All competitors are responsible for knowing the tournament rules before competition begins. Questions about a rule should be directed to the Tournament Director before your bout whenever possible.

Props

Props may not be used during competition. A poet may not deliberately incorporate an object into a performance by holding, pointing to, or verbally referencing it as part of the poem.

Objects available equally to all competitors—such as a microphone, mic stand, or chair provided onstage—are not considered props. Mobility and accessibility devices, including glasses, canes, and wheelchairs, are considered extensions of the poet and are never considered props.

Penalty: 1-point deduction.

Original Work, Sampling & Plagiarism

Poets must perform original work. Up to 15 seconds of another poet's work may be quoted or sampled, provided the original artist is credited during the performance. Attribution may appear in the poem itself, its introduction or title, or elsewhere in the performance, but it must be audible to the audience.

Sampling beyond the allowable limit results in a 1-point deduction.

Plagiarism is not a sampling violation. Any competitor found to have knowingly presented another artist's work as their own will be disqualified from the tournament without refund.

Primary Author Rule — Team Competition

Each team receives four performance slots per bout. A slot may be used for either a solo poem or a group piece. Teams with five registered members are not required to use every team member in every bout.

For a group piece, one poet must be identified as the primary author and must have contributed the majority of the writing. Every poet performing the piece must also have contributed to its creation.

The poem uses the performance slot of its primary author, and no team member may serve as primary author for more than one poem in the same bout.

Teams will identify the primary author of each poem on the official bout sheet at the conclusion of competition.

Costumes

Costumes and performance-related clothing changes are not permitted. Adding or removing clothing specifically to enhance a poem or influence its reception will be considered a costume violation.

Ordinary adjustments to clothing that are not part of the performance are not violations.

Penalty: 1-point deduction.

Bout Draw & Late Arrival

Performance order is determined by random draw at the venue before each preliminary and Champions Stage bout.

Any competitor who arrives after the bout draw has begun will automatically receive the one spot and perform first. If multiple competitors arrive late, the earliest available positions will be assigned according to arrival time; competitors arriving together will draw randomly for those positions.

Competitors should arrive early enough to complete the draw before the scheduled start of their bout.

Repeat Rule

Poems may not be repeated during preliminary competition.

Competitors who advance to the Champions Stage may repeat one poem previously performed during preliminaries. A second or subsequent repeated competition poem results in a 1-point deduction for each violation, but the competitor may continue competing.

Poems performed at open mics, showcases, or other noncompetitive festival events do not count as repeats under this rule.

Judge Interference & Collusion

Competitors, teams, coaches, and affiliated supporters may not attempt to manipulate or improperly influence the judging of a bout.

This includes attempting to influence a judge before or during competition; encouraging a judge to favor or disadvantage a particular competitor; deliberately placing a friend, family member, teammate, coach, or other person with a known affiliation to a competitor on the judging panel without disclosing that relationship; or otherwise coordinating with audience members or judges in an attempt to affect the outcome of a bout.

Simply knowing, supporting, or having a relationship with a competing poet does not constitute a violation. The violation occurs when that relationship is concealed in order to place an affiliated person on the judging panel, or when someone attempts to use that relationship to influence scoring.

If an audience member selected as a judge has a significant relationship or affiliation with a competitor in the bout, they should disclose that relationship to bout staff before accepting the judging position so staff can determine whether another judge should be selected.

A competitor or team found to have deliberately engaged in judge interference or collusion will receive the lowest rank in that preliminary bout.

The Protest Process

Rule Violations & Resolving a Protest

Competitors and coaches are responsible for knowing the tournament rules and identifying potential violations. Bout staff will not independently file protests or police performances for rule violations. This helps ensure that tournament staff remain neutral in the administration of each bout.

A protest may be filed by any poet or team competing in the bout in which the alleged violation occurred.

Protests should be raised immediately or as soon as reasonably possible. If approaching the MC or Bout Manager would disrupt competition, notify the scoring table, and staff will alert the appropriate official.

Once a protest has been filed, bout staff are responsible for administering the protest process. If the violation—or absence of a violation—is clear, the MC or Bout Manager may resolve the protest immediately and apply any required penalty.

If the issue cannot be resolved immediately, the competitors involved will be notified and the bout will continue. The matter will then be referred to the Tournament Protest Committee for review. Competitors involved in the protest should meet with the MC or Bout Manager immediately following the bout.

A competitor disputing the official bout results should not sign the bout sheet until the protest has been resolved.

Decisions made by the MC or Bout Manager may be appealed to the Protest Committee. The decision of the Protest Committee is final.

Our goal is to resolve protests as fairly, consistently, and efficiently as possible while allowing the competition—and the poetry—to remain the focus of the festival.

Rule-Violation Penalties

Violation                                                                                  Penalty

Prop violation                                                                          1-point deduction

Sampling beyond allowable limit                                   1-point deduction

Costume violation                                                                 1-point deduction

Repeat-rule violation                                                           1-point deduction

Judge interference or collusion                                       Lowest rank in preliminary bout

Plagiarism                                                                                 Disqualification without refund