Competition Guidelines

  

1. High School Show Choirs will be invited from all regions of the country. 
2. There will be a High School Mixed Division and Women’s Division. Adjudicators for the competition will be current educators and choreographers in the show choir activity or retired directors that are still active as judges in show choir competitions. 
3. The first twenty choirs to send in an application and the application fee will compete. 4. The Women’s Division Choirs will be given raw scores by each adjudicator, for the purpose of allowing scores to be studied by each director. Those scores will then be converted to a rank for each adjudicator. The consensus ranking system, not raw scores, will then be used for final placement. 
4. The Mixed Division Choirs in prelims will be given raw scores by each adjudicator, for the purpose of allowing scores to be studied by each director, especially for those making finals in Mixed Division. Those scores will then be converted to a rank for each adjudicator. The consensus ranking system, not raw scores, will then be used for final placement and will determine the top six Mixed Division Choirs that will move into Finals. Placement for Mixed Division Finals will be determined by the consensus rank. 
5. Thirty (30) minutes will be allotted for each group’s performance. This includes set-up, announcement, performance, and breakdown. 
6. A penalty of one point per minute per judge will be assessed for exceeding the time limit. In turn, this could affect your group’s overall rank per judge. 
7. Thirty (30) minutes will be allotted for warm-up and transfer to stage. 

Twenty (20) minutes for warm-up, Five (5) minutes to transfer to stage 

Five (5) minutes to prepare equipment for set-up 

9. Choirs may place risers in any arrangement, remove risers or add extra risers, however, risers must be returned to original arrangement within the thirty (30) minute time limit. Clinton’s stage crew will assist in set up and break down. If additional risers are stacked on the standard set, your group is responsible for providing and securing these additional risers. LEGS ON RISERS MAY NOT BE CHANGED. 
10. To be eligible for the combo award, only one adult may play in the combo. All others must be current students. 
11. Lighting will be available for the choir’s performance. Cue Sheet will be emailed. 12. The Grand Ole Opry House sound system will be used for the competition. The stage will be set with five (5) corded stand microphones, five (5) cordless handheld microphones, four (4) audio-technica condenser booms, six (6) monitors for piano to singers and one (1) monitor for singers to director. 
12. Other sound reinforcement for singers WILL NOT be allowed. 

Exceptions for the following: Personal headset mics for soloists during your performance, provided they are not used to reinforce the ensemble. Soloists with headsets may only be mic’d through a group’s personal sound system from the stage and not patched through the house sound system. Opry mics and monitors listed above are the only ones that can be run through the house sound system. 

14. The competition area will be 48ft. across and between 38 ft. and 40ft. deep.

Risers, Trusses, and Stage Equipment Guidelines 

1. The stage will be set with four levels of StageRight Risers. 

 (4) 4ftx8ftx8in, (4) 4ftx8ftx16in, (4) 4ftx8ftx24in, (4) 4ftx8ftx32in 

– Do not bring any risers with you if you use the standard (4) – 4 x 8, 8 inch, (4) 4 x 8, 16 inch,  (4) – 4 x 8, 24 inch and (4) 4 x 8 32 inch heights, as these will be provided. We will also be providing additional risers, (2) – 4 x 4, 8 inch, (2) – 4 x 4, 16 inch, (2) – 4 x4, 24 inch and  (2) – 4 x4, 32 inch heights. 

– If you use these additional risers you will not need to bring them. We use StageRight Risers – Steps on Stage – Steps for access from the stage floor to the risers on the sides and the back must be provided by each performing group. Each group has different sizes of steps and we would not be able to provide the correct steps for everyone’s use. 

2. The maximum length of a single truss can be NO LONGER than 24 feet.This includes trusses used for scenery and/or visuals. 
3. Groups using a standard drum kit must use the one provided by Show Choir Nationals.

– All equipment must be on wheeled casters or carpeted bottoms to the equipment. Nothing may be slid across the stage. There will be a stage member watching for damage to the floor. If your group damages the floor he will point that out and your group may incur additional charges payable to the Grand Ole Opry House.