| Information for Hosting Competitions |
These guidelines are for both competition organizers and stewards. Where there are two
people filling these jobs, the duties may be divided: the organizer assuming more responsibility
for the early planning of the competition, and the steward assuming the responsibility for the
details which relate directly to the actual competition.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Competitions chairperson.
1. Well in Advance of the Competition (3-6 months)
Determine time and place of competition in cooperation with the organizers of the games.
Decide with the games organizers about entry fees (amount, if any), whether or not competitors
will get free tickets and/or parking passes to the games, budget for the competition, etc.
Obtain judge. Make sure terms of payment and expenses are clear. Also arrange for
workshops, if any, with the judge and arrange space and time details with game organizers.
Arrange for transportation (i.e., airline tickets) for judge, if needed. If you plan to allow
accompaniment as fiddlers play, get prior approval from the judge and be sure rules governing
accompaniment are clear in the information you send potential competitors.
Prizes: Determine prizes (cash, medals, and trophies are usual, but you can be creative and
give Scottish fiddling books, memberships in FIRE, scholarships to fiddling schools, etc.)
Games organizers often take care of ordering trophies and supply cash awards, but you might
also like to see if you can get merchants or individuals to donate prizes which would then carry
their names. Be sure prizes are ordered and will be available on the day of the competition.
Publicity: See that games officials include fiddling in pre-games publicity. Write newspaper
articles giving information about the competition. You might submit these articles for use in the
program, any pre-games publicity, and the Scottish FIRE Newsletter. You may also request to
have your Scottish game/competition listed on this web site.
2. One To Two Months Before the Competition (or more)
Send information to potential competitors. Include rules, judge's name, time and place of the
competition, accommodations information, deadline for entries, workshop information, concert
or ceilidh information - anything relevant.
Judge's needs: Be sure the judge has a place to stay and that arrangements are made for local
transportation (to and from accommodations, airport, etc.).
Accompaniment: If accompaniment is to be allowed, arrange for suitable musicians who can
provide accompaniment for fiddlers who want it but did not provide their own.
Applications: STEWARD: As applications are received, keep a record of the order in which
they were received (competitors play in reverse order of registration). Also keep records of the
names, addresses, and telephone numbers of competitors and entry fees received (if any entry
fees are required).
Necessary forms: STEWARD: Be sure you have the judging forms, report forms, and
membership information from Scottish FIRE to bring to the games. Samples of these materials
are included in the information packet, or are obtainable from the Scottish FIRE Competitions
chairman on request. Stewards should plan to give copies of the completed judging sheets to
the competitors after the competition and should plan to bring appropriate material: carbon
paper or NCR forms are appropriate if the competition organizers want to keep copies of the
judging sheets, or stewards may want to arrange to xerox the forms and mail them to
competitors. Originals of the completed judging sheets may be given to competitors if the
organizers choose to do so.
3. On the Day of the Games
The Steward's responsibilities will vary depending on how individual games are organized, but
the following are critical responsibilities of the steward. The responsibilities may be delegated
to other people, but the steward has the overall responsibility to see that these things are
done. Essentially, the steward is a troubleshooter whose major job is to see that the
competition runs smoothly.
- The steward should make sure that each competitor is entered in the appropriate class, to the
extent possible. (The judge has the final decision about which class a competitor should be
entered in, and may make that decision before or after a competitor plays.)
- Check that all competitors are present before the competition begins and that they are
informed about any changes in plans or locations, the order of play, the time they need to be
ready to play, etc.
- Have each competitor fill out a judging form indicating the names of tunes to be played,
competition class, and order of play. (where there is more than one judge, more forms should
be filled out by each competitor, one for each judge.)
- During the competition, the steward assists the judge as required. Depending on the
competition set-up, the steward could be responsible for any/all of the following:
- Check sound system, adjust mikes for competitors.
- Announce competitors' names and the tunes they are playing. Explain fiddle competition
procedure to the audience.
- Check judging sheets when judge finishes writing the: Add points if the judge is recording
points (a great help to many judges!), check that the judging sheet is fully filled out, be sure
that the judge signs all judging sheets.
- Record final ranking, trophies, special prizes, etc., on a competition report form. Have judge
write comments on the form and sign it.
- Help judge give awards, and be sure each competitor get a copy of the judging sheet or that
arrangements are made for mailing it.
4. After the Competition
The steward must mail a report to the FIRE Competitions Chairman as soon as possible after
the competition. Included in this report are the names and addresses of all competitors and
also of any other people at the competition who expresses an interest in FIRE. (These people
will receive a sample newsletter and an invitation to join FIRE.)
The judge must mail the official results to the FIRE Competitions Chair on the complete
competition report form. The steward should provide the judge with a stamped, addressed
envelope for this purpose, as well as a copy of the competition results on the completed report
form. If the report form is completed and signed by the judge at the competition, the steward or
competition organizer may mail the results to the FIRE Competitions Chair.
Competition reports should also be sent to the newsletter editor and to the organizer of the
U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Championships. The winners of local competitions (first place)
will be invited to compete in the National Scottish Fiddling Championship. Be sure to always
include the addresses and telephone numbers of the first place winners of the Open and Junior
classes (and date of birth for the Junior winner) so invitations to the Nationals can be issued.
Please send the results immediately after the competition, particularly for competitions which
occur in the spring.
| Guidelines for Competition Organizers and Stewards. |
