Rules & Format
WOWPS Slam
Competition Overview
The Women of the World Poetry Slam consists of several preliminary bouts and a final stage competition that takes place over the course of three days. Poets will need six poems to win this competition. See the schedule below for time length structure below:
Thursday
4 minute round
1 minute round
Friday
2 minute round
3 minute round
Saturday
Three Rounds - 3 minute time limit per round
Prizes
The top four poets at finals will earn specific monetary prizes.
All other finalists will earn $125.
1st place $5,000
2nd place $2,500
3rd place $1,000
4th place $500
5th-12th place $125 each
Prelim Slam Format
Poets will be judged by 5 judges. Judges will score each poem from 0.0-10.0 using one decimal place.
For Prelim rounds, no ties will be broken. Poets will receive a rank based on their scores in the microbout. So a rank of 1-5 will be given, with the highest score receiving a 1. In the case of a tie, the rank will be shared and the next person will receive an adjusted rank. For example, if there is a tie for 3rd place, the assigned ranks will be: 1,2,3,3,4. If there are multiple ties, the adjustments will be the same. If there is a tie for 1st and 2nd highest scores the assigned ranks will be: 1,1,3,3,5. If the number is uneven in a bout (ex: most bout have 5, but two bouts have 6 competitors), the 5th and 6th person will BOTH receive an automatic rank of 5 for scoring purposes
The combined rank from all prelim micro bouts will determine the poets who advance to final stage.
Poets will be assigned to micro bouts via a random draw held publicly.
The draw for prelims performance order will occur onsite at the start of the bout, with poets drawing a number 1-5 for each round.
Prop Rule
No props are allowed. The poet cannot verbally reference an item while pointing to it, picking it up, or holding it. If so, the item is considered a prop. Ex. It is acceptable to read a poem from a phone. However if the phone is referenced while being held, the phone is then considered a prop.
An item used in a performance that other poets also have access to (mic stand, stage) will not be considered a prop.
Items that are permanently attached to the poet (hair, tattoos, etc.) or items that aid the poet’s ability (glasses, cane, wheelchair) are considered extensions of the poet and will not be considered a prop.
Sampling Rule
Poets must perform original work. No more than 17% of a poet’s performance may consist of another poet’s work. This includes song lyrics.
See chart below for specific breakdowns.
| 1 minute | 2 minute | 3 minute | 4 minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 seconds | 20 seconds | 30 seconds | 40 seconds |
Costumes
No costume changes are allowed. A costume change is defined as the addition or subtraction of clothing or accessory that deliberately enhances a poet's performance or the audience's understanding of the poem. EX: if the poet wears a camouflage cap to perform a hunting poem and then takes it off to do a poem where the poet doesn’t portray a hunter.
Finals Slam Format
Contestants will be admitted to finals based based on rank. The number of poets advancing to final stage will be announced at registration.
In the event of a tie for the rank of the final poet advancing to final stage, all poets in the tie will be admitted.
Finals will consist of Three 3-minute rounds with a 20 second grace period. Only one poem can be repeated from prelims on final stage.
Poets will draw for order in each round prior to the beginning of the bout. Order will be adjusted as poets are eliminated from the competition. The number of poets eliminated each round will be announced during poet orientation.
The winner will be determined by the highest cumulative score of round two and three; round one will be clean slate and only determine what poets advance to the second round. In the event of a tie for 1st place, poets will have the option to slam one more poem or split the prize(s).
In the event of 3+ way tie for first, all 3 prizes will be divided by the number of first place poets.
Rules regarding original work and props carry over to finals competition.