There will be a large timer in each speech room in which the judge/timer will time the competitor. The timer will be turned toward the competitor during the speech allowing the speaker to see the timepiece while speaking. The competitor will receive a 1 rank penalty if his/her speech is overtime by 15 seconds or more.
In each speech room there will be a head judge. The head judge is responsible for supervising the time, managing the room, and in some limited prep events, distributing the topics. Supervising the timepiece is especially important with the Overtime Penalty.