KINGDOM BARDIC CHAMPIONSHIP BASIC RULES & FORMAT
1. PURPOSE OF THE COMPETITION
a) To choose a "performing arts" Champion for the Kingdom of An Tir.
b) The performing arts include:
i) Vocal music
ii) Instrumental music
iii) Story telling
iv) Poetry
v) Drama
vi) Dance
vii) Physical arts (jugglers, acrobats, jesters, magicians, etc)
2. ELIGIBILITY
a) Entrants must be paid members of SCA, Inc.
b) Entrants must have resided in the Kingdom of An Tir for at least 1 year, and must intend to reside in An Tir during their term as Kingdom Bardic Champion.
c) Entrants must submit a written Notice of Intention to enter Kingdom Bardic Championship:
i) The Notice of Intention is due by the July Coronation prior to the Championship.
ii) The Notice must include a description of entries planned.
iii) The Notice must be submitted to the King & Queen, the Crown Prince & Princess, the A&S Minister and the Kingdom Bardic Championship Coordinator.
iv) "In writing" can be either by snail mail, e-mail, or by personally handing the document to the recipients.
d) Entrants must have read, understood and agree to abide by the Duties of a Kingdom Champion as delineated in Kingdom Law, Article III, B.
3. DUTIES OF THE KINGDOM BARDIC CHAMPION
a) To swear an oath of fealty and service to the Crown.
b) To defend the honor and prestige of the Crown and the Kingdom of An Tir, whenever such is challenged.
c) To support the Crown in war. To take the field at the Crown's command.
d) To attend all Crown Events, unless that champion receives permission from the Crown not to do so (*And to stand behind the thrones during Royal Court at Crown events).
e) To maintain membership in the Society during the champion's term of service.
f) To speak or act in the Crown's name when delegated to do so.
g) To further the interests of their area of endeavor.
h) To attend the next Kingdom Bardic Championship, where their successor will be chosen.
4. COMPETITION FORMAT
a) The competition will be styled similarly to the Kingdom Arts & Sciences Competition, using a two day format. The top two entrants on Saturday will become the finalists and proceed to Sunday.
b) Saturday judging -
i) The overall entrants on Saturday will be judged by teams of three specialist judges.
ii) The judges will use judging forms (similar to those used for Kingdom A&S).
iii) Audience appeal will also be a factor in determining who becomes a finalist.
c) Sunday judging -
i) The finalists will be judged by a team of five generalist judges.
ii) The judges will determine the winner based on depth, breadth and ambassadorship.
iii) The finalists on Sunday will usually present three of their entries from Saturday (however this number may be lowered to two if necessary due to time constraints or other circumstances).
5. BASIC CHAMPIONSHIP RULES
a) Number of pieces:
i) The entrant will be required to present four entries on Saturday.
ii) Each entry will have a one hour time slot.
iii) This time slot will be broken down into (approximately): 15 minutes for oral presentation, 20 minutes for the performance, 10 minutes for questions, 10 minutes for the judges to consult, and 5 minutes for the judges to move to the next judging session.
b) "Periodicity" requirement - All entries must either be documentably period OR have a period/traditional "feel", sound, or ambience.
c) Documentation - All entries must have significant, written documentation.
d) Category requirement - There are no "category" requirements (i.e.: one music, one story, etc.). The entrant may choose any four entries they wish, however ONE of the four entries must be a documentably period performance piece.
e) Group entries:
i) Group entries will be permitted, however the entrant's contribution to the piece must be easily distinguishable from that of the other members of the group.
ii) If the entrant's contribution is not easily distinguishable (i.e.- to determine the abilities of one singer in a madrigal group), then the entrant must also perform at least a portion of their "part" as a solo. This can happen either before, after or during the group performance.
iii) If the entrant's part can be easily separated by the judges (i.e. - one actor in a group), then a solo presentation will not be required.
f) Research paper entries:
i) Research papers on bardic topics will be permitted as entries.
ii) Research papers may be used as entries by the finalists on Sunday IF there are enough copies of the paper available to give to the five Sunday judges at the end of the day on Saturday.
g) Audience appeal:
i) Will be a factor in determining the finalists who proceed on to Sunday.
ii) Audience appeal will be determined in a separate performance given either at the feast on Saturday night, or at a time set aside during the day when the entrants will each perform in front of a large group of assembled populace.
iii) This performance may be one of the entrant's four entries, or it may be a different piece.
iv) No documentation is required.
v) The performances will be "judged" by the audience solely on audience appeal.
vi) A numerical score will be assigned to each entrant based on how well they scored in audience appeal, and this will be added to their regular Saturday scores to determine who will become a finalist on Sunday.
vii) This performance will need to be brief, probably from 5-10 minutes. The length will be determined by the number of overall entrants. The more overall entrants, the shorter the length of each performance.
6. SINGLE ENTRY RULES
a) Single entries will be permitted.
b) Single entries must pre-register in writing by contacting the Kingdom Bardic Championship Coordinator.
c) Pre-registration in writing by July Coronation is encouraged, as the number of single entry slots is limited. Later registration may be allowed IF there are still single entry judging slots available.
d) Single entrants should give a detailed description of their entry when they register.
e) Format - depending on the number of available judges, single entries might be judged by one judge plus a panel of other bardic participants, rather than judged in a one hour time slot with three specialist judges.
**NOTE More details will be included in the "KBC Contestants Handbook", which will be posted to this website in the near future.