Alberta Society of Pipers and Drummers Rules for Solo Piping Competition Created: October 22, 2001 Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Objectives 2 1.2 Geographical Areas and Registering 2 1.3 Integrity of the Rules 2 2 COMPETITION RULES 2 2.1 The Competition Committee, Chief Steward, and Chief Scorer 2 2.2 Steward's Responsibilities 2 2.3 Competitor's Responsibilities 3 2.4 Society Representative 3 2.5 Splitting and Event 3 2.6 Order of Play 3 2.7 Communication of Selected Music 3 2.8 Performing without the Aid of Music 4 2.9 Tuning Time 4 2.10 Acceptable Highland Dress 4 2.11 Local Competition Rules 4 3 MEMBERSHIP 4 3.1 General Requirement 4 4 GRADES AND GRADING 4 4.1 Grades 4 4.2 Grading 5 5 MUSIC REQUIREMENTS 5 5.1 Music 5 6 RULES FOR ADJUDICATORS 5 6.1 Authority 5 6.2 Selection of Adjudicators 5 6.3 Number of Adjudicators 6 6.4 Guidance for Adjudication 6 6.5 Determination of Final Result 6 6.6 Determination of Aggregate Winner 6 7 INTERPRETATION OF RULES AND PROTESTS 7 7.1 Interpretation of Rules 7 7.2 Protests and Grievances 7 Alberta Society of Pipers and Drummers Rules for Piping Competitions 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Objectives 1.1.1 The objectives of the Alberta Society of Pipers and Drummers (the "Society") with respect to solo piping competitions are as follows: (a) To devise and administer comprehensive rules governing solo piping competitions; (b) To preserve, promote and encourage proficiency in pipe music; and (c) To promote and encourage participation of solo pipers at Highland Games and Scottish Cultural events for the benefit of the Competition Committee and Games attendees. 1.2 Geographical area and Registering 1.2.1 The geographical area where the Society registers solo piping competitions is the province of Alberta. Registering is a cooperative agreement between the Society and the organization sponsoring solo piping competitions (Competition Committee) to ensure that the competitions are run according to the Society's rules for solo piping competitions, are fair and respected, and are of benefit to the competitors, the Competition Committee, and the Society. 1.3 Integrity of the Rules 1.3.1 Solo Piping members of the Society and members of the Society's Approved Adjudicators Panel should not take part in any competition which would cause the Society's rules to be compromised to the significant detriment of the Society, the Competition Committee or the competitors. It shall be the responsibility of the Society's Board of Directors (the "Executive") to inform members and adjudicators of any such competitions. 2 COMPETITION RULES 2.1 The Competition Committee, Chief Steward and Chief Scorer 2.1.1 The Games Sponsor shall designate a Competition Committee, which shall manage and run the competition activities on the Games day. The Competition Committee shall designate a Chief Steward and a Chief Scorer. 2.2 Stewards Responsibilities 2.2.1 A steward shall be assigned to each event. The Steward shall be responsible for ensuring a regular and orderly stream of competitors to the event's competition area. 2.3 Competitor's Responsibilities 2.3.1 Competitors shall be responsible for reporting to the Steward prior to the event, for obtaining their position in the order of play for the event, and for being ready to compete when their position in the order of play arrives. 2.3.2 Competitors shall signal the adjudicator when they are ready to commence their performance. 2.3.3 Any competitor who interferes with, threatens, or uses abusive language towards the adjudicators, officials, stewards or members of the Competition Committee shall cause themselves to be liable for suspension from further competitions for as long as the Executive deems is necessary in the circumstances. 2.3.4 The same penalty shall apply to situations involving the abuse of private property at the Games site. 2.3.5 The competitor shall be responsible for the submission of the tune lists, as requested by the Competition Committee, for their event(s). 2.4 Society Representative 2.4.1 A member of the Executive, or their designate, shall be in attendance as the Society's Representative at all of the registered competitions and shall be available to the Competition Committee for that day. 2.4.2 The Society Representative shall monitor the competitions for compliance and fairness, provide answers to questions on the competition rules, and provide advice (if requested) to the Competition Committee on complaints, disputes and protests relating to the competition. 2.5 Splitting and Event 2.5.1 If there are more than twenty (20) competitors in an event, that event may be divided into two or more sections and designated as such, and prizes shall be given to each section of the event as if it was a separate event. 2.6 Order of Play 2.6.1 All orders of play and the start time for each event shall be posted at the Competition Registration Area prior to the commencement of the competitions. 2.6.2 Competitors should be ready to play in the posted order. 2.6.3 If given, posted competitor times are always subject to change, at the iscretion of the Steward for the event. 2.7 Communication of the Selected Music 2.7.1 Prior to beginning their performance, competitors shall address the adjudicator and inform him/her of the tune(s) they will perform. 2.7.2 At that time, for events where submission of more than one tune/set is required, the adudicator shall select the tune/set from the competitors list. 2.7.3 Particular competitions may permit the competitor to receive their selected tune/set in the final tuning room only if stated so on the entry form and the tunes/sets are submitted with the competitors entry form. 2.8 Performing without the Aid of Music 2.8.1 All competitors shall perform their event without the aid of printed music. 2.8.2 Competitors should be prepared to supply music to the adjudicator for unusual or unconventional tunes or settings. 2.9 Tuning time 2.9.1 Tuning on the platform shall be limited to one (1) minute, except for piobaireachd which shall be five (5) minutes. For indoor competitions, three (3) minutes will be allowed for tuning except for piobaireachd which will be allowed five (5) minutes. Any piper tuning longer may be disqualified at the Steward's discretion. 2.10 Acceptable Highland Dress 2.10.1 Competitors may be prevented from competing and accepting trophies onstage due to not wearing acceptable and properly worn highland dress. Kilt (or trewes), shirt, hose and shoes are the minimum requirement. For beginners, dress pants, shirt and shoes (for boys or girls) or skirt, blouse and shoes (for girls) are acceptable. 2.11 Local Competition Rules 2.11.1 Local competition rules or requirements may take precedence over the above rules and regulations, but only upon submission to and approval by the Society. 3 MEMBERSHIP 3.1 General Requirement 3.1.1 All competitors residing in the registering area, and desiring to compete in registered competitions must be firstly, members of the Society, or secondly an officially recognized piping/pipe band association affiliated with the Society. 3.1.2 All competitors, who are not members of the Society or an officially recognized piping/pipe band association affiliated with the Society, shall pay to the Games Committee a fee of $10 per games. 4 GRADES AND GRADING 4.1 Grades 4.1.1 Piping grades shall be classified as Beginner (on practice chanter), Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2, Grade 1 and Professional. Pipers shall compete in one grade only. Piobaireachd shall be classified as: Novice, Junior, Senior and Professional. The Competition Committee shall offer competitions in at least the following grades: Grade 5, Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2, Grade 1 and Professional. 4.1.2 Grades shall be determined by ability and not by age, sex or affiliation, with the exception of confined or special events as defined by a Competition Committee. 4.1.3 The Beginner (on practice chanter) grade is limited to competitors who have not won a prize in the Beginner grade in the previous season, or who have not competed on the pipes. 4.1.4 The Adult grade is limited to competitors 18 years of age or older. 4.1.5 A Professional competitor is one who has competed in a professional competition at any time, or where cash prizes are offered, notwithstanding Clause 4.2.3. 4.1.6 Grade 5 is limited to competitors competing in their first year and is limited to one competition season. 4.2 Grading 4.2.1 Competitors shall compete in the grade appropriate for their ability, as determined by the Society. A list of competitors assigned to each grade shall be published by the Society in October of each year, to remain in effect until the following October. 4.2.2 Any competitor may choose to compete in a higher grade, but having done so forfeits his/her right to compete again in his/her previous grade, notwithstanding clause 4.2.3. Exceptions to this rule may be made where in a competition outside the Society's registering jurisdiction, a competitor may play in a higher class if there is no appropriate grade for him/her. 4.2.3 The Society shall have the authority to regrade a competitor at any time. 4.2.4 A competitor, who chooses to appeal his/her grading, shall make the appeal in writing to the Society. 5 MUSIC REQUIREMENTS 5.1 Music 5.1.1 Any piper in a particular grade shall be required to play any of the music listed for the grade as set out in the "2002 Music Requirements for Piping, Drumming and Pipe Band Competitions". 6 RULES FOR ADJUDICATORS 6.1 Authority 6.1.1 Within its registering jurisdiction, the Society shall have the responsibility and authority to determine people qualified to adjudicate solo piping in registered solo piping competitions and to maintain an Approved Adjudicators List of these qualified people. 6.1.2 The Society shall provide current copies of the Approved Adjudicators List to the Competition Committee's. 6.2 Selection of Adjudicators 6.2.1 The adjudicators for sanctioned competitions shall be drawn from: (a) the Approved Adjudicators List of the Society, or (b) the Approved Adjudicators Lists of piping/pipe band associations officially recognized by and affiliated with the Society, or ANAPBA recognized organizations. 6.2.2 Games proposing to use an adjudicator who is not on an Approved Adjudicators List identified in Clause 6.2.1 shall obtain approval by the Society prior to engagement. 6.3 Numbers of Adjudicators 6.3.1 Only one adjudicator is required to adjudicate a solo piping competition. 6.3.2 Special individual competitions, when practical, should be adjudicated by two adjudicators, who may sit as a panel. 6.4 Guidance for Adjudication 6.4.1 Piping events shall be adjudicated under the categories of Execution, Expression, Quality and Variety, Tone and Tuning, and Tempo. Suggested weightings for the various categories may vary from grade to grade as determined by the Society's desire to emphasize the above aspects of piping in various grades. 6.4.2 On the adjudication sheets, adjudicators shall provide an accurate assessment of the competitor's performance and, where appropriate constructive criticism. Adjudicators shall not criticize the setting of a tune, but may make a comment regarding tunes, that in their opinion, are not musical. The adjudicators may comment on the appropriateness of the competitor playing in that grade. 6.4.3 Following commencement, any piper breaking down during his/her performance shall be disqualified. Other serious flaws, such as drone stopping or mistakes in the tune, shall be left to the discretion of the adjudicator. 6.5 Determination of the Final Result 6.5.1 Adjudicators shall be allotted a reasonable time at the end of each event to arrive at a decision. The number of placings awarded shall be based on the number of competitors who begin their performance, as shown in the following table: Less than 3 competitors One (1) placing 3 competitors Two (2) placings 4 to 10 competitors Three (3) placings 11-to 15 competitors Four (4) placings 16 to 20 competitors Five (5) placings 21 or more competitors Six (6) placings 6.5.2 The adjudicator's decision shall prevail in determining the merits of each performance, and his/her decision shall be final. 6.5.3 No ties are permitted. 6.6 Determination of the Aggregate Winner 6.6.1 At all competitions, the aggregate award should be determined over a minimum of two events per grade (all grades). 6.6.2 The points to be awarded for the calculation of aggregates shall be as follows: Placing Aggregate Points 1st 8 2nd 5 3rd 3 4th 2 5th 1 6th 0.5 6.6.3 Ties in aggregate awards shall be broken in the following order: (a) Winner of the Piobaireachd event, (b) Winner of the March, Strathspey & Reel event, (c) Winner of the 2/4 March event, (d) Winner of the 6/8 March event. 7 INTERPRETATION OF RULES AND PROTESTS 7.1 Interpretation of Rules 7.1.1 In the event of any misunderstanding or ambiguity in these rules, the Executive reserves the right to supply it's own interpretation which shall be final and binding. 7.1.2 The Executive shall ensure that written records are maintained on every decision resulting from a protest or interpretation of the rules to create a list of precedents that can be available to assist in the future interpretation of the rules. 7.1.3 No Member of the Executive or their designate shall be allowed to rule on a protest in which his/her student is involved. 7.2 Protests and Grievances 7.2.1 Any protest shall be made in writing accompanied by a $20 deposit and lodged with the Competition Committee within one hour of the posting of the results, and a copy to the Society Representative by the end of the day. The deposit will be refunded should the grievance be upheld. 7.2.2 Where relevant, the complainant shall submit the original adjudication and adjudicator's result sheet, which will be verified by the adjudicators involved and the Chief Scorer as authentic. 7.2.3 Should the aggrieved competitor disagree with the findings of the Competition Committee, he/she shall have the right to appeal to the Association. Pending the result of the appeal, the findings of the Competition Committee shall be accepted by all the parties concerned. 7.2.4 The Competition Committee on the day of the competition and before the distribution of prizes, being satisfied that a competitor has willfully violated, or is willfully violating any of the rules, shall have the power to de-bar such competitor from the prize list, suspend the decision of the adjudicators for that competitor, and award the prizes to the respective competitors next in order of merit. 7.2.5 The Executive shall have the right to act similarly after the competition, if satisfied that a willful violation of the rules took place. 7.2.6 In the event of a prize being awarded to the wrong competitor because of an error, it shall be the responsibility of the Competition Committee to re-award such prizes to the deserving competitor as soon as possible after such discovery is made.