Committee Members:

• Randy Rensi, Chair
• Scott Baylor
• Dwayne Cooper
• David Grundish
• Mike Ott

How We Got Here

• All-in-One convention was response to a variety of concerns
  • Cost – choruses felt travel costs to two contests was a burden
  • Time – choruses did not want to spend all year working on contest rather than
  • Everyone advanced, so qualifying contests seemed unnecessary
• Part of proposal was for each Division to hold a Spring Event
  • Limited support without a major draw for the event
• Drawbacks
  • Fewer opportunities for coaching/adjudication
  • Fewer opportunities to meet with other barbershoppers
  • Limited time for non-contest activities performances

Why review or possibly change a concept we’ve proved works?

We are quickly approaching the maximum time constraint to complete the contests on a single weekend.

• Quartets are close to maximizing the time available on Friday for the Semi-Finals.
• Choruses are increasing in number, which increases the number of competitors and time required for the contest on Saturday. We could have as many as 21 choruses in fall of 2016.
• Addition of Mixed Harmony as an Affiliate, do we hold a mixed contest annually. We may not be able to support our current plan of a semi- annual contest, without significantly increased cost, if at all.

Current contingency plans

• Increase panel size to a quad panel from a triple panel.
  • Results in increased costs, with no additional income.
• Significantly shrink or completely eliminate the Saturday night show.
  • Eliminates revenue from this show.
• If we wait longer to address this, result could be inability to complete the required contests during the weekend!
• We could eventually need to hold a quartet qualifying round in order to reduce number of fall competitors.

Goals and Objectives

• Increase participation of all District Choruses and Quartets
• Provide each potential competitor a choice in the contest(s) in which they choose to participate
• Decrease administrative burden of one contest per year format
• Registration cost per contest MUST be reduced as compared to the single contest per year format.
• A solution that integrates into a viable Convention model
• Honor the reasons we went to a Single Annual Contest

Options that we studied

• Extend existing Single Annual Contest an extra day
• Pros
  • Less: Travel, Registration and Hotel costs vs 2nd event
• Cons
  • Much greater SWD cost
  • Reduced or lost revenue from Sat Night Show if moved to Thursday
  • Increased judges cost
  • Judges would be “volunteers” due to extra day
  • Requires multiple days off work
  • concern - who is the audience on Thursday
  • concerns with quartets competing on the same stage twice in different contests
  • questionable hotel availability do to mid-week business needs
• Add Spring Event
  • Pros
    • Reduces quartet load in fall by moving quartets to Spring, including Youth
    • Increase Youth participation
    • Involvement by choruses who do not attend fall convention
    • More quality time together
    • Encourages choruses to improve and receive bye to fall chorus contest
  • Cons
    • There is a qualifying round
    • Additional costs to competitors who compete at both events
    • Travel and Lodging costs for 2 weekends

Committee Recommendation

• Add a Spring Event!

Is this nothing but another contest? No!

There is now time to include a wide variety of events in the Spring or Fall or Both. Suggestions include:

• Free Time (multiple requests)
• Youth event or festival
• All Chapter chorus, directed by director with special appeal (free time for some becomes rehearsal time)
• Most Entertaining A Cappella Group, Audience determines winner
• All sing for everyone
• Wavebox singing
• Supercharging Your Chapter
• Harmony Platoon
• Coaching, Quartet or chorus
• Classes that do not overlap with other events
• Tag party/Tag room
• Special guest QT
• Parade of past District champ quartets/QCA Show

Proposal: Migrate to Two Conventions vs One

• Maintain Fall District Convention
  • Fall contest for the following
    • Chorus
      • Southwestern District Chorus International Representative
      • Southwestern District Chorus Champion
      • Plateau Champions
      • District Most Improved Chorus
      • Division Champions, Division Most Improved
    • Quartet
      • Southwestern District Quartet Champion
      • District Novice Champion
      • Division Champions
      • Division Novice Champions
• Changes to the Fall convention
  • Only 12 choruses will compete in the Fall
    • Top 8 choruses from previous year automatically qualify
      • (International Champions receive bye first year eligible to compete)
  • Quartets:
    • International Prelims
    • Youth Prelims
    • Seniors Quartets and
    • Mixed Harmony Quartets move to the Spring
• Add Spring Convention
  • Spring contest to include the following
    • Chorus contest
      • Determine 4 qualifiers for Fall contest on 2 BHS contestable songs
      • Determine Audience Favorite Chorus
        • Up to 12 minute show package
        • Not limited to barbershop songs
        • Audience Favorite choruses can compete for Fall qualification by declaring 2 BHS eligible scoring songs in advance of the contest
        • Open to all choruses
        • Audience votes
• Spring Convention
  • Quartet
    • Southwestern District International Quartet Representative
    • Southwestern District International Youth Representative
    • Southwestern District International Senior Representative
    • Southwestern District Senior Champion
    • Open to all BHS quartets
    • Mixed Harmony Quartet Contest
      • Scores for BinG qualification

Timing

• Could be implemented starting Fall 2016
• Transition plan:
  • 2016 Fall Chorus contest is open to ALL choruses, 8 highest scoring choruses receive automatic invitation to 2017 Fall chorus contest.
  • 2016 Fall convention would also include Senior Quartets for 2016 District Champion and 2017 Midwinter Representative
  • 2016 Fall would not include Youth or International Quartet Prelims
• Spring and Fall 2017 would include all events as proposed

Request

• As we collectively visit with Choruses, we need to track if they plan to compete or not in fall of 2016!
• We need Youth Quartets to enter the contests!! We also need to know if choruses, such as Lawton as noted in Matt’s report, have contact with Youth (high school and /or Collegiate) to help grow and encourage our competing “Youth” quartets!!
• Novice quartets, fewer and fewer are entering the contest, we need to encourage novice quartets to enter the contest!

Motion to Accept Contest Committee Recommendation

• The committee requests that the House of delegates adopt the following motion:
• Move that the Southwestern District Convention and Contest Model shall include both Fall and Spring contests effective Fall 2016 as recommended by the committee.
• For reference, these contests will name the following winners/representatives:
  • Fall Contest
    • SWD Chorus International Representative
    • SWD Chorus Champion
    • AAA, AA, A Plateau Champions
    • SWD Most Improved Chorus
    • Division Champions, Division Most Improved
    • SWD Fall Qualifiers (top 8)
    • SWD Quartet Champion
    • SWD Novice Champion
    • Division Champions
    • Division Novice Champions
  • Spring Contest
    • SWD International Quartet Representative
    • SWD International Youth Representative
    • SWD International Senior Representative
    • SWD Senior Champion
    • Mixed Harmony Quartet BING! qualifier
    • SWD Audience Favorite Chorus
    • SWD Fall Chorus Qualifiers (4)

Some FAQs

• Why chorus qualifier for 4 slots?
  • Provides more opportunities for coaching/adjudication for lower scoring choruses
  • Motivation to improve
  • Adds meaning to the Spring chorus contest
  • Limits number of choruses who must compete twice per year
• Why the Audience Favorite chorus?
  • Opportunity and encouragement for non-competition oriented choruses to participate
• Where would events be held?
  • Fall convention will likely still be centrally located
  • Spring Convention could move around to promote participation from other chapters
  • It may be coupled with a host chapter show
• What is the current status of the single annual contest
  • Fall 2015, the SWD BoD extended the trial period one additional year, until Fall 2016.
• How does this help the contest situation?
  • Moving International Prelims and Seniors to Spring reduces Fall contestants by 5-10 quartets
  • 12 Choruses provides time Saturday afternoon for other events
• • What about having a quartet qualifier in the Spring?
  • Could eventually become necessary
  • Fall contest would no longer be open to all quartets
  • Quartets would all need to travel to the Spring convention location, unlike previous Division contests which were held more locally.
  • Under the current proposal, all quartets may compete if they desire.
• If a chorus who has qualified for the District contest withdraws, are they replaced?
  • Yes, the next highest scoring chorus will be invited. Cutoff to enter the contest remains 30 days prior to the contest.
• If a previous International Champion competes in their first year of eligibility and uses their “bye”, how many choruses compete that fall?
  • A total of 13 choruses will be invited, we do not intend to penalize other choruses in this situation.