Standard Rules for North West Feisanna

Entry Requirements
1. Ages to be taken from 1st January 2008.
2. Entries will only be accepted from schools currently registered with An Coimisiun.
3. Lodgement of entries at a Feis implies that you accept the rules relating to the Feis in their entirety as laid down by the NWRC and An Coimisiun.
Adjudicators & Musicians
4. The Adjudicators decisions are final. The Adjudicators should not be approached by any persons other than the Feis Committee.
5. Pupils of an Adjudicator employed at a particular feis may not take part in the Feis even if the adjudicator is judging alternative age groups.
6. Any Adjudicator cannot judge an Open Feis in the North West Region within 6 months of their last adjudication in the region.
7. An Adjudicator from outside the North West Region may not adjudicate a Class Feis in the North West Region in the 6 months leading up to adjudicating an Open Feis in the Region.
8. All musicians used should be competent and willing to abide by the prescribed metronomic speeds of An Coimisiun.
Novice and Primary Grade
9. There will be a Novice Reel up to and including the Under 11 age group. Only the most basic Reel may be performed in this grade. A child entering the Novice Reel cannot enter the Primary Reel
10. All Primary and Novice competitions are confined to the North West Region.
11. Any dancer who wins 1st, 2nd or 3rd in Novice must move up to Primary. 12. Any competition in which there are 5 or less dancers shall not count for grading purposes. However a Dancer may only place in 3 such competitions and they then must move up to the next grade.
13. There will be no restriction on the step content performed in the Primary grade.
14. A Primary dancer is one who has never won a first in that particular dance. 15. From January 1st 2007, if there are more than 20 competitors in any Primary solo competition then 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed dancers must move up to the next grade. If there are 20 or less competitors, then only the 1st placed dancer will be required to move up to the next grade. Please note this applies to solo Primary competitions only.
16. Primary Trophy Competitions are confined to dancers who have never won a Primary Trophy. Any Light Dance can be performed for the Trophy but it must have been danced in the Novice or Primary section on the day of the Feis.
17. A winner of a Primary Trophy Competition must move up to the next grade for both the Dance they performed to win the Trophy and the Trophy competition itself.
18. Only skirts and tops or a simple class costume may be worn in the Novice and Primary Grades.
19. Make-up will not be permitted for any dancer in the first two grades up to and including the under 12 age group Worldwide.
20. At any one feis, a Primary dancer may only dance each solo dance once, one light trophy and one heavy trophy.
21. In the event of there being no provision for a particular age group, a dancer may dance up an age age group, however on attaining first place in any dance, that dancer must remain in the higher grade for that dance for the remainder of the year.
22. Any competition in which there are 5 or less dancers shall not count for grading purposes. However a Dancer may only win 3 such competitions and they then must move up to the next grade.
Intermediate Grade
23. An Intermediate Dancer is one who has never won a first place in that particular dance in their present age group.
24. Intermediate Trophy competitions are confined to dancers who have never won an Intermediate Trophy in their present age group. Any Light Dance can be performed for the Trophy but it must have been danced in the Intermediate section on the day of the Feis.
25. A winner of an Intermediate Trophy Competition must move up to the next grade for both the Dance they performed to win the Trophy and the Trophy competition itself.
26. At any one feis, an Intermediate dancer may only dance each solo dance once, one light trophy and one heavy trophy, with the exception of intermediate dancers wishing to enter the Premier Trophy or Championship.
27. In the event of there being no provision for a particular age group, then a dancer may dance up an age group, however on attaining first place in any dance, that dancer must remain in the higher grade for that dance for the remainder of the year.
28. Any competition in which there are 5 or less dancers shall not count for grading purposes. However a Dancer may only win 3 such competitions and they then must move up to the next grade.
Open Grade
29. With the exception of the Under 6 and 7 age groups, any dancer who has won an Open Championship before a panel of three adjudicators must dance Open (This does not include Boys Championships).
30. In all age groups (with the exception of under 6 and under 7) competitors must have performed 1 light dance and 2 heavy dances to be eligible for the Premier Trophy/Championship.
31. The wording 'Championship' will only be used where there is a panel of 3 adjudicators.
All Grades
32. No block, en pointe, stationary or moving, will be allowed to be performed by any dancers up to and including the Under 11 Age Group. The Under 12 age group is also governed by this rule up until 1st September each year after which they are permitted to perform the movement.
33. Dancers must dance in their own age group for solo competitions if that age group is provided for.
34. Any competitor found to be using artificial carriage aids and subsequently refuses to remove them will be subject to disqualification from that particular competition. Medically prescribed apparatus, proof of which may be required, will be exempt from this.
Figure Dancing
35. Figure teams may contain up to 50% from a lower age group.
General Feis Rules
36. Any protest against breach of rules must be made be in writing, within 1 hour of the conclusion of the relevant competition and accompanied by a fee of £10.00, which will be refunded should the objection be upheld.
37. Medals will be awarded in accordance with the minimum requirements as laid down by the NWRC:
1 medal where there is 3 competitors
2 medals where there are 5 competitors
3 medals where there are 7 competitors
4 medals where there are 10 competitors and
1 medal for each additional 10 or part of 10 competitors.
38. The Feis Organiser reserves the right to cancel any competition should there be insufficient entries.
39. In the interest of Health, hairspray and any other aerosols must not be used in any of the dancing areas.
40. In accordance with the ruling laid down by An Coimisiun and in the interest of safety, dancers are asked to be suitably dressed at all times and should not undress in the competition halls.
41. Mobile phones and electronic games must be switched off in all of the dancing areas.
42. Abusive language and offensive behaviour will not be tolerated. Any person acting in such a way will be asked to leave the Feis.
43. Feis Organisers will, as far as is practicable, provide a stage surface suitable for dancing. However, the Feis Organisers cannot accept liability for injuries sustained whilst on the dancing areas. The lodgement of an entry will be deemed to be an acceptance of this provision by a dancer.
44. If parents have any constructive comments to make about any aspect of Feisanna, these would be welcomed by the council and should be put in writing. It should be noted that anonymous correspondence cannot be dealt with.
45. Any Form of unauthorised photography which has the capability to capture a dancer’s image whilst in motion, using electronic or manual means, e.g. mobile phone, standard camera, video camcorder, cine recorder, commercial film, with or without flash enhancement, is expressly forbidden in competition

Transfer Rules

The administrative cost to Transfer a pupil is £5 (cheque made payable to North West Regional Council).

The onus in on the new teacher to inform the Transfer Secretary of a pupil transferring from another dancing school. It is recommended that Proof of Posting is obtained for all Transfer Notifications.

The six month exclusion from competition for re-training commences from the date the Transfer Secretary receives this information AND FEE. The new teacher will subsequently be informed of this date.

If the new teacher has not received a response from the transfer secretary within 21 days then they should contact the secretary to confirm this information has been received.

Where a pupil is required to leave a dancing school by the teacher, for any reason, that dancer will serve the six months re-styling period with a new registered teacher, unless rule 7 applies i.e. that the dancer is already out of dancing for a year.

Feis Registration

Feis Organisers must submit their syllabus to the Council for approval at least six weeks before the event. (Send to: Feis Secretary):

Please submit:

* 2 paper copies of the syllabus,

* a copy in Microsoft Word format on a CD for inclusion on the website,

* FORM 1 Completed Feis Approval Checklist

* FORM 2 Completed Syllabus Requirements Form

* FORM 3 Signed Feis Standards Guidelines Form

* a Stamped Addressed Envelope (please make sure that you have paid the correct postage - please observe the new Postage Restrictions from Royal Mail)

* the relevant registration fee (please see Registration Fees below)

PLEASE NOTE THAT COMPULSORY FEIS INSURANCE of £63, WHICH HAS BEEN ARRANGED BY THE NORTH WEST REGIONAL COUNCIL FOLLOWING ADVICE BY AN COIMISIUN, IS NOW PAYABLE AS A NON REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT TO SECURE YOUR 2007 FEIS DATE.

THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAID UPON REQUEST BY THE FEIS SECRETARY.

The North West Regional Council would like to emphasise that Feis Organisers should take care to ensure that every aspect of their Feis is of the best possible quality.

Feis Standards Guidelines (FORM 3), available at http://www.nwrc.co.uk/rules.htm, must be completed in full, signed and returned before your Feis. Failure to do so may result in your Feis being cancelled.

Should there be sufficient legitimate complaints about the quality of a local Feis, then the Feis in question could be refused registration next year.

For a copy of FORM 1 Feis Approval Checkist Click Here

For a copy of FORM 2 Syllabus Requirements Form Click Here

For a copy of FORM 3 Feis Standards Guidelines Click Here

Feis Results

Following the Feis, all Feis Organisers are required to send in a CD of their completed results for inclusion on the Website.

For a copy of Feis Results Form Click Here.

Open up the file, insert your results and save as the feis name on CD - then return the CD to the Feis Secretary by post or e-mail the formatted results to: nicola.adesolutions@tiscali.co.uk as soon as possible after your Feis.

Please Note: Failure to do so may result in your Feis being refused next year.