Nebraska Poetry Society will pay the berth and meals
for the winner of the Qualifying Slam
to compete at the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition!
We will also help the winner fundraise to cover funds for hotel and flight.
If you would like to donate to this cause, please do so through the QR Code.
Every dollar counts!
National Slam Qualifying Event Format
Registration: Poets may register on the day of the event. We will begin taking registrations at the event at 3:00pm. The competition will start at 3:30pm.
Fees: There is no fee to participate. We are asking for donations from the audience and those attending. All donations will be used to cover the expenses for the winning poet at the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition.
Time Limit: All poems in the competition have a 3-minute time limit. There is a 10-second grace period, after which there will be a 1-point deduction for each additional 10 seconds over the time limit.
Judging: Judges will score each poem on a scale of 1 to 10, utilizing one decimal place to give further nuance to the scores.
Poems: The poems must be written by the poet without any AI assistance. Vulgar or offensive language of any sort will not be accepted. If you are on the fence about whether a poem is appropriate, please reach out to us at performancepoets@nepoetrysociety.org. Poems cannot be repeated in any round, including any tie-breaking rounds.
Order: The order in the first round will be chosen by random draw. The order in the second round will be determined by the first-round scores, in order of highest score to lowest. If there is a large turnout, and we do not have time for all poets to compete in the second round, the poets with the lowest scores will not move on to the second round.
Scoring: After the first two rounds, all scores are added together to determine entry to the final round. All scores are reset for the final round.
Eliminations: At the end of each round, the highest-scoring poets will advance to the next round. Depending on the number of competitors, there may not be eliminations between some rounds.
Ties: Ties in any round, including the final round, are solved by adding scores from all judges and all rounds. If there is still a tie, a tie-breaking round will be held.
Prize: The highest-scoring poet in the final round wins and is given a paid trip (full or partial, depending on fundraising results) to the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition.