Bards - Sponsored Bardic Competition

[Antigonus Bearbait]

 Greetings unto the Bardic Community of our Fair Kingdom 

I have an idea that I would like to throw out at you, and would very much like your opinion on it.  It is the concept of a sponsored bardic competition.  Ive never heard of anything like this being tried before.  

New bards compete against on another under the sponsorship of experienced bards.

I will give an example using arbitrary numbers, but I think you will get the idea.

   1 - The announcement for the competition needs to go out early  say, three months prior to the competition to give everyone time to prepare.

   2 - A new bard is a bard who has been performing less than two years and competed in no more than two competitions, neither of which can have been won by them.  An experienced bard is a bard who exceeds the requirements for a new bard.

   3  The experienced bard agrees to sponsor the new bard in the competition.  No experienced bard may sponsor more than one new bard.  

   4 -The experienced bard helps the new one to find, learn, or write a new piece to use in the competition.  NOTE: This piece should not be known to the new bard.  The experienced bard should not help polish a work-in-progress for the competition.  The idea here is for the experienced bard to teach and the new bard to learn a new piece.

   5  In the competition, the new bards compete against each other.  There are two prizes offered: one for the winning new bard, and one for the bard who sponsored them.

This way, not only are we promoting others in our art, we are also taking on one of the primary roles of a bard  that of teacher.  It is a way for new bards to get their feet wet without going in unprepared, and an opportunity to develop a relationship with a particular bard or the bardic community that was not there before.

It is also, in some ways, a teaching competition to see how well we can pass our art on to some one else.  Everyone benefits.

Would anyone be interested in trying something like this out?  If so, when and where could we do it?  Obviously, it would not be a good idea for a title bardic competition.

It would take some notice and preparation time, but it seems like a great deal of fun.  Im sure it would be extremely rewarding for all those involved and a marvelous way to pass on our art to those who have less experience.

What do you think?  I would welcome any and all input.

Antigonus Bearbait,
Barony of Elfsea,
Kingdom of Ansteorra



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