Arts & Sciences
Champions' Tourney
Held at November Investiture A.S. XXXXII (2007 CE)
The Principality Arts and Sciences Championship draws close!
When and Where is it?
The competition will be held at November Investiture, Nov 16-18, 2007, in the most friendly Shire of Shittemwoode. Most of the activities will take place on Saturday, November 17th.
What is an A&S Champion?
The Champion is an inspiration and role model to others who are active in the Arts and Sciences, and in the Society. You make, do and know things that make our Society 'more' than it was without them.
You will represent the Principality through leadership and example. The Champion has a public presence in promoting the arts and sciences. This includes setting up a major Display or contest during your one year tenure.
The Champion will show a breadth of skills, and will be ready and able to judge, teach and guide with gentleness and compassion.
The Champion will play a major Ceremonial role in putting on the next year's contest to choose his or her successor. This includes promoting the contest, recruiting contestants and judging.
What are the Competition Categories?
The competition has three categories:
- a historical product,
- a historical process and
- a research piece.
In order to qualify for the Championship you must include a piece in each category.
You can enter in all three categories if you are not going for Champion, and/or you can enter fewer pieces. You will gain experience in presenting and competing, get feedback on your work and are eligible for individual prizes.
You may submit entries previously entered in other contests, as long as they did not win at Principality level or above.
What to Enter
One Historical Research Piece.
- This piece can be a paper, or an object or process display (story board) item.
- Send 3 copies of the research piece to the contest organizer by October 15th [This so the judges can review it before the competition].
One Completed Historical Object Piece.
-The entry may also include a display of labeled items or an entry in various stages showing the progress towards completion.
One Historical Process Piece.
- With this item you explain and show the steps you used in creating an object.
- The documentation should show how did you made it, how would it have been done in period, and any differences.
If your entries in these categories overlap, please label them clearly for the judges' benefit. Each set of entries demonstrates "breadth," one of a specialist, and one of a generalist variety.
How You will be Presenting Your Work
- You are expected to provide an active presentation for each piece.
- This may be a mini-lecture, demonstration or story, song or poem; the presentation should take from 3-10 minutes.
- This will be followed by a question and answer session.
Who May Enter
The competition welcomes those who have three entries, and are competing for Principality Champion. Those who have fewer pieces, and who are not going for Champion, are also encouraged to apply for feedback and individual prizes. You may submit entries previously entered in other contests, as long as they did not win at Principality level or above.
How to Enter
1.You must notify the contest organizers that you wish to enter. Deadline for notification is October 15th, 2007.
Send your Entry Form or Letter of Intent to:
Isabel de la Roche m.k.a
Shannon McAleese
#43 -13809 102 Avenue
Surrey, BC
V3T 1N9
Telephone: (778) 998-1508
- or by email to: artsci@tirrigh.org
with a cc to: artscichampion@tirrigh.org and prince@tirrigh.org.
2. What to send
a. The Championship entry form from the Tir Righ website , or an equivalent letter of intent;
b. If you are entering a Research Paper or piece, you must submit 3 copies of the finished research [that is by October 15th] so the judges can read it prior to the contest date.
c. A list of your entries with a couple of sentence long descriptions of each;
e.g.
- a pair of early Norse shoes [product], a storyboard of Norse boat construction [process], and a research paper "Survival of Norse Folk Tales in England".
or
- a Gothic helm [product], a fluted set of legs [process], and a research piece "The Role of the Mounted Warrior in the Hundred Years War" - a storyboard and image survey.
Why to Enter
Even if you do not think your work is advanced enough to win, entering it the Principality A&S Championship is a great opportunity to get feedback on how your work is progressing. The feedback can provide just the piece of information, technique or materiel to help you take the next leap in progress to a new level of skill and authenticity in your work. We encourage you to enter a single area, or participate as an Assistant Judge to learn the judging process prior to entering.
Questions? Contact me, Isabel, or the current Arts and Sciences Champion, Vicountess Gwyneth Gower, or any former Champion.
More Detail on the A&S Championship
Schedule
All competitors must be present at the competition area by 9:00 am Saturday for set up before court. Be ready for a long, intense day of participation.
Display Labels
At least basic labelling is required for each entry, as appropriate. See "The History of a Good Idea" for more guidance.
Assistant Judging
We welcome individuals to take up the role of Assistant Judge for the competition. Whether you consider yourself to be an expert, or just want to check out the process prior to being contestant another year, this can be a valuable process. Branch Arts & Sciences officers or their delegates wishing to improve their judging skill are also welcome to participate. The expert judges and assistant judges will give feedback to all the entrants and will form a consensus on who should be Champion.
Evaluations
Philosophy
Our Principality desires to set a high standard of in judging, and wishes to encourage people to participate in the contest process. All judges receive training component on the judging process to be used for this competition. We use “rubrics based judging, ” which includes a checklist of desired qualities in the articles being judged, so that different items can be judged based on objective qualities. In this way we can more truly live up to the ideals of our Society in a competition which elevates and encourages the spirit of the participants.
Goals
The purpose of this new format is to foster the noble conduct, eloquent presentation, and honourable behaviour that befit a Champion, and to encourage evaluation and useful feedback in the judging process which can further the Arts and Sciences. This means that each artisan is responsible for doing the best work that they are capable of, and that each judge is responsible for giving the fairest and most accurate assessment and encouragement of the work of the competitors.The Expert Judges will take the role of in-depth questioning and they will be available as a source of information on unusual entries, for the assistant judges.
The Process
After each contestant presents his/her entry, judges and assistant judges will complete their notes and feedback forms. When all the entries in a category have been presented, the Counter will tally the judges grades. Once all competitors have completed presenting all the entries in each category, the grades will be totalled to give a composite score for all entries of each competitor. At that time the judges will fill out feedback forms for the participants.
Good judging is one of the skills that make good contestants, and understanding this process is an important step towards the skills a Champion will be expected to have. Champions are often invited to judge other's work, and should know how to go about this. This is why we have included judging assistants as an important part of the contest. It is recommended that if you intend to compete in the future, you volunteer as an assistant judge this year.
Suggested Guidelines for Evaluation
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Score
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Attribute
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Does the entry meet the
category specifications; e.g. research, active presentation, or completed
object display?
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Documentation - Has the
person done research as appropriate?
How thoroughly?
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Authenticity - How historically
accurate is this presentation?
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Workmanship - How well
executed is this presentation
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Complexity - How difficult,
how many steps, how much "from scratch"?
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Completeness - Are all
the necessary parts present?
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Emotional Effect - Did
this presentation move you, create an feeling of medieval atmosphere,
or mind set?
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