing a cappella.

Judging criteria will be as follows:

  • 40% linguistic criteria (pronunciation, enunciation, understandability)
  • 40% musical criteria (in tune, harmony, rhythm, tempo, balance, dynamics)
  • 20% overall interpretation / presentation

Culture Bowl

Each school may enter only ONE team, either Junior High/Middle School or Senior High School level. NO natives allowed. Each team will consist of four members. (Prepare alternates just in case any team member is unable to participate at the last moment.) The Language Bowl competition will be operated like the College Bowl and similar game shows on T.V.

  • The main bank of questions comes from the Teacher’s Discovery Cultural Trivia sur la Francophonie Digital Game (this is the updated version of the cards that we have been using for years, but that are no longer in print).
  • Additional questions will be based on readings (including Wikipedia pages) that will be listed on the Culture Bowl page.
    • These additional questions will primarily focus of the Francophone region highlighted that year.
    • Tie-breaker questions will only come from the readings.
  • The general topics for the Language Bowl are: culture, food and drink, sports/arts, life and famous people, history, and geography.

Discours

Students will prepare and deliver a 3-5 minute speech on a topic that will be given at the fair.

  • The topic will be announced at 9:00 AM in the room where the students will prepare their speeches.
  • Competing students will have 30 minutes to prepare their speeches.
  • Speeches can be delivered verbatim or from notes.
  • Students may bring reference works (e.g. French-English dictionary) with them.
    • No electronic resources will be permitted.
  • Paper and pens will be provided.
  • Students’ notes will be collected at the end of the preparation time and returned no more than 5 minutes before their scheduled time to deliver their speech.

Conversations and Interviews

This newly expanded event is broadly divided into two levels: Conversations and Interviews.

  • Level 1 and 2 students will participate in non-competitive Conversations that focus on basic conversation.
  • Students in the higher levels will participate in competitive Interviews that focus on more advanced communication. Lists of potential questions are available on the contest page.

Poésie

Students are expected to memorize the text for their level; NO reading is allowed. Per school contestant limits are as follows:

  • Levels 1-3: maximum 2 contestants per level

When available, recordings of native French speakers reading the poems can be found on the contest page.

Posters

This competition will give students the opportunity to create academic posters that illustrate the chosen theme for the year. Students will present their work to the judges with a brief oral introduction in French, which can be written ahead of time and read. This year’s theme can be found on the Posters contest page.

Each school is limited to 2 entries.

The judging criteria will be:
40% demonstration of the theme
40% effective communication of ideas
20% student’s oral presentation of the work

After judging, the room where the works are displayed will be opened as Poster Gallery for other Fair participants to visit and appreciate.

Spelling Bee

Each school is limited to the following number of entries per level:

  • Levels 1 and 2: maximum 3 contestants
  • Level 3: maximum 4 contestants
  • Level 4: maximum 5 contestants
  • Immersion / Heritage speakers: maximum 5 contestants

Participants will be signed up online and in advance like the other events.

This is an oral, not a written contest. Vocabulary used will be high frequency words appropriate to each level, as determined by the text books commonly used in Utah schools (NB: If all Level 1 words are used during the contest, Level 1 students may be asked to spell words asterisked on Level 2.)

Le Théâtre

An individual or a group of 2-5 students may choose a monologue or a scene from a French play, edit their chosen selection with the help of the instructor, and perform their scene for the judges. Props and costumes are encouraged.  Emphasis should be on the quality of the acting and the French spoken by all participants. Scenes or monologues should be memorized and should not exceed 4 minutes in length.

Each school is limited to 2 monologue and 2 group scenes. Further information and instructions are available on the Théâtre page.

Grand Prix

The Grand Prix is awarded to the school with the highest per-student average score in each of the two divisions, junior high school / middle school and high school. It is figured as follows:

  • Each level is assigned a point value (“exceptionnel” = 6, “mention spéciale” = 5, etc.).
  • The total of points earned by each school is then divided by the number of students attending from that school to determine the per-student average.
  • Eligibility:
    • A school must have a minimum of 10 competing students AND
    • Students competing in a minimum of 4 different competitions (not including Examens)