RULES & REGULATIONS

Prospective performers and applicants are requested to read the rules before entering. The Chairman, or Session Chairman during the festival, has the discretion to disqualify performers known to have infringed any rule. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the Syllabus, Provisional Timetable and Programme. Any errors and/or omissions should be notified to the festival chairman as soon as possible.

SECTION A

A1 - Entry rules

Additional entry forms can be photocopied or obtained from the festival office. Anyone over the age of 18 may submit entries on their own behalf or on behalf of a performer. Persons submitting entries are referred to throughout as the 'Applicant'.

The Committee reserves the right to:

• Refuse any proposed entry
• Subdivide classes where the number and type of classes make this desirable
• Cancel any class deemed unviable
• Appoint replacement or additional adjudicators and accompanists, and alter, modify or cancel any or all of the arrangements detailed in this syllabus
• In all classes entry is by grade of difficulty or age, and entrants should select a group most suited to their playing ability or age group

In all classes entry is by grade of difficulty or age, and entrants should select a group most suited to their playing ability or age group.

ENTRY FORM

Only ONE class should be entered on the form

Completed entry forms and the appropriate fee should be returned by the date printed on the form. Any forms received after this date will be charged a late entry fee up to a time at the Chairman's discretion. Receipt of entry will be acknowledged if a stamped addressed envelope is included with the entry form. Cheques, postal and money orders should be crossed and made payable to 'Inverness Festival Association'. The name of a school or club should be submitted as 'place of residence' for entry by a school teacher or club leader.

OWN CHOICE PIECES

The entry form must previously have been submitted by the closing date.

The following own choice classes do not have to submit an own choice piece:

Music Composition	MC05 & MC06
Piping	PG01-PG09
Scottish	SC01-SC15
Public Speaking	SP20-SP23
Barbershop	CH28
Gaelic*	GC03-GC04, GS17-GS26, GV17-GV18

^*where it states 'appropriate test piece' and this is being used.

OWN CHOICE

In open classes the standard of the piece(s) will be taken into consideration in adjudication and in all cases must be of greater difficulty than the preceding class in the same section.

The time limit for each performance is FIVE minutes except where otherwise stated.
In all classes where two pieces or a selection of pieces are required, and unless otherwise stated, the overall performance time must not exceed FIFTEEN minutes.
A performance exceeding this time limit will be stopped by the adjudicator.

The time limit of five minutes does not apply to Dance (SD) or Bagpipe (PG) classes.

COMPOSITION CLASSES

Entries to Verse and Music Composition classes must be the entrants own work. Two copies of the original composition must be submitted.

Music Composition Classes MC01, MC02, and MC03. - Entrants are required to submit an original composition on standard manuscript score consisting of up to and including five parts for any solo instrument or any combination of instruments and/or voices. The composition submitted should be the unaided work of the composer. All entrants will be required to arrange for the performance (including the players) of their composition at the competitive class.

Music Composition Classes MC04. - Entrants are required to compose a song to an original or existing text which in some way reflects the flavour and style of Scotland. The song should be set for solo voice with or without accompaniment. It may be either strophic or through composed construction.

Music Composition Classes MC05, MC06. - Entrants need not submit a written copy of their work.

A2 - Entry Qualifications and Definitions

Age for festival entry, to avoid ambiguity where specified, is that attained on 1^st February of the Festival year. In some sections, school classes are substituted for age. The national Mod age rule applies to Gaelic classes (GC), (GS), (GV). The committee reserves the right to require proof of school age or school class. Choirs, groups, duets, teams etc. must not include performers older than the age/class definition (except as accompanist or conductor)

Groups entering the music making classes may include voices but non-instrumentalists must not exceed one fifth of the total number.

Although Primary and Secondary stages are used in defining some classes, entries are welcome from individuals and groups outwith school.

A3 - Performers, Performance and Test Pieces

Permission has been granted by the director of Education to allow school pupils to take part in the festival within school hours.

Entrants are required to perform in the order printed in the published programme. Only in circumstances such as the entrant being entered in coincidental classes will the order be changed. Any such alterations to the published running order must be approved by the session chairman, whose decision is final in all matters relating to the competitions.

Test pieces must be performed in the key set unless otherwise stated in the syllabus. Apart from da capo repeats should not be played

Gaelic vocal test pieces may be sung in a key chosen at the performers' discretion. Gaelic pieces may be obtained from An Comunn Gaidhealach, 109 Church Street, Inverness.

Scottish Country Dances must be performed to the original tunes. Details of choices but not copies of music must be submitted with entry forms. In all classes each set shall contain 4 couples. No member of any set may dance in another set in the same class.

School age pupils and younger must be accompanied by an adult. All teams, groups, choirs etc. must be accompanied by at least two adults who will be responsible for their conduct and care at the festival

Choral verse speaking groups should perform as a choir, not necessarily entirely in unison, and may allow for the introduction of solo or group voices. Each entry must have a minimum of ten voices except for 1/2/3 teacher schools or youth groups. Leaders of verse speaking groups may conduct their groups in classes SP30-SP32, but leaders cannot conduct their groups in classes SP33 -SP36.

Conductors are not allowed to sing with choirs.

Teachers/Tutors are not allowed to play in instrumental groups (except as piano accompaniment). These infringements will result in disqualification.

Electric Instruments - As the sound formed by electric instruments is produced differently from that formed by acoustic instruments, they are deemed to be incompatible at competition level and are therefore disallowed in the Strings section.

A4 - Accompanist

The services of an official accompanist are available to all performers in the following classes only

Brass	B01 - B05
Choral	CH01 - CH29
Recorder	R01 - R06
Dancing	SD01 - SD14
Strings	ST01 - ST28
Vocal	V101 - V315
Woodwind	W01 - W08

If the services of an official accompanist are required then two copies of the Own Choice piece must be provided.

Performers can bring their own accompanist, who may be a teacher or group leader, if they wish.

Applicant should indicate on entry form if the services of the official accompanist are required. In the case of certain open, adult or advanced classes, rehearsal time with the accompanist may be arranged through the festival administrator.

Tape or disc recording may be used in Scottish country dancing classes and other classes if arranged with the festival administrator (See rule B2 ). Applicants must ensure that they have all the necessary power leads etc. and that the equipment is suitable for the venue.

A5 - Provisional Timetable

Only the applicants will be sent details of date, time and place of competitive classes as soon as possible after the closing date for entries. Programmed times will be approximate and performers are requested to be ready to perform before the time stated (at least ten minutes for soloists and duettists and at least twenty minutes for larger groups). The right is reserved to change the details before the official programme is published, if circumstances necessitate this. All details should be checked in the official programme.

A6 - Adjudication Marks and Sheets

In order to achieve consistency of marking throughout the festival movement, the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech has the following standard which will be applied with regard to the awarding of marks

75 - 77	Fair
78 - 80	Moderate
81 - 83	Merit
84 - 86	Commended
87 - 89	Distinction
90+	Outstanding

Descriptors explaining these standards will appear on adjudication sheets along with the adjudicators comments and are intended to help performers understand what they have achieved and how they can progress.

During the adjudication of a class only the first three places are usually announced.

The performer or applicant must collect the adjudication sheets after the close of each class. No responsibility will be accepted for the safe keeping of these sheets.

Performers must pick up official photocopies, or music books, submitted as their own choice, at the end of the class, as no responsibility will be accepted for their safekeeping.

A7 - Certificates and Trophies

The standard used by the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech is also the standard that will be applied with regard to the awarding of certificates and trophies.

The performer or applicant must collect certificates after the close of each class. No responsibility will be accepted for the safe keeping of certificates.

Trophies may be withheld at the discretion of the adjudicator. Persons awarded trophies are expected to arrange for and meet the cost of engraving by the authorised festival engraver and sign a letter of undertaking for its safekeeping and return. Trophies must be returned as instructed not later than 4 weeks before the start of the festival.

SECTION B

B1 - Photocopying

It is illegal to photocopy (or copy by any other means) works which are copyright without the permission of the copyright holder. The Association and/or the Adjudicator may refuse photocopied items where the performer cannot produce permission to copy. Performers contravening this regulation may be disqualified. If an Own Choice piece is selected from a publication containing several different works and which is not published separately, two copies may be made for the use of the Adjudicator and Accompanist provided that the performer has already purchased his/her own copy. These copies will be destroyed by the administrator immediately after the event. This permission specifically does not apply to set works. It should be noted that this permission applies only to copyright holders who are members of the Music Publishers Association (listed on the back of the MPA Code of Practice). Performers will need to obtain permission to copy direct from any copyright holder whose name does not appear on the MPA list

B2 - Performing Right and Copyright

The Festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech and participates in its group licence to cover payment of fees for the use of recorded music at its events. Performers using tapes or CDs created from commercial recordings are advised that they should themselves seek permission to re-record from the companies concerned, as the Festival does not take responsibility for this. The Association and/or the Adjudicator may refuse recorded music where the performer cannot produce permission for use. Performers contravening this regulation may be disqualified. The attention of performers is drawn to the booklet 'Copying Music - A Code of Fair Practice' which is obtainable free from:- The Music Publishers Association Ltd, 103 Kingsway, London WC28 6QX

Songs from the Shows. - All performers using music from shows in current production are subject to copyright law. They may only be sung as a concert item, i.e. with no costume or movement, without the need for copyright permission. Where movement of costume is included in a performance copyright permission is needed and the festival accepts such entries on the basis that the appropriate permission has been sought. Performers or teachers with queries regarding copyright should contact Festival House on 0870 7744 290/291.

B3 - Speech and Drama Copyright

The Committee has entered into an agreement with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society whereby performers do not have to seek copyright permission for any poetry, prose or solo dramatic items performed, to a time limit of ten minutes. Performers and applicants are assured that their participation in the Festival means that authors will be directly reimbursed as a consequence of their work being performed at the Festival. Solo dramatic items must be performed in their entirety and announced with their title and author at the time of performance to qualify for copyright indemnity and the performer must not change the words or gender of the character. Duologues and group dramatic activity are not covered by this agreement and copyright of these items should be sought at the time of entry as proof of permission to perform may be called for at the time of competition.

B4 - Recording Devices and Cameras

As this is a competitive festival under which the performers are being judged, the use of video recorders, tape recorders, any other recording device or camera is not permitted during the competition. Sound recording is illegal under copyright law. Anyone ignoring this rule will have their recordings erased.

The Inverness Festival Association may commission photographs of entrants for the purposes of advertising the Festival. Entrants have the opportunity when completing the entry form to indicate whether or not they are agreeable to assist the Festival in this way.

B5 - Data Protection Act

The Inverness Festival Association will only use personal data in connection with the organisation of Inverness Festival Association events. It does not make personal data available to any other organisation or individual. A copy of the data protection policy is available on request.

B6 - Equal Opportunities

The Inverness Festival Association is a voluntary organisation which exists to provide opportunities for people to develop their artistic potential and to display their talents to a wider audience, thus increasing the level of community participation in the arts. The Association carries out its work without distinction of politics, religion or other options. The association is committed to a policy of equal opportunity which respects the identity, rights and values of each individual. Recognising that discrimination exists, the Association is positively committed to opposing all direct and indirect discrimination against people on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion, culture, disability, gender, sexual identity, family status or age. The Association declares its intention to promote equal opportunity in employment practices, access to any offices or facilities it develops, service provision, committee membership, meetings, volunteer recruitment and selection & training. The Association will review the progress of its policy in preparation for each Annual General Meeting

B7 - Child Protection

The Inverness Festival Association has a stated Child Protection Policy, a copy of which is included in the syllabus. The policy is also sent to all applicants as part of the provisional timetable and is available on request.