Advice for moving traditional Toastmasters speech contests online

Many of my Toastmasters friends and social media contests are apparently overwhelmed by how hard it will be to conduct online versions of what were originally planned to be traditional speech contests.

Before more Toastmasters leaders decide to simply cancel their contests, I want to share a few encouraging thoughts. There is no need to make this any harder than it has to be. These are my personal thoughts, based on my work with Online Presenters Toastmasters and involvement in many old fashioned stand-on-the-stage-and-speak contests.

Possible misconceptions:

• Contestants need not convert their speech into a webinar-style "sitting at my laptop, speaking into the camera" speech like you often see at online Toastmasters clubs, including mine. Contestants need not throw away all the work they did on developing the perfect body language to accompany their speech. When we have conducted our video speech contests, some competitors have chosen to stand and deliver something more like a "real" speech, like my friend Jim Barber (image above). The Video Speech Contest is an alternative to the International Speech Contest for undistricted clubs.
• Contestants need not be on their own, managing the technical details themselves. The goal should be to let the speaker concentrate on their speech, while someone else manages the video and microphone feeds, the lighting and so on. (This is a luxury Online Presenters contestants typically do without, but that's after having a bunch of practice).
• [See update on this point] If logistically possible, I would suggest arranging a small in-person meeting consisting of just the contestants, the contest master, and the video / technical support person. The judges and other audience members can be remote participants. If you did separate contest events for just the International Speech Competitors, or just the Table Topics competitors, it should be possible to hold a meeting like that to less than 10 people. Update: I may get a more official answer, but at least one TI director is saying gathering all the contestants in one place would in fact be a prohibited "gathering." I still feel strongly that speakers should not be prohibited from getting support from another Toastmaster who can provide help with the audio/visual and other technical details.
• If you can't bring all contestants together as suggested, then each should participate from a remote location so they're on a level playing field. Encourage them to recruit a spouse, a smart kid, or another club member to provide them with technical backup so they can focus on their speech.
• Encourage judges to focus on the quality of the speech, not video quality or technical glitches, as best they can.
• Consider using the online tools I've made available for counting and casting votes to simplify some of the mechanics. When I submitted them for review by Toastmasters International, I was told they don't endorse specific software but that the use of online tools is allowed for the time being.
• Don't get distracted by talk about virtual backgrounds and other special effects that online Toastmasters clubs members play around with. Those aren't relevant for a traditional Toastmasters contest, even if it's being delivered online. Online Presenters does a separate webinar contest to test those skills, but a winning International Speech Contest speech should be based on a great speech, not great technical flourishes.

Here's a replay of last year's edition of the video speech contest at Online Presenters (conducted more or less like the International Speech Contest but online)