Important Information for Participants and Parents

We are so excited that you have qualified for this event! Participation in Central District 4-H Contests is an honor for 4-Hers, and we recognize the time and hard work that goes into preparing for this competition.  In 2026, we are offering both face-to-face and virtual competitions.

Face-to-Face Contest Areas (held March 21at location TBA)

Pubic Speaking (Traditional Public Speaking, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Radio Spot)

Presentations

Science Fair

Virtual Contest Areas (digital submissions due March 13)

Photography

Career Development (Resume/Cover Letter Contest)

The following is some information that you may find helpful:

Parents/guardians are expect to accompany youth to this event.  If you are unable to do so, please contact your local 4-H Extension Agent. Unaccompanied youth will need to turn in a 4-H Health History form when checking in for their contest.  

Start times for our face-to-face contests are staggered by competition area this year.  Our hope is that this plan will help shorten the wait time for parents and participants and lessen the crowding.  Please check the schedule for your check-in time and location.

Within each competition area, presenters are broken down into groups by age and topic.  Even though we may have 9-year-olds and 17-year-olds presenting in the same room, they are not in competition with each other.  Age divisions are determined by the youth’s age as of September 30 of the current year.  

For contest guidelines, please visit our Competition Categories page, contact your local 4-H Extension Agent, or check the Virginia 4-H Competitions website:  https://ext.vt.edu/4h-youth/competitions.html.  

No live animals are allowed.

Computer-based presentations should be on a USB drive.  There is no Wi-Fi access. 

For face-to-face contests, you are assigned to a room based on your competition area.  Your room number will be on your nametag.  For public speaking, presentations, and science fair, there are multiple rooms broken down by category and/or age division.

Please check with the 4-H Extension Agent in your county if you are unsure about your competition area.  There are a couple of areas where this can be a little confusing:

• 4-H Presentations vs. Public Speaking:  In 4-H public speaking, no visual aids are allowed.  Visual aids are necessary for 4-H presentations.

• 4-H Science Fair vs. 4-H Presentations on a STEM topic:  In 4-H, a science fair project and a science-based presentation are judged using different standards and different score sheets.  Generally, a science fair project is going to involve an experiment conducted using the steps of the scientific method.  A STEM presentation uses visual aids to explain and discuss a science-related topic.  If you are unsure which competition to enter, please contact your local 4-H Extension Agent.  

Each room is chaired by a 4-H agent who is in charge of that contest area.  If you have questions about how the contest will work, please talk to your room chair.

Participants may not enter with the same speech, presentation, or science fair project that won a purple ribbon (best-overall) at a previous Central District 4-H Contest.  Previous winners are welcome to compete with new material.  For clarification or additional rules, please contact the 4-H Extension Agent in your county. 

For face-to-face competitions, participants may enter only one competition area.  Participants (regardless of their participation in a face-to-face event) are welcome to enter multiple virtual competitions. For example, a youth can register for public speaking and photography, but not public speaking and science fair.

All participants in District Contests have qualified at the local level.  Each county’s 4-H program is different.  Not all competition areas are offered in all counties.

For competitions face-to-face competitions, parents are invited to watch their children present.  We know that some rooms will be a little crowded, so parents may need to rotate in and out of the room between presentations.  Please be mindful of social distancing.  If a room is too crowded, please wait in the hallway or the cafeteria.  

Out of courtesy to our presenters, please silence your cell phones during the competition.  Younger siblings should be supervised at all times.

At times during the contest, you may have a break.  Please note that there are competitions going on in the classrooms and other areas around the building.  Please make every effort to keep the hallways and the cafeteria areas quiet.

Awards will be given in individual rooms at the end of the contest.  We will not come back together as a large group to present awards as some contest areas finish more quickly than others.

4-Hers will receive an evaluation at the close of the program.  There is space on the evaluation form for parents’ comments.  These are very helpful to us as we plan next year’s event.

Huge “Thank Yous” to:

o   Our volunteers who serve as judges

o   School administration and faculty for use of the facility

o   Parents, Teachers, and 4-H Club Leaders for supporting this program