Competition rules for German barbershop competitions for choirs and quartets
Preface
These competition rules apply to all German competitions for barbershop choirs and quartets organized by BinG! Barbershop in Germany e.V. This applies in particular to the German Championships for Barbershop Choirs and Quartets and the Coesfeld Cup Quartet Competition.
Unless otherwise specified in these rules, the current Contest and Judging Rules developed by the American Barbershop Harmony Society and recognized and adopted by most barbershop organizations apply. These can be viewed here:
https://www.barbershop.org/contests/contests-judging.
Matters not covered by these competition rules will be decided by the jury chair within their area of responsibility, which is defined in these rules. [2]
§ 1 Participation requirements
Quartets and choirs are eligible to participate.
Participation slots for the Coesfeld Cup are primarily allocated to BinG! members. Any remaining slots may be offered to non-members and quartets from other countries.
Participating quartets that are not based in Germany or are not BinG! members will be evaluated but not ranked.Participation in the German Championships requires BinG! membership. Registration for the German Championships is considered successful once all membership and registration fees have been paid.
A choir may only participate if no more than 10% of its members sing together in another choir participating in the competition.
A quartet may only participate if no more than two or more of its members sing together in another quartet participating in the competition.
In the German Quartet Championship and its preliminary rounds, individuals may participate in a maximum of two different quartets.
A choir must perform with at least 12 singers..
§ 2 Registration
Registration for a German Barbershop Competition must be completed
no later than the announced deadline via the specified registration method.
In justified cases, the BinG! board may also permit participation after the registration deadline. The BinG! board's decision will be communicated immediately in writing and is final.
§ 3 Jury members and chairmanship
The BinG! board determines the composition of the jury and
the number of jury members.
The jury will consist of at least two members in each category and, if possible,
diverse. Jury members must be certified by their respective organizations.
Within 30 days prior to the competition, jury members are
not permitted to coach a participating ensemble or attend a performance of their competition pieces.
The jury chair is appointed by the BinG! board. The chair's responsibilities include:
Responsibility for the competition from its inception until the results are determined. The BinG! board then announces the results or selects suitable individuals to perform this task.
Preventing the exchange of results between jury members (e.g., by assigning specific seats).
Collecting the evaluation forms from each jury member.
Ensuring fair and equal conditions for all participating choirs and quartets.
Deciding, in consultation with the jury, on the cancellation and/or repetition of a performance at a later date.
§ 4 General Terms and Conditions of Competition
The German Barbershop Quartet Championship features the quartets that have qualified in the preliminary round. The board decides on the number of qualifying spots. The number
will be announced well in advance of the preliminary round.
Mic warmers and mic coolers will receive a rating from the jury, but this rating will not be included in the competition.
A competition entry consists of two pieces of music. No piece of music may be repeated, nor may essential elements of one song be used in the other [1].
Choirs or quartets that also participate in the World Mixed Championship
must perform two different sets (see § 4.1).
Songs performed in the competition must be in good taste. Vulgar or otherwise offensive behavior that violates good taste is not permitted.
All songs performed in the competition must be suitable for competition and arranged in the barbershop style. Questions regarding the eligibility of an arrangement for competition can be answered by the BinG! office at kontakt@barbershop.de.
The musical pieces must be performed without any instrumental accompaniment. Choirs and quartets may not use their own sound system, for example, to electronically amplify their voices or change the pitch.
A violation of this rule will lead to disqualification by the jury members of the performance category.
Announcements and other remarks related to the performance will not be penalized as long as they contribute to the performance in accordance with the BHS rules.
Only members of the respective choir or quartet may be on stage during the performance. For a quartet, this is a maximum of four singers.
All choirs and quartets are required to comply with copyright laws when acquiring, adapting, learning, and performing songs and arrangements.
A violation of any of these rules will result in penalty points or disqualification by one or more of the jury members or the BinG! board if a violation is discovered after the competition.
§ 5 Evaluation categories
Each jury member awards a score from 1 to 100 per song. All participating ensembles are judged in three categories.
A. Music
The music category jury members evaluate the song and arrangement as it is performed. They assess the musical and interpretative elements of the performance: melody, harmony, range and pitch, tempo, rhythm and meter, structure and form, and ornamentation.
They evaluate how well the musical interpretation develops the main theme and to what extent the interpretation demonstrates artistic sensitivity to this theme. They also assess the extent to which the musical elements of the song and arrangement exhibit the typical characteristics of the barbershop style.
B. Performance
The jury members in the performance category evaluate how effectively a song is brought to life, i.e., how credibly the theme is expressed in its musical and visual form.
They consider both the vocal and visual aspects of the performance. Their primary focus is on their interplay, as this creates the overall impression of the song.
They assess the quality and appropriateness of the overall effect.
The jury members in the performance category evaluate everything about the performance that has an emotional impact on the audience.
C. Singing
The judges in the vocal category assess the extent to which artistry is demonstrated in the barbershop style. This is achieved through precise intonation, a high degree of vocal skill, and a high level of homogeneity and consistency within the ensemble.
Mastery of these factors creates the impression of a rich, resonant, and full sound throughout the entire performance. Artistry is evident when these elements are used naturally, without artificial effort, allowing the song's theme to be expressed in all its richness.
§ 6 Preliminary rounds for the German Championship
The BinG! board decides on the necessity and conditions of preliminary rounds for the German Championships.
The BinG! board also decides on the number of qualifying spots for each preliminary round. This number will be announced well in advance of each preliminary round.
The first-place winners of the previous German Championship are automatically qualified for the next German Championship. If they withdraw, the second-place winners are eligible to participate; if they withdraw, the third-place winners are eligible (reserve system). Automatic qualification does not apply if the last German Championship was more than two years ago.
Should one of the qualified choirs or quartets not participate in the German Championships, the next-placed choir or quartet from the respective preliminary round will take their place.
Choirs or quartets that have already qualified may participate in preliminary rounds "out of competition."
The same pieces may be sung in the preliminary round and the main competition, provided this does not contradict Section 3, No. 3.
The highest-placed choir or quartet from the preliminary round that did not qualify for the main competition has the right to sing as a mic warmer in the main competition.
§ 7 Order of appearance
The order of performances will be drawn by the convention team or the
jury chair. The jury chair may determine a different order. If individual singers participate in different choirs or
quartets, they should ideally not sing immediately one after the other. However, there is no legal entitlement to this.
The jury chair decides whether a choir or quartet may perform again after
the regular order.
Choirs or quartets that are absent at the time of their
performance without a valid reason will receive penalty points. The jury chair awards five penalty points per jury member. Affected choirs or quartets may perform after the last regular competition entry.
If the performances of two or more choirs or quartets are rescheduled or repeated, the jury chair decides the order of their performances.
§ 8 Penalty points and disqualifications
A judge indicates disqualification by awarding 0 (zero) points on the score sheet.
Penalty points or disqualifications are not announced. They are published in the official results list, ideally along with a description of the rule that was violated.
§ 9 Rankings
The choirs and quartets are ranked according to the total score awarded by the jury. The jury members hand their score sheets to the jury chair immediately after each performance.
In the event of a tie, the choirs and quartets with the same score are listed in alphabetical order on the results list.
The quartet with the highest total score is declared the German
Barbershop Quartet Champion of the competition year.
The choir with the highest total score is declared the German
Barbershop Choir Champion of the competition year.
If two or more choirs or quartets achieve the highest total score, the higher total score in the vocal category determines the winner. If this also does not result in a clear winner, the higher total score in the music category decides the winner.
The quartet with the highest total score is declared the German
Barbershop Choir Champion of the competition year. If this also fails to produce a winner, the choirs or quartets with the same score will be declared first place and listed alphabetically on the results list.
The top three choirs or quartets will receive medals (gold, silver, bronze).
§ 10 Official results
The jury chair will publish the results immediately after the awards ceremony via an official announcement. This may also be done digitally.
The official announcement of the results will list:
Name of the competition
Location and date of the competition
The ranking
Name of the ensemble
The titles of the songs performed
The arrangers of the songs performed
The scores for each song in each category, as well as the total score of all choirs and quartets participating in the competition
The names of the jury members in their respective judging categories and the name of the jury chair
[1]: Note: For a detailed explanation of how to handle song repetitions and penalties/point deductions/point penalties/scoring, please refer to: BHS Contest Rules Article V. A. 2.
[2]: This is a translation of the BinG! competition rules. In case of doubt, the original German text of the rules applies.