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Rules for the SCVFA Youth Fiddle Contest Nov 1, 2009

Calling all young fiddlers! Enter the 8th Annual Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Association's Youth Fiddle Contest, to be held at the November 1, 2009 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 & Eligibility 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.

Eligibility for age divisions is based on the contestant's age on the day of the contest. Previous contestants who have placed first in any division(s) in all of the three most recent SCVFA contests are not eligible this year, but may enter again next year.

Grand Prize Drawing: At the close of the 2009 contest, the names of all contestants who performed in the contest will be entered into a drawing for a student fiddle outfit (fiddle, bow and case; choice of available sizes) donated by The Fiddle Guy, 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.
The two tunes may be of any type (e.g. hoedown, reel, waltz, jig, schottische, hornpipe, etc.).
Total time for each contestant is limited to four minutes (for two tunes).
Each contestant may have up to two non-fiddle 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 Chairman, ties based on total points may be resolved (e.g. by considering the judges' individual overall rankings), or duplicate awards may be made.
Registration

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 reserve a space temporarily by faxing the registration form to (408) 255-5775. To hold your reservation you must 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, paid registration requests will be given preference over unpaid reservations, which may be moved to the wait-list if we run out of room.

Fees

The early registration fee is $5.00 for registrations with payment received by Wednesday, October 28. 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.

To pay after the early-registration deadline you can send (or hand-deliver) the $10 late-registration fee to reach us by Friday October 30 — or you can bring it to the contest and complete your registration on site, if space is still available.

Limits, Wait-List

Due to time constraints there is a limit of 25 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 the order received by the SCVFA if there are cancellations or no-shows, or at the discretion of the Contest Chairman. Entry fees paid by wait-listed entrants who cannot be accomodated will be reimbursed if the Adult Pass has not been used.

Contest Schedule, Check-In

Check-in for all contestants is from 1:00 to 1:30pm. Limited on-site registration will also happen then, on a space-available basis (late-registration fee applies).

Performances are scheduled to begin with Division 1 as soon as possible after 1:45pm. Starting times for Divisions 2 and 3 will depend on the number of players entered in each division.

The order of play within each Division will be determined by a random drawing of the contestants who have submitted registration forms by the early-registration deadline. Late registrants will be added to the end of the play list.

Awards for all divisions will be presented after Division 3 finishes. Presentations are expected to be finished by 5:00pm.

More Info For more information or to print this page, see the 3-page PDF information packet, or the separate PDF flyer, rules (this page) and registration form.

We hope you'll join us for a fun day of fiddling! If you have any questions about the Youth Fiddle Contest email us, or call Pete Showman at (408) 255-0297.

Updated 9/22/09 9:30pm