This is not a certified contest. Judges will not be sequestered.
General Contest Rules -
- Registration form must be completed by December 31, 2011 to avoid $5 late fee and receive free admission. Free admission covers contestants only. Tickets may not be issued for family members or guitar players not registered for the contest. Money will be refunded to anyone who paid entry fee and cannot attend, if they inform the committee of withdrawal prior to the contest’s beginning. All refunds issued by check. Discount rate’s can only be given to member’s of COTFA who’s dues are current. Those who have received discounted entry fees in the past, will be asked to bring their membership dues current. Please have proof of paid membership.
- Contestants may compete in ONE Fiddle Division (Age, Open OR Novice). Novice shall play two tunes of their choice. Registration for the Twin Fiddle division will be on Sunday morning, January 13, 2013, only. There will be maximum of 5 pairs, on a first come, first served basis.
- Contestants must confirm pre-registration by checking in at Registration. Non pre-registrants must register at least 1 hour before the division contestant desires to participate in begins, provided that the division is not full. Contestants registering after order of appearance is chosen will play first.
- All commercial recording, photo and video rights are reserved and shall become the property of the Colorado Old Time Fiddlers’ Association the nonprofit and legal entity for The Colorado Fiddle Championships. Signing of the contest registration form shall waive such rights.
- Order of appearance for all rounds shall be randomly drawn by a committee member and posted. Contestants must be ready to play when notified. Any contestant who harasses or threatens a judge will be automatically eliminated from the current contest and next year’s contest.
- Pre-registration of guitar accompanist will be accepted. Winners of accompanist division determined by number of times appearing on stage during the contest. Guitarists must register and pay entry fee to receive prize money.
- Contestants may play with or without accompanist. No restriction on how many backup.
- If a string breaks, the contestant will have the option to continue or stop at that point. If the tune is completed it will be judged as played. If the contestant chooses to stop, due to a broken string, he or she will be allowed to begin with that tune and complete the round without penalty.
- Contestants at each appearance must play a breakdown, a waltz and a tune of choice, which is designated as anything other then a waltz or a breakdown. Tunes may be played in any order. No contestant shall play a tune more than once during the contest. FIVE minute playing time limit will be strictly adhered to in the first round of all age divisions. All age divisions shall have a 5 minute time limit with a 10 point deduction for each 30 seconds over the time limit. THERE WIILL BE NO TIME LIMIT AFTER THE FIRST ROUND OF ANY AGE DIVISION. Please note: Repetitive content will cause a point reduction.
- Contact microphones and amplified instruments will not be permitted during any competition.
- No trick fiddling allowed during contest appearances. No Cross tuning on stage.
- Judging criteria on individual tunes will include but is not limited to: Difficulty, Musical Expression, Rhythm and Timing and Tone & Intonation. Points will be deducted for any violation of the above rules 9-11(inclusive).
- NO TIME LIMIT IN THE OPEN DIVISION - repetitive content will cause a point reduction.
- Audience participation IS allowed and encouraged. Time consideration will be given to contestants for excessive audience response.
- No sheet music shall be displayed in the contesting area.
- Any contestant winning three consecutive years in the Championship division must either judge the following year’s contest or sit out the contest that year. Any contestant winning three consecutive years in any age division (except small fry and Junior Junior) will automatically move into the championship division. Small Fry and Junior Junior contestants winning three consecutive years will automatically move up to the next age division.
- Any contestant winning a trophy or money must appear on stage to receive their awards or the awards will be forfeited. Please check contest schedule for award times.
- Any protest must be submitted in writing to the Chairman, and signed by not less than 3 contestants of the contest within 3 hours of the protest occurrence.
- Tune sheets must be filed out before the contestant enters the on-deck area.
- In the event of a tie, contestants will play off according to stipulations by the judges. Playoffs will be only for ties in the top 5 places. All others will split the difference in prize money.
- All decisions of the judges and the contest committee will be final.
- BECAUSE OF TIME CONSTRAINTS BEYOND OUR CONTROL, NUMBER OF CONTESTANTS MUST BE LIMITED. IF AT TIME OF CONTEST CHECK-IN, ANY DIVISION IS NOT FULL, THESE CONTESTANT SLOTS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE, ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, TO ANY CONTESTANT IN ANY DIVISION.
Alternative Division Rules & Definition
Twin
- Two fiddle players per Division entry – any age
- No pre registration. Entry’s will be taken the day of the contest.
- Contestants may play two tunes of their choice NOTE: Entry’s are limited to 5 pairs. Entry’s taken at registration table on a first come, first served basis.
- Judges are not sequestered
- Congruent performances will be most desirable. Twin style is defined by - two fiddlers’ playing in each others shadow, melody and harmony move together. Orchestrated performances do not fit the definition of “twin” fiddling.
- Qualities – Technical difficulty Intonation with regard to relative pitch. Blending of tone and feel,Interesting intervals
Novice Divisions – Jeff Hertz Memorial
Youth – 17 & Under – Adult 18 & Older
Beginner players may enter and continue participating in Novice until they have placed first in this division.
- Contestant may play two tunes of any kind note: (if time becomes an issue due to large number of contestant entries, contest board reserves the right to reduce number of tunes played to one)
- No Time Limit
- Contestants winning first place must move on to their age division the next year.
- All other general rules apply except those noted in these alternative rules.
- Have fun…. And welcome to the contest world!
Texas Style – Open Division
This division is meant to mimic the types of contests found in Texas. Anyone may enter but please realize this is a higher level competition.
- Contestants shall play a Breakdown, Waltz and Tune of Choice for the first round.
- For each of the 4 rounds of competition, contestants will be given a playing order by random draw by the contest committee.
- No time limits but points will be deducted for repetitive playing. Contestants are asked to present a performance demonstrating Texas Style. Please present your tunes in the traditional manner and build within the context of the tune and the style.
- 3rd Round Contestants MAY be called back to determine final three contestants that will participate in Round 4. Contestants must be available for all call backs and have 5 minutes to report to the contest director once they are notified.
- Top 3 Contestants – 4th round – enter the Round Robin as described below:
a) As time permits, three to four tunes will be played by each contestant. Contestant playing order will be consistent with the order described in item #2 above.
b) Judges may request specific tunes or types of tunes to be played, which may include a Breakdown, Waltz, or Tune of Choice (Rag, Polka, Swing or Blues). Tunes will be played within the traditional manner of Texas-style fiddling. Contestants will not be called upon to make key, meter or other such changes to the historical context of the tunes selected.
c) Contestants remain on stage through out the round robin round. Contestants take turns playing each type of tune as requested.
