SEARCH FOR TALENT CONTEST RULES
To be eligible to compete in any SEARCH FOR TALENT contest conducted by the individual Exchange Clubs, AREA or REGIONAL contests of the California/Nevada District Exchange Clubs, or in the DISTRICT contest, contestants must be in compliance with the following provisions:
1. Contestants must be enrolled in a public school, Parochial school, private school, home study program or school of the arts.
2. Contestants must be of amateur standing only. Any person, who has participated in a professional performance and is under contract through a professional agent for such appearances, will not be eligible to compete. "Professional", as used in a professional performance denotes one undertaking or engaging for money as a means of subsistence in a particular art and is defined as meaning engaged in by professionals as a means of livelihood.
3. Contestants may NOT be a member of the immediate family of any District Officer, District Director, or Area Director of the California/Hawaii/Nevada District Exchange Clubs.
4. Contestants may have no more than one musical accompanist (to be provided by the contestant).
5. Contestants must have reached their 6th birthday by MAY 31st of any year, and have NOT reached their 19th birthday prior to MAY 31st of the current competitive year.
Contestants who have reached their 6th birthday, but not their 10th birthday by MAY 31st of the current contest year will compete in the PRIMARY division.
Contestants who have reached their 10th birthday, but not their 15th birthday by MAY 31st of the current contest year will compete in the JUNIOR division.
Contestants who have reached their 15th birthday, but not their 19th birthday by MAY 31st of the current contest year will compete in the SENIOR division.
6. Contestants appearing as a “group” must not exceed three persons including an accompanist.
7. Contestants are permitted no more than FOUR (4) MINUTES in which to complete their act. Judges will impose penalties of one (1) point for each fifteen (15) seconds exceeding the four minute limit. Once the four minute period has started, there will be no stopping of the clock for new props or act changes.
8. Contestants cannot compete in this contest if they have previously won the District Finals, unless they won the PRIMARY or JUNIOR division contest and DID NOT enter in the next year's Exchange Club SEARCH FOR TALENT program, or, moved up in age division in the next year.
9. Electronic devises that afford prerecorded or programmed accompaniment that constitute a predominant part of the act ARE NOT ALLOWED.
10. Contestants performing as a “group” composed of more than one age will be classified according to the age of the oldest contestant and the “group” must compete in that division.
11. CONTESTANTS MAY NOT HAVE COMPETED IN ANY OTHER EXCHANGE CLUB CONTEST THIS YEAR.
12. A contestant should not compete in the CLUB contest if he/she will be unable to continue as a 1st place winner in the REGIONAL competition (TBA), and the DISTRICT competition in Bakersfield on June 17, 2016.