The Kingdom Bardic Championship is conducted at a set of regional Kingdom Bardic Competition Events throughout An Tir. Competing in 3 regional Kingdom Bardic Events qualifies an individual to be in the running to become An Tir’s Kingdom Bardic Champion. The 3 event scores are added together for an individual’s total score – the top 2 scorers (or more if the Crown desires) are selected to perform in the Kingdom Bardic Championship Finals at Twelfth Night.
Intent to enter will open for all Regional Kingdom Bardic Competition Events in January every year. The entry window for the event will close 2 weeks prior to each Regional Bardic Competition Event.
Finalists will be notified the first week of December and will perform in the Kingdom Bardic Championship Final Round the Saturday of Twelfth Night. The Champion will be selected by the Crown following the Kingdom Bardic Championship Final Round.
Selected Finalists are expected to swear to uphold the duties of Champion, should they be chosen by the Crown as the new Kingdom Bardic Champion.
IMPORTANT DATES:
The following events will be hosting An Tir Regional Bardic Competition Events:
Rivers Region – April 5, 2025 – Something Bardic This Way Comes
Western/Pacifica Region – June 20-22, 2025 – June Faire
Tir Righ Region – September 12-14, 2025 – Insula Magna Fall Demo
Summits Region – October 2025 – Samhain
Inlands Region – November 7-9, 2025 – Collegium
**One additional Tir Righ Regional Event is pending confirmation.
ENTRY INFORMATION:
· Submit your “Intent to Enter” by two weeks prior to the Regional Kingdom Bardic Event you wish to perform at (intent to enter form attached via weblink)
· PDF of your Documentation sent to artsnsci@antir.org 5 days prior to the Regional Kingdom Bardic Event
Competition entrants must perform at THREE separate Regional Bardic Events from the above list to be in the running for Champion.
Entrants will be presenting one piece before the judges and the assembled populace.
– One piece should be documentable as a SCA-period performance.
– Each Presentation and Performance will be given 6 minutes (1 minute for your presentation and 5 minutes for your performance, or however you feel is best).
DOCUMENTATION:
Documentation is required for for your piece.
– Documentation should be a minimum of 500 words. You may also provide additional pictures, text & translations (if applicable), other supporting documents, & bibliography/citations (including websites, books, articles, CDs/DVDs, etc.) if you desire.
– Entrants are allowed to have others help with documentation (proofreading, formatting, typing etc.).
– Documentation is due by 5 days prior to the Regional Kingdom Bardic Event you are entering. Please send to artsnsci@antir.org
– Please send it as a PDF file if possible. This just avoids formatting errors when opened on a different computer.
– Entrants are to bring 4-5 copies of each document for display and competition judges at the event.
COMPETITION SCORING AND JUDGING:
Competition entrants must perform at THREE events to qualify for Champion. The three event scores will be totaled, and that score will be the final score that determines the finalists, with the top 2 (or more if the Crown requests) performing at Twelfth Night for the Crown.
Performers can attend more than three Regional Kingdom Bardic Competition Events – the highest 3 performance scores will be the ones added for the final score. You can replace a lower score by doing well at a fourth/fifth/sixth regional bardic event.
Attending and performing at ALL Regional Kingdom Bardic Competition Events will award the entrant ONE additional bonus point.
Scoring for the competition works as follows: Larry is awarded a score of “10” at June Faire. He can perform twice more to try to improve his score. If he performs again at Samhain and scores an “12” this score will be added to his “10” to equal “22.” If he performs a third time, scoring “12,” he can add that score to the prior two, equaling “34.” If he performs a fourth, fifth, sixth time, etc., he can replace one of his three scores with a newer, higher score, potentially increasing his point total.
The maximum score that can be given at any single Kingdom Bardic Competition Event is “12.” The maximum total score for the entire competition is “37” – this includes three perfect 12 point rounds and 1 bonus point added for attending all Kingdom Bardic Competition Events.
The performance entry can change from event to event or remain the same – whichever the entrant prefers.
Finalists will be selected from the top scorers and notified prior to Twelfth Night 2026. Finalists must attend the event and perform one of their prior, scored Bardic entries in the finals.
Points Given For:
1-3 Is it period/SCA appropriate? (Judges determine/assign points)
1-3 Technical Ability: Emerging/Proficient/Masterful (Judges determine/assign points)
1-3 Basic documentation: Emerging/Proficient/Masterful (Judges determine/assign points)
1-3 Populace Ranking: First, Second and Third (Done via populace voting)
Full Judging Form and Guidance Language is located on the “Kingdom Bardic Championship – Judging Form” and the “Kingdom Bardic Championship – Glossary” documents.
Documentation requirements are a minimum 500 of words about the performed entry (1 page).
Entrants will have 5 minutes to perform their entry piece. 1 minute introductions of the entrant and the piece they are performing are not counted as part of the 5 minute performance time.
Requirements for Kingdom Bardic Competition Event Judges:
3 qualified Judges are required for each competition. These can be any of the following:
• Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences
• Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences Bardic Competition Deputy
• Current Kingdom Bardic Champion
• Principality Bardic Champion if the Event is within their Principality
• Members of the Order of the Laurel
• Crown or Representative/Designee
• Kingdom or Principality Coronets
• Baronial Coronets if the Event is within their Barony
Competitions can be run as standalone Kingdom Bardic Competition Events, or, if the Competition Event chooses, they may be incorporated into a local competition (all requirements for Kingdom Bardic Championship Entrants will remain the same regardless of how the competition is run).
Points will be tabulated by or on December 1st. The two (or more, if the crown prefers) top scores will be submitted to the Crown as finalists.
Finalists will perform at Twelfth Night and new Champion will be installed by the New Crowns being elevated at the event.
YIS,
Þóra in fróða, OL
An Tir Kingdom Arts & Sciences Minister
INTENT TO ENTER FORM: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=3fzgcqhY7USOZrD6jpvO1Qomq_LHpflEvGkaMZz1FtBUMTZVN1hZRlFINjVTM003WUpPV1VIREE2Vy4u