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There are 16 poets in this slam and two rounds
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Round one (Friday 04/22/2022) will consist of 16 poets each competing in 2 rounds of poems; there will be two bouts of 8 competitors each. The top 4 competitors from each bout will advance to final stage.
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Round two (Saturday 04/23/2022) will consist of 8 poets competing in 2 rounds of poems.
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Round two is a clean slate (scores from the previous round do NOT carry over to Round 2)
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In case of a tie (depending upon time), tied poets may be asked to present a 3rd poem.
Poems & Performance
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Poets should prepare 3 poems
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Poems can be on any subject and in any style.
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Each poet must perform original work that they have created.
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No props or costumes (poets are allowed to use the environment and the objects it offers - the stage itself, chairs on the stage, the aisle – as long as these objects are available to other competitors as well).
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Automatic disqualification for using either props or costumes.
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No musical instruments or pre-recorded music.
Time Rules:
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Qualifier Bouts will be two minutes than one minute with a cut from 8 to 6 after round 1. Poets should be prepared with BOTH.
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two-minute round, the poem should be two minutes
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one-minute round, you will have 60 seconds
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The bout managers will calculate the time and final score after the judges score the poem
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Saturday night finals- poets will have 3 minutes. Poets should prepare TWO poems, no longer than 3 minutes each.
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The performer is allowed a ten-second grace period in each round. After ten seconds, 0.5 points are deducted from the poet’s overall score for every part of 10 seconds over time.
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After four minutes, the host will stop the poet from continuing to perform.
Judging & Scoring
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Five judges selected from the audience
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Each of the judges will give each poem a score from 0 to 10, using decimals (ex: 7.1), with 10 being the highest or “perfect” score. Only ONE decimal point is allowed.
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The judges and the audience should be given an official introduction, which will review the rules, and be instructed to consider the writing and performance of each poem when judging.
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A sacrificial or calibration poet begins the slam to warm up the judges and audience to scoring.
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The highest and the lowest scores are dropped, and the three middle-range scores are added to give a score out of a possible 30.
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The judges cannot intimately know any of the competing poets