Photo taken by Blaqbaree

General Information/Criteria

Location: Blumenthal Performing Arts Education Institute/McGlohon Theatre at Spirit Square 345 N. College Street Charlotte NC 28202.

Time: 8 PM   Price: $10 general admission

Criteria:

The monthly slam is open to anyone 21 years or older unless the slam is designated as a slam for a particular demographic. For example; the women’s slam. The sign up list for the slam opens at 7:15 PM and 12 poets will be allowed to compete.

 

The 12 slots are broken down in this manner:

1-4       first come first served

5-9       lottery style drawing

10-11   out of town poet(s)-if no one has signed up by 7:30 these slots become a part of the lottery

12       last month’s winner-If the winner of the last month’s slam doesn’t sign up by 7:30, their slot becomes part of the lottery.

 

The competition will be a 3 round slam with elimination each round. The 1^st and 2^nd

 

round will be cumulative with a clean slate in the 3^rd round.

 

 

The poets will draw numbers to determine

 

the order of the first round. In the 2^nd round, the poet with the highest score

 

 

will perform first and the round will end

 

with the poet with the lowest score. The

 

poets will draw numbers in the 3rd round

 

to determine their order.

 

Team Selection:

SlamCharlotte utilizes a point system to determine which poets will advance to the grand slam finals in April.

Points are awarded for each slam from August through February with the exception of the women’s slam because it is open only to a select demographic.

 

The points are awarded based on the following:

1^st place    4 points

2^nd place   3 points

3^rd place   2 points

 

4th place    1 point

 

 

The scores and accumulation of points will be posted monthly on the SlamCharlotte Yahoo group in the files section and the website under the scores tab.

 

No Repeat Rule:

Poets who successfully make it to the third round of competition can not repeat that poem again during the season. If they are invited back to the finals competition in April, they will be allowed to repeat any poem used in the 3rd round at that time. If a poet repeats a poem they have previously used in the third round during the season, they will be disqualified from the possibility of returning to compete in the Grand Slam Finals.

 

Grand Slam Finals Poet Selection:

The 12 poets with the highest accumulation of points at the end of the February slam will be invited to participate in the Grand Slam Finals. The list of the top 12 poets will be posted to the SlamCharlotte list serv and the SlamCharlotte website. In the event that a poet included in the top 12 is unable or unwilling to compete in the Grand Slam Finals, the next poet on the list will be contacted to compete. Only poets placing in the top 4 throughout the season will be included in the poets invited to participate in the Grand Slam Finals in April.

 

 

Finals:

The Grand Slam Finals occurs yearly in

 

April. The top 12 poets will compete for a

 

spot on the slam team. The competition will

 

be a 3 round slam with elimination each

 

round. Poets will draw numbers to determine the order of the 1^st round. The

 

order for the 2^nd round will be determined

 

by the poets score, the poet with the highest

 

score will go first and the poet with the lowest score will go last. The 1^st and 2^nd round will be cumulative and the 3^rd round

 

will be clean slate.  The top 4 poets at the end of the 2^nd round will be the 2008 slam

 

team. The 3^rd round will be used to

  

determine the grand slam champion.

 

The poet with the highest score will go first

 

and the poet with the lowest score will go

 

last.

 

 

 SlamCharlotte will purchase the PSI membership at the associate level for the Grand Slam Champ. The poet will be responsible for his/her membership renewal thereafter. The remaining team members are responsible for purchasing/renewing their PSI membership.

 

 

 

Team Member Financial Obligation:

The slam master and financial advisor will attempt to raise funds to cover the registration fee for all PSI events, Southern Fried, the cost of airfare, hotel, and per diem. Team members will receive a written financial report at the second team meeting and a verbal report each week thereafter. In the event that the slam master and the financial advisor are unable to secure enough funds to meet budget, the team members/SlamCharlotte representative are expected to assist in fundraising and/or cover the cost of the trip themselves. In the event that budget is not meet and the team member/SlamCharlotte representative is unable to meet the financial obligation, the team member replacement rule will be utilized.

 

 

Team Practice Schedule:

The new team will meet directly after the Grand Slam Finals and no later than a week after finals to discuss team practice and expectations. SlamCharlotte historically practices 2 times a week and the schedule is established based on the team member(s) availability. Team  members are expected to attend each practice/scheduled team performances. In the event that the team member is unable to attend practice or a scheduled performance, they are required to contact the slam master or coach to make them aware of this. Excessive absences from practice or scheduled performances may result in the slam master replacing that team member.

 

 

Team Member Replacement:

In the event that a poet is unable or unwilling to perform their duty as a SlamCharlotte team member, the 5^th ranked

 

 poet from finals will be contacted.

 

The subsequent poets will be contacted down to the 12^th poet until the spot is filled.

 

In the event that the vacant spot on the team can’t be filled with the remaining poets from the grand slam finals, SlamCharlotte will have an open last chance slam. The slam will be limited to the first 12 poets to sign up.

 

 

**These rules can be changed at the discretion of the slam master. Any changes will be posted to the SlamCharlotte yahoo group and the website.**

 

 

 

 

 

 

SlamCharlotte's Monthly Slam Schedule

 

** The March 2010 slam will be open to women only.The winner of the slam will represent SlamCharlotte at the Women of the World Poetry Slam**

 

**The winner of the Feb. 2010 slam will represent SlamCharlotte in the individual World Poetry Slam in October.