STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills, and career preparation. STAR Events offer individual skill development and application of learning in Family and Consumer Sciences. Each STAR Event has been cross-walked to the competency lists for every course in Virginia’s Family and Consumer Sciences program, as well as to the FCS national standards, Common Career Technical Core Career Ready Practices, Career Clusters, 21st Century Skills, and the FCCLA national programs.
General information is at the top of this webpage – scroll farther down for specific event information
Click here for important information for STAR Events participants and their advisers in preparation for the April 10, 2026 state competition! (check back in March 2026)
Click here for Project Summary Form submission instructions AND instructions #2 – for ALL national-level events run at state competition (both documents have helpful information so please download and refer to both)
The official FCCLA national uniform is not required for state competition, but is certainly allowed. The state conference dress code can be accessed here.
| Volunteers Are Crucial to Our Success STAR Events cannot happen without people in place to help run events and serve as evaluators. Each chapter that enters students into STAR Events competition at the state level is required to provide at least one qualified individual to serve as a room consultant or an evaluator. This provides a unique opportunity for alumni members, administrators, other teachers, and any other supporters from your chapter to serve. Volunteer sign-ups for STAR Events can be done on your online conference registration (either the chapter advisers already listed, or add other volunteers as “guests”), or you can use the form/s available by clicking the red text below. Click here for volunteer forms (MSWord version) Click here for evaluator volunteer form (Google Form version) |
Virginia Online Registration Process
Instructions for the online registration of the STAR Events process will be posted below as Step 4. Affiliate members and register for state conference/STAR Events by February 15 for best rates!
IMPORTANT NOTE: STAR Events participants must also register for and participate in the state conference. Conference registration is a separate fee from STAR Events entry. Go to the State Leadership & Recognition Conference page of this website for more information about this year’s state conference.
Competitive Events Updates & Important Information:
- 2025-2026 Revisions to the National STAR Events Guidelines (event rules)
- Major Changes to the 2025-26 STAR Events Guide and State Competition – edited 1/14/26
- 2025-26 State Competition Event Categories & Descriptions
- For Advisers – Presentation Skills Activity
- Tips for Managing Competitive Events
- 2026 State STAR Events Scholarships Offered
- Baking & Pastry Standard Equipment List ~ this list represents ALL equipment that each student competitor will need to bring for state competition
- Culinary Arts Standard Equipment List ~ this list represents ALL equipment that each student competitor will need to bring for state competition
- STAR Events Resources and Templates (general) and Miscellaneous STAR Events Forms
- Project Summary Form submission instructions AND instructions #2 – both documents have helpful information
Update on the 2026 Virginia FCCLA STAR Events Competitions
Our 2026 state competition will be held on as a pre-conference in-person activity on Friday, April 10 in Virginia Beach. Events begin early that morning so plan your travel accordingly!
Each chapter is again allowed to have two entries per event/level where eligible, as space allows, with the exception of Chapter in Review Display and Chapter in Review Portfolio that will allow one entry per chapter in each level.
Virginia FCCLA chapters will need the information in the Virginia State STAR Events Manual in order to register for and participate in all Virginia STAR Events as part of the 2026 state competition. That information is posted below.
For more information about STAR Events, please contact:
Deborah Will
VA FCCLA Competitive Manager
Phone: (804) 364-2529
debbiewillFCCLA@comcast.net
Virginia STAR Events Manual/State Competition Management
The manual for Virginia’s STAR Events will be updated annually to reflect revisions in the events that are made either by national FCCLA or by the Virginia FCCLA Board of Directors. See below for current information:
| STEP 1: Download the Checklist for Advisers | STEP 2: Download the “General Information” Section of the State STAR Events Manual |
| This checklist provides critical step-by-step instructions for entering students in Virginia FCCLA STAR Events. Please use it to save time and minimize costly errors. | The General Information section is a mandatory document, required for all events, that contains important forms and information needed to enter any event. Do not proceed to the specific event rules until you have downloaded this introduction section. |
Where Do We Find Competition Rules?
Rules for STAR Events competitions developed by national FCCLA (those in the list below under “National Events”) can be found in the Resources tab of the chapter’s and member’s affiliation portals – look under “Competitive Events” and then locate the “STAR Events Guidelines”. These rules will be used at the Virginia FCCLA state competition. Some slight modifications will be made for management of events at the state competition and those can be found in the graphic above. These are the events that send qualifiers to national competition in the summer. DO NOT look at national’s guidelines for Skill Demonstration Events, Online Challenge Tests, Knowledge Bowl, or Virtual Business Challenge – these are additional competitive events managed by national FCCLA and are not part of competition held at the Virginia FCCLA state conference.
National FCCLA released this year’s STAR Events Guidelines in September 2025 and they have already been making edits to that document. Depending on when you download that guide you may need to download certain parts again! Click here for a listing of the edits made so far. Updates to this document will continue to be posted when national makes changes prior to our state conference and competition.
Additional culinary events are offered at the state competition that do not advance to national competition. Rules for those events are posted below.
| STEP 3: Download the Specific Event Information | |
| The specific event files contain rules unique to the state competition. Click the red text to open or download. | |
| STATE EVENT – LIVE (does not progress to national competition) Chicken Fabrication ~ revised for 2026,edited 1/14/26 Classic Knife Cuts ~ revised for 2026,edited 1/14/26 | STATE EVENT – EXHIBIT (does not progress to national competition) Culinary Arts Exhibit ~ revised for 2026, edited 1/14/26 Categories are: Breads Decorated Cake Patisserie/Confectionery Show Pieces (sample resume format as a Google Doc can be found here) |
| NATIONAL EVENTS (state qualifiers advance to national competition in the summer in the events listed below:) | |
| All terms in the national event rules written in italics are defined in the Glossary. Please refer to the national STAR Events Guide in your chapter or member portal for that resource. The FCCLA Quick Reference Citation Chart is provided here for your convenience. | Click for Quick Reference Citation Chart |
| Event titles: (contact debbiewillFCCLA@comcast.net for more information on these national-qualifying events) | Rules for these events can be found in the national STAR Events Guide found in the chapter and student affiliation portals – click on “Resources” and then “Competitive Events”. See the diagram above for Virginia management changes to these events. |
| Baking and Pastry (participant resources here) | Interpersonal Communications |
| Career Investigation | Job Interview (participant resources here) |
| Chapter in Review Display (participant resources here) | Leadership (participant resources here) |
| Chapter in Review Portfolio (participant resources here) | National Programs in Action |
| Chapter Service Project Display (participant resources here) | Nutrition and Wellness |
| Chapter Service Project Portfolio (participant resources here) | Parliamentary Procedure (participant testing resources here) |
| Culinary Arts | Personal Finance Presented by EVERFI (participant resources here) |
| Early Childhood Education (participant resources here) | Professional Presentation |
| Entrepreneurship | Promote and Publicize FCCLA (participant resources here) |
| Event Management (participant resources here) | Public Policy Advocate |
| Fashion Construction (participant resources here) | Repurpose and Redesign (participant resources here) |
| Fashion Design | Say Yes to FCS Education (participant resources here) |
| Focus on Children | Sports Nutrition |
| Food Innovations | Sustainability Challenge |
| Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation | Teach or Train (participant resources here) |
| Interior Design (participant resources here) | Teaching Strategies (participant resources here) |
| STEP 4: Complete the online combined conference and STAR Events registration process for each participant: |
| Prior to February 15 ~ affiliate all chapter members with the national FCCLA organization so that those student names will appear in the list for your conference registration; members must first be affiliated in order to register for STAR Events – please verify correct grade in school and spelling of student name By February 15 ~ $30 per participant + state conference registration; NOTE: some STAR Events will reach maximum capacity and may be closed after February 15 – register early to ensure your spot! February 16 – March 6 ~ $60 + state conference registration per participant March 7-final cut-off ~ $100 + state conference registration per participant |
| Online STAR Events and Conference Registration is now open! |
| Click here to get instructions on navigating the online registration site Click here to proceed to the registration site REMINDER: STAR Events participants must also be registered for and participate in the State Leadership & Recognition Conference. Conference registration will be done in conjunction with the online STAR Events entry. Click here to go to the State Leadership & Recognition Conference page for details on the process. |