Competitors must register by February 18. An adult adviser—teacher or staff member—must be listed for contact information.

Teams:

• Each team can have up to seven performers.
• Schools can register as many teams as they choose.
• Team members may compete in as many rounds as necessary.
• Any number of members may recite during any portion of a round for a team delivery.
• A member does not have to compete in the final to be considered an event participant.
• Participants cannot be changed or added between the preliminary rounds and final. 
• Each team must have an adult advisor. 

Individuals:

• Individuals who do not have the benefit of a team can still register.
• Competition includes two original poems and two classics; all other competition and judging rules apply.
• Winners will be featured on the main event stage.  

Teams will be responsible for four performance rounds. One performance round consists of two performed poems:

1. A classic poem chosen from the OC RYSE Poem Bank.  
2. A student-written response poem that integrates elements of the first. These elements may reflect the classic poem in any way the student chooses: structure, imagery, word choice, content, and situation to name a few.

Students will be judged on the following in their performance of the classic poem: accuracy, difficulty, physical presence (including articulation and movement), audience engagement, and overall artistic display.

Students will be judged on the following in their recitation of the response poem: poetic craft (elements such as imagery, word choice, and rhythm), dramatic presence, (including articulation and movement), time (no more than 3 minutes), audience engagement, & overall artistic display.

In the crafting of their response poems, students must adhere to the following guidelines. Teams that violate the guidelines may be disqualified without a refund at any time:

• 3 minute maximum for response poem. Students will lose points for extra time needed for their response poems. Time is not a factor for judging of the classic poem.
• No singing or non-poetic vocalizations
• No props. (The poet is the only prop)
• No overly vulgar or offensive language or content. OC RYSE occurs at a public school and is intended for a broad audience. Language choices that are considered inappropriate should not be included in your response poems, and inclusion may be grounds for disqualification. Common sense should dictate what is appropriate; when this is unclear, the faculty advisor is responsible for providing guidance or contacting the event organizers. A blanket rule does not exist, but with instances of mature language and topics (such as abuse, addiction, poverty) poets are simply asked to write & perform with mindfulness.

• First Place: $700
• Second Place: $500
• Third Place: $250
• Fourth Place: Registration reimbursement
• The top three individual performers will receive $100 each. 

• Faculty Advisor Award: $250 will be awarded to the faculty advisor of the winning team to implement poetry curriculum at her/his school.

*Please note: Classic Poems will be judged on the version provided in the OC RYSE poem bank. Translations especially may have multiple versions available. If you believe there is a typo or other mistake on a poem, please contact the event organizer, Josh Wood, right away.