The Competition

Preliminary Competitions

Preliminary competitions for the Youth and Junior Talent Search will be held in various locations in Ontario.

VIEW LOCATIONS

A contestant may enter any preliminary competition he or she chooses and may enter only oncein any one category. A contestant may enter one only additional preliminary competition if he or she was not chosen to advance to Western Fair from the first preliminary competition. If a contestant was chosen from the first preliminary to advance in any one of the categories of competition, he or she is not eligible to compete at all in a second preliminary competition.

NOTE: Whether a contestant was selected as a solo performer or was a member of a group performance, this rule still applies. If a contestant has entered and performed at any preliminary competition, he/she/they may not voluntarily withdraw the entry from that competition in order to re-entre any subsequent competition.

The judges will choose up to 10 Youth Talent Acts and up to 5 Junior Talent Acts from each Preliminary Contest to advance to the competition at the Western Fair.

Quarter-Final, Semi-Final & Final Competitions

The Youth Talent Acts selected will compete together as Quarter-Finalists and 36 Semi-Finalists will be chosen by the judges. Each Semi-Finalist will receive an Award Plaque, and the judges will choose 12 Finalists.

The Junior Talent Acts selected will compete together as Semi-Finalists. Each Semi-Finalist will receive an Award Certificate and the judges will choose 15 Finalists.

An individual cannot compete as a semi-finalist or finalist if he or she did not appear in the act at each preceding level of competition

Judging

All contestants will be judged on the following basis: Natural Ability 25%; Quality of Performance 25%; Showmanship 25%; Audience Rapport 25%. **Audience rapport is the judges' evaluation of how the act would be received by an appropriate, impartial audience in an appropriate setting, and is not based on the size or enthusiasm of an act's "fan club".

The decision of the contest judges is final, and no discussion regarding any decision shall be entered into by Youth Talent Search organizers at any time