Bardic Champion of Shittimwoode

The Bardic Championship of Shittimwoode is a branch championship that uses an unusual system of determining a bardic champion. Instead of a panel of judges giving scores for various aspects of a piece or performance, Shittimwoode puts the bards head to head against each other with the audience serving as the judges of the performance.

The format is as follows:

The audience will be polled directly to determine the victor of each bout. Every audience member who wishes to judge will be given a red and white marble. In each pairing, the first bard will be designated the red marble and the second will be the white. After the two performances, 9 people chosen at random will be polled and whoever gets the most marbles wins the bout. There is no judging, no explanations, no agony, just quick and simple feedback from the crowd itself.

Some rounds will have particular themes. The categories for the special rounds will be provided by the bards and the audience. At the start of the tournament, every competitor will submit a theme. Every audience member has the option to submit a theme as well. When a special round comes, one of these categories will be chosen at random.

Once the tournament is down to two bards, all losses are thrown out and the finals are a single encounter, head to head bout for the Championship.

Summary of the tournament format and rules:

1. Individual participants only

2. Each round pairs two bards against each other

3. Audience voting determines the victor of each bout

4. A bard is eliminated when he or she loses twice

5. A bard may not repeat a performance during the tournament

6. All pieces must be memorized

7. Each bard must submit a suitable category for the special category rounds

8. The finals are one bout for the Championship

History

Shittimwoode has been awarding a bardic champion for six years. The first three years, the individual winners of each bout were determined by the two competing bards themselves, much like heavy and rapier fighters do. However, this system was discarded for what has proven to be a much more exciting and fulfilling method of direct, random audience sampling.

"The audience voting brought the crowd far more alive," said Bunny Bard IV HL Quentin Martel. "The fact they they could and did hide their vote from the rest of the crowd made it safe for everyone to make a good call and thus give feedback, while being safe from what can often become an awkward situation. After a few rounds of the tournament, the audience members were clamoring to be the ones to vote that round! Additionally, the tournament went much faster. There was no writing of commentary, no long deliberations, just the enjoyable spectacle of collecting the votes and tallying them up!"

Past Champions

• Arundel - AS XLIV
• Lady Amnara, of The Bards of KeyPoynt - AS XLIII
• Lord Daði Mánaskröggr Vébrandsson - AS XLII
• HL Quentin Martel - AS XLI
• HL Ferin Darkmountain - AS XL
• HL Caiaphas, Durant Ramberti - AS XXXIX
• Nicholas Forrester - AS XXXVIII