General Contest Rules

These are the rules that all competitors in theP.C.A.M. General Contests must agree to, and by entering the contest you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these conditions:

  1. Contestants and assistants must be fully paid convention registrants. No current member of the executive committee producing the convention can compete in the P.C.A.M. contests. Performers and/or lecturers for the current P.C.A.M. convention are not eligible to compete. 
  2. Contestants must pay a $5.00 (US) entry fee for each category entered.
  3. Attendance by contestants at the pre-contest meeting is mandatory
  4. No winning “act” from previous years P.C.A.M. contest is eligible for this year’s competition Performer may reenter the contests but must have a completely different act.
  5. Time Limit: Acts must last a minimum of five minutes and must not exceed eight minutes. A 15 second leeway is allowed beyond the 8 minute limit before a penalty will be levied. A penalty of 1 point for each six seconds over the leeway will apply. The maximum penalty applied is 5 points, and an act will be disqualified if it runs beyond 8 minutes and 45 seconds.
  6. Time Limit Exceptions: Children’s Entertainment has a time limit of 10 minutes. The minimum time remains at 5 minutes and the leeway and penalty procedure is the same as that described in Rule (7). Most Novel or Innovative has no minimum time but must not exceed the prescribed limits described in rule (7).
  7. Close-up contestants may be required to repeat their act based on the availability of adequate close-up performance areas.
  8. Contestants may enter two categories provided that they are completely different acts. Juveniles and juniors are eligible for stage and close-up categories only.
  9. An award can be given for Best Assistant. Acts with an assistant will automatically be considered for this award.
  10. The minimum score required to place, for Juveniles and juniors, is 60 out of 100 points. Adult contestants require 70 points out of 100 points to place. The Grand Prix Trophy is awarded to contestants who are awarded a minimum of 95 points out of 100.
  11. A “Grand Prix” winner is not eligible for any other trophy or award.
  12. Categories 5 (Most Novel) and 10 Best Assistant are not eligible for a “Grand Prix.”
  13. All contestants will receive a certificate of participation.
  14. All contestants are eligible for a first place, second place, or Grand Prix Trophy.
  15. Categories 5 and 10 are not eligible for a “Grand Prix.”
  16. Contestants must provide all requested information on details of their acts (Entry form and tech sheet).
  17. All contestants agree to appear on any show at this convention, if requested, provided it is after their contest appearance.
  18. No flash photography will be allowed during contest performances.
  19. No video equipment or taping will be allowed unless authorized by the Contest Chairman.

Judging Criteria

All contestants are judged by the following criteria:

  • Appearance of person and act: 10 points
  • Smoothness of presentation: 10 points
  • Technical skill: 10 points
  • Originality of theme/presentation: 20 points
  • Entertainment value: 30 points
  • Mystery value: 20 points

The judges are made up of the Past Presidents of the PCAM that are available to judge on the day of the competitions.  This ensures that the judging standards remain constant.