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Maximum of 20 contestants per heat.
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Enter at the venue on the night. Registrations commence 30 minutes before the heat starts.
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Entrants must reside in the state in which they are competing. An exception can be made if a contestant's nearest heat venue is interstate (i.e. the contestant resides close to a state border). The winner would progress to the final in the state in which they have competed, regardless of which state they reside in.
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Random draw for performance order.
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Two minute limit. Time starts at the first word or when the timekeeper feels the performance has begun (no additional time allowed for introductions). Points will be deducted from the final score for exceeding the time limit – one point for every 30 seconds or part thereof over time. For example: At 2:01 minutes you will lose a point. At 2:31minutes you will lose another point.
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Five judges chosen by the MC at random from the audience.
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Judges hold up score cards using a 1 to 10 scale, with 10 being the highest. Of the five scores for each poet, only the middle three scores are counted.
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Poem must be the original work of the performer written within the last 12 months. Any entrant deemed by the Heat Coordinators to have plagiarised material or concepts will be disqualified.
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No musical accompaniment. No props. No costumes. (ie; clothing related to the content of your poem).
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Due to the popularity of Brisbane heats #1 and #2 each competitor may only enter one of these heats, not both.
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Two performers with the highest scores in each State Heat will proceed to the State Final.
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National Final will have two rounds. Contestants must come prepared with two different poems to participate in both rounds.
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In the case of a tie the MC will conduct a "slam off" tie-breaker performance contestants must be prepared with a third poem to allow for this eventuality.
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Employees of libraries, Word Travels, Australian Poetry Slam and venues that are hosting heats, may not compete.
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Contestants must sign a copy of the rules prior to performing.
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Rules may vary slightly from state to state. Please check with your State's Heat coordinator with any questions.
