2026 Competitions Rulebook
Page and attachments last updated on December 9, 2025.
As salamu alaykum!
We are pleased to share the official updates to the 2026 MIST Rulebook. These revisions reflect extensive collaboration and regional feedback, with the goal of improving clarity, competitive balance, and overall participant experience. Below is an overview of the major changes for this year:
Key Changes Include:
Knowledge Test:
All questions are now strictly multiple choice or “select all that apply,” standardizing assessment across regions.
Qur’an Memorization:
Surah Ya-Seen moved to Level 3, with level outlines updated accordingly.
Students are no longer required to bring a physical mushaf.
Rubric updated to include tie-breaker considerations.
Extemporaneous Speaking:
Preparation time has been adjusted to 30 minutes to support stronger research and performance readiness.
All Arts:
All arts that require interviews will now have pre-interview scoring cap at 80 points.
Therefore, only top 15 considered can achieve a score of above 80 for the competition.
Original Oratory & Spoken Word:
Memorization is now an officially scored component within the rubric.
Debate:
Updated speech times and a revised rebuttal order.
Standardized tie-breaker criteria introduced for use after preliminary rounds.
Ballot has been edited to better match the structure of the judging criteria, account for tie breakers, and keep track of time and POI counts.
Math Olympics:
The competition now includes expanded content coverage along with supplemented practice questions to better guide student preparation.
MIST Bowl:
Round 1 now focuses exclusively on current events and features toss-up questions in a newly revised structure for clearer pacing.
Rounds 2 and 3 have undergone point adjustments to strengthen scoring balance and distinguish performance more effectively.
The total number of MIST Bowl topics has been reduced from six to five, with updated topic descriptions to be announced.
Humanitarian Service:
Now partnered with HHRD instead of IRUSA.
Includes a new community engagement component to deepen local involvement and impact.
General Improvements:
Cosmetic edits, grammar corrections, and formatting refinements throughout the rulebook for enhanced readability and navigation.
We encourage all students, coaches, and volunteers to review the updated rulebook ahead of Regionals. These changes are designed to support smoother preparation and a more equitable, unified experience across all MIST regions.
Regional Competitions Materials
MIST Bowl Regional Topics
Topic 1:
Topic 2:
Topic 3:
Topic 4:
Topic 5:
Topic 6: Current Events