Updated 12/10/2008

ARTICLE 4 - RULES GOVERNING THE STATE ORGANIZATION CONTEST

A. CLASSIFICATION
Classification will be determined by the official enrollment of all public and denominational schools in the school district grades one through eight. All members of the school bands, orchestras and choruses participating in the contests shall be bona fide, regularly enrolled students of the school sponsoring the bands, orchestras or choruses. Said enrollment must be certified by the superintendent or principal of the schools from which participating members are drawn.
1. Grades 1-8

Class A - Organization from schools with a pupil enrollment of 2,001 or more.
Class B 1,001 to 2,000
Class C 501 to 1,000
Class D 251 to 500
Class E 126 to 250
Class F Organization from schools which have not competed in a District or State Contest during the previous five years. This classification is restricted to District participation.
Class G 125 or less.

2. Schools using 9th grade pupils

Class AA
Class BB
Class CC
Class DD
Class EE
Class FF
Class GG

3. A public elementary, middle or junior high school band, orchestra or chorus may include denominational school students of the same geographical school district and the combined enrollment of the public and denominational school shall determine the classification of the organization. Likewise, a denominational school may include students in their organizations from a public elementary, middle or junior high school, provided the combined enrollment of the public and denominational schools be used to determine the organizations classification. Under no circumstances may a student participate with more than one band, orchestra or chorus.
4. Notification of a change in school enrollment which affects the classification of an organization must be made in the form of a certified statement by the principal or superintendent of said school not later than February 1 of the current school year. This statement shall be sent to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association.

B. SELECTION OF MUSIC
1. All bands must be required to play a march and two selections.
2. All orchestras must be required to play three selections.
3. All choruses must be required to perform three memorized selections of which two must be two or three-part music. Acapella choruses must perform at least three-part music.

C. PERFORMANCE
1. Any qualifying organization has the option to change one or more of its selections between the district and the state contest.
2. All selections to be performed may be chosen by the director. No selection which has been performed in the contest previously may be used unless at least two years have elapsed since that time.
3. Performing times for bands and orchestras shall be limited to thirty minutes including set-up and exit. Performing times for choruses shall not exceed twelve minutes.
4. Bands and orchestras shall adhere to the schedule in the warm up room.
5. An organization may warm-up for one minute in the performance room prior to performance of the three selections.

D. INSTRUMENTATION AND VOICING
1. Although no specific rating will be given by the judges for band or orchestra instrumentation, any wide deviation from the norm in that respect will affect the general effect of the performance.
2. All chorus selections shall be performed as scored. All choruses performing two and three part music shall have a minimum of ten members. Choruses performing four part music shall have a minimum of sixteen members.

E. DIRECTORS
Directors may or may not conduct. They may accompany their own chorus without penalty.

F. ADJUDICATORS
1. There shall be three adjudicators for each performance site at organization contests.
2. To be eligible to perform, directors must furnish for use by the adjudicators, three original scores of each of the selections to be performed. All measures must be numbered consecutively from the beginning to the end of the selections. Failure to have the scores numbered will result in a penalty of being placed one Division lower in the final rating.
3. Adjudicators shall not confer during the contest in regards to the rating of any performance.

G. CONTEST SPECTATORS
Contest Spectators (including members of all organizations present) must be seated or placed in an area reserved for the audience BEFORE the organization performs.

H. THE HOST DIRECTOR
The Host Director shall be paid by the Association for operating the contest. This fee shall be established by a two-thirds vote of the membership in attendance at the annual State Meeting of the Association.