South Carolina FFA Leadership Development Events

How South Carolina FFA Leadership Development Events Work

Leadership development events, or LDEs, reward the skills behind a good chapter officer: speaking with confidence, running a meeting by the book, reciting the FFA Creed and interviewing for a job. In South Carolina they run through winter regional contests and finish at the state convention in Greenville each June. The details below come from South Carolina FFA pages at Clemson University, and they change from year to year, so check with your advisor before you register.

The Events

The SC FFA Dates and Locations page labels these state LDEs:

• Creed Speaking: Greenhand and Upper divisions
• Spanish Creed Speaking
• Conduct of Chapter Meetings
• Employment Skills
• Extemporaneous Public Speaking
• Prepared Public Speaking
• Parliamentary Procedure

The page also lists the State Agriscience Fair, with interviews at convention, but it does not label that one as an LDE. The general rules treat the Agriscience Fair like the leadership events when it comes to official dress and required paperwork.

Regional Contests

Four regional contests in February pair the LDEs with Tool ID and Floriculture, and each starts at 4:30 p.m.:

• Region 1: February 9 at Anderson Institute of Technology
• Region 2: February 11 at the Institute of Innovation
• Region 3: February 16 at WTC Kershaw
• Region 4: February 17 at Aiken High School

The general rules send the top two speakers from each region to state in Greenhand Creed, Upper Creed, Extemporaneous and Prepared Public Speaking. For events with a regional qualifier, one substitution is allowed at state.

State Convention

The state convention is held at the Greenville Convention Center. The convention page shows the 2026 convention ran June 16 to 18, and the 2026 schedule put leadership contests on both competition days:

• Tuesday, June 16: Employment Skills and Spanish Creed.
• Wednesday, June 17: Agriscience Fair interviews, Conduct of Chapter, Creed Speaking (Greenhand and Upper), Extemporaneous Public Speaking, Prepared Public Speaking and Parliamentary Procedure.

The SC Agricultural Education calendar sets the next convention for June 15 to 17, 2027, and lists April 30 as the due date for state convention written materials. The convention information sheet listed full registration at $50 per person and daily registration at $15, with no meals provided.

Entry Rules

• Competitors must be dues-paying FFA members enrolled in an agricultural education class.
• A student may compete in only one state-level public speaking event that has a National equivalent in a given year. That covers prepared, extemporaneous and creed speaking.
• Members of a state-winning CDE team may still compete in the individual leadership events (Employment Skills, Creed Speaking, Prepared Public Speaking and Extemporaneous Public Speaking) in the same year.
• A student who has been a state winner in an event may not compete in that area again.
• Required materials such as prepared speaking manuscripts must reach the superintendent by the deadline, and late materials can cost points or a spot in the contest.
• Registration is due one week before the contest unless noted, and a confirmation email goes out the day after.
• Phones and other unauthorized electronics can lead to disqualification.

Middle school members are welcome. The advisor handbook notes that Greenhand Creed and Conduct of Chapter are aimed at younger members in grades 6 through 9, who do not have to be first-year members.

Dress and Conduct

Official dress is expected for creed speaking, prepared and extemporaneous speaking, Employment Skills and the Agriscience Fair, and it is judged against a rubric, so improper dress can lower a score. At convention, members are expected to wear official dress at all times: no hats, appropriate-length skirts and black shoes. Everyone follows the National FFA Code of Ethics.

Reaching the National Level

State winners compete at the matching National FFA event during National Convention. Per the advisor handbook, state winning teams and individuals receive a stipend to ease the cost, and if they cannot go they forfeit the money and second place goes in their place. A student who wins both a team and an individual event must pick one before August.

Building Leadership Skills Beyond the Contests

• The Chapter Officer Workshop is held each fall and led by the State Officers, with a focus on team building and communication.
• The Leadership Summit helps State Officer candidates and the Nominating Committee prepare for convention interviews.
• FFA Legislative Day is on the 2026-27 calendar for February 24 at the State House in Columbia.
• Practice in front of real people, with a timer, and rehearse your meeting script out loud.

Frequently Asked Questions

Guide checked Nov. 11, 2026. Rules and dates change; confirm with the organizer.