Fountain City Poetry Slam Competition Rules
Time:
Competing poets have 3 minutes and 10 seconds to present their original work without the use of props, costumes, or musical accompaniment.
A poet’s time begins when as soon as they verbally address the audience.
This includes any introductions or preambles a poet may want to give before starting the actual performance.
Points are deducted for going over the time limit. Points deductions increase by .05 every ten seconds.
Once a performance reaches four minutes in length, that poet is disqualified from the competition.
Scoring:
Judges will score a performance anywhere from 0.0 to 10.0, evaluating such qualities as performance, content, and originality.
The high and low scores of each performance are tossed, and the middle three are added giving the performer their score.
Ties:
In the event that two or more poets have a tied score, the higher ranking will always go to the poet who performed earlier in the round. This is because the poets who perform later in the round gain the benefit of score creep as the competition goes on, therefore the earlier poets have “more to overcome.”
For example: If the third poet of round one received the same score as the eighth poet, the higher rank would go to the third poet.
Structure:
Unless otherwise specified, FCP Slams are conducted in three rounds.
The first round may have up to ten competing poets.
The top five scoring poets move on to the second round.
After their round one and round two scores are added together, the top three scoring poets move on to the final round.
After their scores from all three rounds are added together the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners are announced.
The performance order for round one is decided via random draw.
Rounds two and three are always ordered from the highest-scoring poet to the lowest-scoring poet.
Judge selection:
The contest will be judged by five members of the audience who are unaffiliated with any of the competing poets.
The selection of judges is typically handled by the Bout Manager, who is supervised by the Slam Master. When selecting judges, these things should be kept in mind:
Affiliation Bias - None of the selected judges should be friends with/partners of/coworkers of/family members of/teachers of/students of/etc. any of the competing poets.
If it is possible to select judges who have never seen any of the competing poets perform before, then that is what should be done.
If it is not possible, then it must be assured that none of the judges are regular fans of any specific competing poet(s).
Gender Bias - If it is possible to select a gender diverse panel of judges, then that is what should be done.
Racial Bias - If it is possible to select a racially diverse panel of judges, then that is what should be done.
Age Bias - If it is possible to select an age-diverse panel of judges, then that is what should be done.
Props & costumes:
A Prop is any item a poet uses to enhance their performance.
For example: If a poet looks at their watch while saying a line about running out of time, then the watch would be considered a prop.
Items that can be used by anyone competing are not considered props.
For example: If a chair is on stage and available to all competing poets, then standing on it would not be considered a prop violation.
A Costume is anything a poet wears to enhance their performance.
For example: If a poet wears a hoodie and puts the hood up while saying a line like “hoods up for -”, then the hoodie would be considered a costume.
Mobility aids, hearing aids, and/or medical implants are not considered props or costumes unless the item in question is used to enhance a poet’s performance.
For example: If a poet uses a cane and has it on stage, it would not be considered a prop unless the poet uses the cane to make a point in some way, like pointing with it.
A poet must be fully dressed to perform.
If a poet uses a prop or costume during a performance, that poem will receive a score of zero.
Stripping one’s clothing off, or moving one’s clothes to reveal more of one’s body during a performance would be considered a costume violation, and would result in a score of zero for the piece.
Music/sampling:
Poets can only use music they can produce live with their bodies. Humming, singing, snapping, chest-thumping, etc. are all permitted.
Poets may not use musical recordings or instruments of any kind. Doing so would constitute a music violation and result in a score of zero for the poet.
While poets are permitted to sing, they are not permitted to sing for longer than 30 seconds in a single performance. Doing so would constitute a music violation and result in a score of zero for the poet.
Poets may “sample” another’s work as long as:
The sample makes up no more than 30 seconds of a single performance.
Credit is given to the original author.
PLAGIARISM:
If it is discovered that a competing poet is performing work that is unoriginal, in it’s entirety or otherwise, that poet will be disqualified from the competition.
A poet caught plagiarizing will be required to discuss this violation with the FCP Slam Master and/or the Director(s) of PUKC before they are allowed to compete on our stage again.
Contesting Judges:
Any competing poet is entitled to contest a specific judge or a judging panel in its entirety if
A poet knows or suspects* that a judge is affiliated in some way with another competing poet.
*If a contesting poet only suspects an affiliation, they must explain why they suspect it - i.e., “I saw them arrive in the same car together.”
The majority or the entirety of the judging panel is comprised of only one gender presentation, age group, or race.
If our judging panels are consistently being contested because of a lack of diversity, a larger conversation should be had with the Slam Master and/or PUKC Director(s) about what can be done to diversify our audience.
Rejecting contestations:
Because queer identity, disability status, neurotype, economic class, ethnicity, & religious preference are often not visibly identifiable, contesting a panel because they all “look straight/able-bodied/neurotypical/middle class/Hispanic/Christian/etc.” is not considered a valid contestation.
Poets may not contest judges based on their perception of whether or not someone is “fit” to judge them - this includes their perception of a judge's sobriety, education level, and/or housing status.
Only the Slam Master & the Bout Manager have the authority to remove a judge from the panel in cases of extreme intoxication. This should only be done if the judge in question becomes disruptive, overtly distracted, or cannot remain conscious.
Poetry Slams began as a bar game, and sobriety is not a requirement to compete or to judge.