Slam Rules

Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam Rules
posted December 2011

1. Poems must be original work, though sampling of other poems, songs, etc. is permitted. Memorization is not mandatory, but advised. Poets can read from a sheet of paper or a notebook but published sources are not allowed.
2. No costumes, props, live instruments or recorded music of any kind are permitted.
3. Poems may be recited in any style (free verse, hip-hop, melodic, rhythmic, comedic, etc. etc. etc.).
4. Time limits will be enforced in each round of the slam. Round 1 has a time limit of 1 minute, Round 2 has a time limit of 2 minutes and the Showdown Round has a time limit of 3 minutes.
5. There is a grace period in each round to permit a poet to wrap up their poem. Round 1 has a grace of 3 seconds, Round 2 has a grace of 6 seconds and the Showdown Round has a grace of 10 seconds.
6. There will be a deduction of 0.5 points for every increment past the grace period. Round 1 increments are 3 seconds, Round 2 increments are 6 seconds and the Showdown Round has increments of 10 seconds.
7. Time starts the moment a poet engages the audience (which may or may not be the first utterance into the microphone).
8. Judging is done by five randomly selected audience members. Scores are between 0.0 and 10.0 in increments of tenths. The top and bottom scores are dropped and the three middle scores added together for a final score out of 30.0 for each performer.
9. The competition will begin with twelve poets. After Round 1 the top six poets advance in the competition; after Round 2 the top three poets qualify for the Showdown Round. Scores in one round do not carry over cumulatively to the next round.
10. The top scoring poet in the Showdown Round is the winner of the slam.
11. Poets cannot repeat a poem in the same evening of competition.
12. Poets cannot use a portion of a poem in an early round, then perform the full poem later in the same evening of competition.
13. Poets are not permitted to use a portion of a poem on one evening of competition and then perform a shorter, longer or full version of the same poem at a future BB123 Slam. Such an action will lead to a score of 0.0 for the performance in question.
14. Rankings will be kept throughout the season based upon the Frankson-Priske Ranking Method originally developed for Ottawa Capital Slam. The top 16 poets on the season will be invited to participate in a Head-to-Head 1-2-3 Elimination Tournament at the end of the season.
15. Any disputes during the running of the competitions will be handled by the Slammaster.

Thanks, and come ready to slam!

Greg Frankson
Cytopoetics Founder & Creative Director
BB123 Slam Toronto Slammaster