Landmark Park's

Annual Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention

Divisions and Prizes

General Regulations

1.) Contestants must be present and in their drawn position for entry on the stage when their number is called from the staging area. Late arrivals and no shows will be eliminated from the contest. Allowances may be made for broken strings and other problems deemed to be beyond the control of the contestant.

2.) Electric fiddles will not be allowed. However, electric basses are permissible as accompaniment. No fiddler will be allowed more than two accompanying instruments. All fiddlers should make arrangements to have adequate accompaniment prior to the day of the contest.

3.) Judges will not accept show tunes or trick fiddling. Traditional old-time tunes and traditional style playing is encouraged. Modern tunes and / or progressive styles will not be accepted.

4.) If circumstances permit, judges may be seated in a separate area to prevent visual contact from influencing their decision (See Judging Criteria section for more information concerning judging procedures.)

5.) Each fiddler's presentation is limited to four minutes. Please practice with this time limit in mind. The two songs played must be one waltz and one breakdown. However, in the Youth, Age 12 and under category, contestants may play two songs of their choice. Each fiddler must give the announcer the name of the tunes they will perform and the order in which they will be performed. The announcer will introduce the tunes for the audience and judges.

6.) In the event of a tie, the contestants involved will be allowed to play one selection of his or her choice. Points scored in the prior performance will not be carried over. The judges will then determine the winner based on the scores awarded for this tune. The tie-breaker performance will be judged on its own merit and by the same judging guidelines.

7.) Judges will not be allowed to enter the contest, and the decision of the judges in choosing the winner will be final.

8.) Any contestant who has won first place for two consecutive years will not be allowed to compete in that category the following year. The fiddler may perform but may not compete until they have sat out of that competition for one year.

9.) A fiddler in the Youth or Junior category may be asked to perform in a higher category if, in opinion of the judges, he or she demonstrates skill beyond that category.

10.) The contest will be conducted in accordance with the rules outlined herein, however, due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather conditions, emergencies, etc., Landmark Park and/or the judges reserve the right to modify the rules if necessary.

11.) Open Division - Fiddler's presentation is limited to three minutes and ONLY ONE TUNE. No age or tune restriction. Trophies will be awarded.

The rhythm and timing should be even and consistent. Any jerking, rushing or dragging in the tempo will result in a loss of points.

Judges will look for minor variations and improvisations. However, the creativity should not be excessive so as to change or destroy the basic melody line of the tune. Extreme modifications will result in the loss of points.

Excessive and indiscriminate changes in a tune that make a performance unclear or unrecognizable, or the addition of inappropriate modern "licks" will result in a loss of points.

The judges will look for the "feeling" the contestant puts into the performance. Flat, mechanical, and "unfeeling" performances will result in point reduction, as will excessive "showmanship."

The judges will listen for the tonal quality and clarity of the performance and for general command of the instrument.

Each judging category has a potential of 20 points, for a possible score of 100 points per tune. The final score for each contestant will be the average score of the two selections he or she played. High/low scores will not be thrown out.

All contestants should give adequate consideration to the placement of microphones and the efforts of the sound system operators who are working to ensure that each performance is heard clearly by the judges and the audience. The judges will score according to what they hear. An instrument too close or too far away from a microphone may distort or "drop out" the sound, resulting in a lower score.