Interstate Oratorical Association
The Interstate Oratory Association is an intercollegiate contest in oratory or persuasive speaking. Founded in 1874, the IOA is the oldest public speaking organization in the United States and has held contests for the top oratory or persuasive speakers from each state ever since. The annual Interstate Oratory Contest is usually held within the last weekend of April with two representatives from state competing at the event. The most recent IOA contest was hosted virtually by South Dakota State University on April 23–24, 2021.
| Founded | 1874 |
|---|---|
| Type | Intercollegiate |
| Purpose | Speech Organization |
| Location | |
Key people | F. I. Moulton Henry W. Read Geo A. Lawrence Larry A. Schnoor |
| Website | interstateoratoryassociation |
The IOA is composed of approximately twenty state collegiate forensic organizations. The organization's purpose is to conduct an annual competition in Oratory. Participants in the contest are the top two finalists in each of the respective state contests. In this sense, the state competitors represent the member state's oratory participants.