Junior Monarch Competition 2024 Rules & Entry Form

JUNIOR MONARCH COMPETITION RULES 2024

 

1.        NAME OF THE COMPETITION

 

1.        The name of the competition shall be the Junior Monarch Competition and shall comprise three (3) stages namely the Preliminary, Semi-Final and Final.

 

2.        The Junior Monarch Competition (the Competition) is organized and administered by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).

 

2.        ELIGIBILITY

 

1.        A person wishing to enter the competition must be:

1. A citizen of Barbados or
2. Legally resident in Barbados
3. At least seven (7) years old and not more than eighteen (18) years old on May 10, 2024.

 

2.        If a person desirous of participating in the competition is not a citizen or legal resident of Barbados, he/she must present evidence to show he/she is actively pursuing legal residence.

 

3.        REGISTRATION

 

1.        All persons desirous of participating in the competition shall register each Crop Over season, by completing the appropriate application form via NCF’s website http://www.ncf.bb/. Applicants may be required to upload a recent passport size photograph (which must be taken against a plain white background). Application forms shall be submitted and uploaded online by 4:00 p.m. on Friday May 10th, 2024.

 

2.        All participants under the age of sixteen (16) years shall be required to provide proof of parental/guardian consent to their participation in the competition.

 

3.        Registration Forms not submitted by the deadline indicated at Rule 3 (a) above shall not be eligible for participation in the competition.

 

4.        Songs entered in the competition must be original (i.e not copies or excerpts from other songs) and must not have been entered in any previous NCF-organized competition in Barbados.  Where there is a complaint that a song does not conform to this requirement, the complainant maybe required to produce recorded evidence to support the complaint.

 

5.        The penalty for violation of Rule 3 (d) above shall be disqualification of the song from the competition.

 

4.        ADJUDICATION

 

1.        A panel of judges shall be selected for the adjudication of the competition.

 

2.        The NCF shall determine the composition of the panel of judges and shall appoint a member of the panel to be Chief Judge.

 

3.        The competition shall be judged in three (3) stages – each stage will be judged via live performance.

 

4.        The judges’ panel for each stage shall be publicly announced before the commencement of the respective stage.

 

5.        ARBITRATION

 

1.        The NCF shall appoint an Arbiter to preside over the competition and shall vest in him/her the authority to hear and determine all disputes relating to the rules of the competition.

 

2.        The Arbiter shall be the final judge as to whether behaviour is indecent, obscene, defamatory or slanderous to any grouping, fraternity, demographic or individual

 

3.        All complaints related to the competition shall be submitted, in writing, to the Arbiter in a sealed envelope addressed as follows:

 

The Arbiter

National Cultural Foundation

West Terrace

ST. JAMES

 

4.        All decisions made by the Arbiter shall be final and binding on the competitors and the NCF.

 

6.        GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

1.        The participant shall submit to the designated NCF officer, one (1) typed copy of the lyrics of the song to be performed in the competition via email no later than 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday May 15, 2024.  The name of the Composer(s) and Arranger shall be clearly indicated on the copy of the lyrics submitted. All participants will be required to provide proof of Composer(s) consent to perform the song submitted in the competition.

 

2.        The NCF will vet each song submitted and return those with lyrics considered to be defamatory or beyond the bounds of good taste to the participant within seventy-two (72) hours of the deadline.

 

3.        Where songs are returned to participants for amendment, the participant shall be required to resubmit the amended lyrics not less than forty-eight (48) hours prior to the commencement of the first Tent.

 

4.        Where the NCF has informed a participant that his or her lyrics, in full or in part, are in question and should be replaced with acceptable lyrics and the participant wilfully performs the offending lyrics or a variation that is substantially similar during any stage of the competition, then such participant may be disqualified and may be banned (if found guilty of the action) from NCF-produced competitions for a period not in excess of five (5) years, and will also be liable for any legal cost/ or damage which may arise from any offended party.

 

5.        Participants may be held accountable for the actions of all supporting cast who accompanied them on stage during the competition.

 

6.          If, during the competition, a participant or any of his/her supporting cast makes any gesture, action or display any sign that exceeds the bounds of good taste, the participant may be disqualified from the competition.

 

7.        A musical Band, shall be provided by the NCF, to accompany all participants at the Semi-final and Final stages of the competition.

 

8.        Participants shall not be allowed to augment the musical Band without approval from the NCF.

 

9.          Failure by any performer to comply with the reasonable instructions of the Coordinator may result in his/her disqualification from the competition.

 

7.        PRELIMINARY

 

1.        The participants will be required to undergo a process of judging by a chosen judging panel at the preliminary stage in order to advance to the semi-final stage of the competition. 

 

2.        Each participant will present one rendition of their song. The contestant can be accompanied by a live instrument or a backing track. Songs can be in any of the following genres:

 

1.          CALYPSO
2.         SOCA

 

3.        The use of props and backing vocals shall not be allowed at the preliminary stage of the competition.

 

4.        At the preliminary stage of the competition, the points system to be used for judging will be as follows:

●        Lyrics  – a maximum of 40 points

●        Melody  – a maximum of 30 points

●        Rendition – a maximum of 30 points

 

Lyrics  The words of the song that express the singer’s mood, feelings and thoughts in dealing with the subject. 

Melody  An expression of musical tones that produces a distinctive recognizable pattern in conveying the mood and feeling of the lyrics. /The way in which the tone enunciation and registers of the vocal presentation create a rhythmic pattern that complements the lyrics.

Rendition The act of delivering the song through the use of appropriate tone, key, enunciation, registers and sync. 

 

5.        The Rank System of judging would be in place at the Preliminary stage and Value Points assigned to the scores of each judge as follows:

 

RANK	VALUE (POINTS)
1st	20
2nd	18
3rd	16
4th	14
5th	12
6th	10
7th	8
8th	7
9th	6
10th	5
11th	4
12th	3
13th	2
14th	1

 

6.        The thirteen (13) participants scoring the highest points of those judged in each category at the preliminary stage shall be selected to compete at the Semi-Final stage of the competition.

 

 

7.        In addition to the thirteen (13) participants chosen in Rule 7(e) above the participant scoring the fourteenth highest points shall be selected as a Reserve.

 

8.        In the event of a tie in the value points, the tie is broken by determining the ranking given to each competitor by the Judges in the original scores.

 

9.          In the event that one of the participants indicated in Rule 7(e) above is disqualified or by any other means unable to participate at the semi-final stage, then the Reserve shall compete at the semi-final stage.

 

 

8.        SEMI-FINALS

 

1.        The participants selected for the Semi-Final stage of the competition shall be the thirteen (13) participants selected at the preliminary stage.

 

2.        Each participant will make one (1) appearance on stage and render the song approved for performance by the NCF.

 

3.        The use of props shall not be allowed at the Semi-Final of the competition.

 

4.        At the Semi-Final stage of the competition, the points system to be used for judging will be as follows:

 

●        Lyrics  – a maximum of 40 points

●        Melody  – a maximum of 30 points

●        Rendition – a maximum of 30 points

 

Lyrics  The words of the song that express the singer’s mood, feelings and thoughts in dealing with                the subject. 

Melody  An expression of musical tones that produces a distinctive recognizable pattern in               conveying the mood and feeling of the lyrics. /The way in which the tone enunciation and               registers of the vocal presentation create a rhythmic pattern that complements the lyrics.

Rendition The act of delivering the song through the use of appropriate tone, key, enunciation,               registers and sync. 

 

10.          The Rank System of judging would be in place at the Semi-Final stage and Value Points assigned to the scores of each judge as follows:

 

 

RANK	VALUE (POINTS)
1st	20
2nd	16
3rd	14
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4

 

 

5.        The seven (7) participants scoring the highest points of those judged in each category at the Semi-Final stage shall be selected to compete at the Final stage of the competition.

 

6.          In addition to the seven (7) participants chosen in Rule 8(e) above the participant scoring the eighth highest points shall be selected as a Reserve.

 

7.        In the event of a tie in the value points, the tie is broken by determining the ranking given to each competitor by the Judges in the original scores.

 

8.        In the event that one of the participants indicated in Rule 8(e) above is disqualified or by any other means unable to participate at to the final stage, then the Reserve shall compete at the Final stage.

 

 

9.        FINALS

 

1.      The participants selected for the Final stage of the competition shall be the seven (7) participants selected at the Semi-Final stage and the reigning monarch of that category. Where there is no reigning monarch, or the reigning monarch elects not to defend their title, eight (8) participants from the respective category shall be chosen to compete at the Finals. 

 

2.        Each participant will make one (1) appearance on stage and render the song approved for performance by the NCF.

 

3.        The participants or their duly appointed representatives shall submit to the NCF Officer no later than 1:00 p.m. on Monday July 15, 2024, any changes to the scores, technical requirements, presentation information, video or audio files to be used at the Finals.

 

4.        The participants or their duly appointed representatives shall assemble at a location, date and time specified by the NCF, to participate in the draw to determine their order of appearance on stage. In the event that a participant or their duly appointed representative is not present at the time of the draw, the participant shall appear on stage in the position not selected by the other participants. In the event that more than one participant or their representative fail to participate in the draw, the NCF shall draw from the remaining positions in alphabetical order of their sobriquet for those persons who did not participate in the draw. The positions drawn and allocated in the circumstances shall be the position in which the participant will appear on stage.

 

1.             Notwithstanding the above, the participants are free to exchange their order of appearance on stage, among themselves but must notify the appointed NCF Officer within two (2) minutes of the competition of the draw of any agreed changes to their order of appearance on stage.

 

5.        The participants shall be judged and awarded points as follows:

●        Lyrics  – a maximum of 40 points

●        Melody  – a maximum of 30 points

●        Rendition – a maximum of 25 points

●        Presentation – a maximum of 5 points

 

Lyrics   The words of the song that express the singer’s mood, feelings and thoughts in dealing with the subject. 

Melody  An expression of musical tones that produces a distinctive recognizable pattern in conveying the mood and felling of the lyrics. /The way in which the tone enunciation and registers of the vocal presentation create a rhythmic pattern that complements the lyrics.

Rendition The act of delivering the song through the use of appropriate tone, key, enunciation, registers and sync. 

Presentation  The act of transmitting the musical ideas to the audience which compels attention or stirs emotion. 

 

 

6.          The Rank System of judging would be in place at the Final stage and Value Points assigned to the scores of each judge as follows:

 

 

RANK	VALUE (POINTS)
1st	20
2nd	16
3rd	14
4th	12
5th	10
6th	8
7th	6
8th	4

 

7.        In the event of a tie in the value points, the tie is broken by determining the ranking given to each competitor by the Judges in the original scores.

 

8.        Each participant shall be limited to a presentation on stage as part of their performance, to a time not exceeding two (2) minutes, which shall commence from the time the Master of Ceremonies has introduced the participant to the first vocal note rendered by the participant or by the background vocalists or the first musical note played by the band, of the song to be judged.

 

9.          A violation of Rule 9 (f) shall result in a one (1) point deduction by the judging panel from the aggregate score for every minute over the two (2) minute limit up to a maximum of five (5) points.

 

 

10.     GENERAL

 

1.        The NCF will choose the venue(s) for the staging of each segment of the competition.

 

2.        The participants shall report to the Stage Management at the event venues no later than two (2) hours before the scheduled start time of each event.

 

3.        A participant who fails to report to the Stage Management at the appointed time may be liable to have their position of appearance on stage vacated and a new position of appearance assigned to them by the Stage Manager.

 

4.        The content of any presentation by the participants at the Finals will be at the discretion of the participants, however, there shall be no more than four (4) supporting persons in his or her presentation on stage at any one time, excluding the background vocalists. Should a participant fail to observe this provision he or she may be liable to a penalty of one (1) point deduction by the judging panel from the aggregate score for every person in excess of the number of supporting persons permitted on stage up to a maximum of five (5) points.

 

5.        A performance at each stage of the competition shall be limited to a maximum of seven (7) minutes duration and will be timed by the official time-keeper from the commencement of the first musical note played by the band or the first vocal note rendered by the participant or the background vocalists.

 

10.          A violation of Rule 10 (e) shall result in a one (1) point deduction by the judging panel from the aggregate score for every minute over the seven (7) minute limit up to a maximum of five (5) points.

 

6.          The scores of the participants for the Preliminaries, Semi-Finals and Finals shall be made public within seven (7) days after the completion of the competition.

 

7.        During the competition, participants who are sponsored shall ensure that their sponsors’ products or services which may be in conflict with those of the event sponsors are not displayed or promoted by them at the event venues.  Each participant shall further ensure that they do not display or wear on their clothing any signage on stage that refers to or promotes products or services which compete with those of the event sponsors. Failure to comply with this rule may result in the disqualification of the participant from the competition.

 

11.     PROMOTION

 

1.        The participant agrees that should he/she be selected as a Semi-Finalist or Finalist in the competition, the NCF shall be entitled to use his/her performance or part thereof or his/her image or likeness in the promotion of the competition and Crop Over generally in the subsequent years.

 

12.     BACKSTAGE ACCESS   

 

1.        For the Finals of the competition participants will be permitted to have a maximum of six (6) persons in their supporting cast to facilitate their performance. However, participants will be required to indicate to the NCF Officer no later than 3:00 p.m. on Friday July 12, 2024 in writing the names of the persons and the functions they will be performing to determine their eligibility for the passes requested. 

 

 

 

APPENDIX “A”

 JUNIOR MONARCH COMPETITION 2024

 

 

Application Deadline  Friday May 10, 2024

Preliminaries  Saturday & Sunday, May 18 & 19, 2024

Semi-Finals    Sunday July 7, 2024

Finals     Saturday July 20, 2024

 

Calypso Category

Winner-1st place	$ 3,000.00 & 1 Trophy
2nd Place	$ 2,500.00
3rd Place	$ 2,000.00
4th Place	$ 1,500.00
5th Place to 8th Place	$ 1,000.00

 

In addition to the above, the following prizes may also be offered:    

Best Self-penned Calypso	$ 500.00
HIV/AIDS Prize for Best Lyrics	$ 300.00
NCSA Prize for Best Lyrics  Re. Alcohol/Substance Abuse Winner	$300.00
Best Anti-Bullying Song  presented by Supreme Counselling for Personal Development  (Award for person who writes and delivers his/her anti-bullying message)	$250.00 & 1 Trophy

Soca Category

Winner – 1st place	$ 3,000.00 & 1 Trophy
2nd Place	$ 2,500.00
3rd Place	$ 2,000.00
4th Place	$ 1,500.00
5th Place to 8th Place	$ 1,000.00

 

In addition to the above, the following prizes may also be offered:    

Best Self-penned Calypso	$ 500.00
HIV/AIDS Prize for Best Lyrics	$ 300.00
NCSA Prize for Best Lyrics  Re. Alcohol/Substance Abuse Winner	$300.00
Best Anti-Bullying Song  presented by Supreme Counselling for Personal Development  (Award for person who writes and delivers his/her anti-bullying message)	$250.00 & 1 Trophy

 

Best Song Depicting Road Safety  Presented by Co-operators General Insurance

$500.00 Composer $500.00 Performer

 

 

Participant are asked to note that songs eligible to compete for the below awards will compete against songs that are also eligible from the Pic-o-de-Crop, Party Monarch and Sweet Soca Competitions.

 

100% Bajan Award	Award presented by the Barbados Manufacturing Association
Best Nation-building Song	Trophy donated by Calypso Alliance
Best Song Writers of the Festival	Award presented by the NCF First Prize        $1,000.00  Second Prize   $   600.00 Third Prize       $   300.00
Best HIV/ AIDS Awareness Song	Award presented by the National HIV/ AIDS Commission
Best Socially up-lifting Song       The BTMI Prize  Award presented by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. $1,000 for the composer and $1,000 for the performer of the song which best promotes the Barbados Tourist experience.	Award presented by the Nation Newspapers as follows:  The sum of $750 and a plaque for the Composer, and  the sum $750 for the Performer of the song.    Award presented by Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.