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Rules for the SCVFA Youth Fiddle Contest Nov 4, 2007

Calling all young fiddlers! Enter the 6th Annual Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Association's Youth Fiddle Contest, to be held at the November 4, 2007 SCVFA Jam. Or if you're not a young fiddler, come and cheer on the contestants. It's great fun!

The SCVFA has held contests since 2002 to encourage enjoyment of traditional music by young people.

Official Contest Rules and Details

Divisions & Prizes There will be three Divisions by age, each with cash prizes for first through fifth places:
  • Division 1:   8 and under      $40/$25/$20/$15/$10
  • Division 2: 11 and under      $50/$35/$25/$20/$15
  • Division 3: 16 and under      $60/$45/$35/$25/$20

Note that these are slightly different from the age divisions often used in old-time fiddle contests.

Grand Prize Drawing: At the close of the 2007 contest, the names of all contestants who performed in the contest will be entered into a drawing for a beginner's fiddle set (fiddle, bow and case; choice of available sizes) donated by Steve Joynes, Violin Restoration and Sales.

Tunes Contestants are to play two tunes: one fiddle tune (a tune in a traditional fiddle style) and one tune of player's choice.
There is no restriction on the speeds of the two tunes.
Total playing time is limited to four minutes (for the two tunes).
Each contestant may have up to two accompanists, who may not play the melody.
Scoring Scoring will be based equally on four qualities: rhythm, intonation & tone quality, style, and difficulty (25% each). We recommend playing less-difficult tunes well (or perhaps playing more slowly) rather than attempting difficult or fast tunes that are not fully mastered. (Only 25% of the score is for difficulty while 75% is for how well the tune is played.)
Due to time constraints only one round will be played. At the sole discretion of the Contest Committee, ties based on total points may be resolved, e.g. by considering the judges' individual ordinal rankings, or duplicate awards may be made.
Schedule Check-in for registered (pre-paid) contestants is from 1:00 to 1:30pm. On-site registration for unregistered contestants will also be offered during that time. (The late registration fee applies to on-site registrations; see Fees below.) Division 1 is scheduled to begin playing as soon as possible after 1:45pm. Other divisions' starting times will depend on the number of players entered in each division. Presentation of awards is expected to be finished by approximately 5:00pm.
Registration

Due to time constraints there is a limit of 30 contestants, with 5 spots reserved for each division until the early-registration deadline. Additional registration requests beyond those limits will be placed on a wait-list. Wait-listed entrants will be processed in order if there are cancellations or no-shows.

To register, print and fill out the Registration Form, and send it with your entry fee to:

SCVFA Youth Fiddle Contest
PO Box 2666
Cupertino, CA 95015-2666

You may also reserve a space by faxing the registration form to (408) 255-5775; then complete the early-registration process by mailing your $5 payment to reach us by the early registration deadline (see Fees below). After that date you can send the $10 late-registration fee to reach us by Friday November 2 — or just bring it to the contest and complete your registration on site.

Unpaid (faxed) entry forms will reserve your place at least until the early-registration deadline. After that date, paid wait-list registration requests will be given preference over unpaid reservations if we should run out of room. (In 2003, 2004 and 2006 we did not quite fill up, but in 2002 and 2005 we did.)

Fees

The early registration fee is $5.00 for payments received by Wednesday, October 31. After that date the registration fee is $10.00. Each registration includes one free Adult Admission Pass (a $5 value). Additional adult admissions are $5, payable at the door. As with all SCVFA jams, children 16 and under are admitted free.

For more information, download and print the PDF information packet, or the separate flyer, rules and registration form.

Check-In

Check-in is from 1:00 to 1:30. Unless you make special arrangements (call or email us; see below), you must check in by 1:30 at the contest check-in and registration desks even if you have registered by mail, to verify your information and get your contestant number. If you do not check in you may lose your place to someone on the wait-list.

Within each Division, the order of play will be determined by a random drawing of the contestants who have submitted entry forms by Friday November 2. Later registrants will be added to the end of the list.

If you have any questions about the Youth Fiddle Contest email us, or call Pete Showman at (408) 255-0297.

Updated 9/22/07 6:33pm