News and Updates

Daily log of changes to state-qualifier list

Houstonfest Scholarships

Gail Cope Scholarships at State

Scholarships for winning research papers at State

Changes taking effect in 2012

New venue for 2012 - Clements HS

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Concession stand at Houstonfest

Plays will be performed at Houstonfest

Important Dates

Feb. 10, 2012:  State online registration due by 11:59 p.m. in order to qualify for regular price of $10 per student.  Online registrations submitted after this point incur the late registration fee of $12 per student.

Feb. 16, 2012:  State payment check must be postmarked

Feb. 25, 2012:  Texas State German Contest, University of Texas at Austin

Mar. 2, 2012:  Houstonfest Scholarship applications due

Mar. 9, 2012:  Gail Cope Scholarship applications due

Jan. 14, 2013:  Houstonfest e-mail registration due by 11:59 p.m. in order to qualify for regular price of $10 per student

Jan. 21, 2013:  Last day to submit late registration ($12 per student) and last day to postmark payment check

Jan. 29, 2013:  Proof sheet of entrants sent to teachers for final verification and changes

Jan. 31, 2013, 8:00 p.m.:  Deadline to submit changes (adds, drops, substitutions).  After this point, no more additions or substitutions will be allowed in individual events.  Substitution of students in group events may continue in emergency situations.

Feb. 2, 2013:  Houstonfest

Advantaged Speakers

“Advantaged speakers” are students who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• They have lived in a German-speaking country six weeks or more at one time since the age of 13.

• They reside with a native speaker of German.

• They speak German at home.

• They regularly (annually or biannually) visit or have visited a German-speaking country, visiting German-speaking homes.

• They have attended a school where all subjects were taught in German for one or more years.

No exchange students from German-speaking countries may enter any event at Houstonfest, including the "advantaged speaker" categories.  (They are, however, welcome to help out as judges.)  Exchange students from non-German-speaking countries may enter events for which they qualify (regular or advantaged, depending on their circumstances).

It is left to the professional judgment of the teacher to determine the eligibility of students.  Questions of eligibility should be addressed to the contest director prior to the contest registration deadline.  If a student is designated advantaged in one event, he/she must be entered as advantaged in all events.

Advantaged speakers may compete ONLY in the following events:

• Extemporaneous speaking, advantaged category

• Poetry memory, advantaged category

• Prose memory, advantaged category

• Skit, level 4 (inform judges as to which actors are advantaged)

• Puppet show, upper level (inform judges as to which actors are advantaged)

• Play (inform judges as to which actors are advantaged)

• Any cultural event (chorus, classical ensemble, club album, doll costume, folk dance, gingerbread house, needlework, photo essay, polka band, poster design, research paper, T-shirt design, video, vocal solo)

Just to be perfectly clear, advantaged speakers are NOT allowed to enter the following events:  culture, directed dialogue, duet acting, grammar, listening comprehension, Pass auf!, poetry reading, prose reading, puppet show (lower level), reading comprehension, scavenger hunt, sight reading, skit (levels 1-3), spelling, and vocabulary.