Who may Compete? Open to all members of the Populace from the Barony of Montengarde, the Shires of Ayresgarde, Windwyrm and Sandeshend, and those in the King’s Lands surrounding those branches herein listed.
When? January 16th, 2027, at the Barony of Montengarde Twelfth Night event.
Theme? The Barony, and indeed, The Kingdom, thrive due to the good graces of the Populace; those who welcome the newcomer, those who quietly do what needs to be done, those who share a kind word, and those who inspire greatness in others. As such, the theme of the Championship is ‘Comradery – Geniality – Affinity’. Think of someone who has done you a kindness, someone who you respect and aspire to emulate, or, simply, someone whose company you enjoy. Use that person to fuel your creativity: make something that reflects why you respect them, something that reflects their persona and/or their persona’s activities, something that you might wish to gift to them, or even something as simple as the colours you associate with them.
What to Enter? While the inspirational theme of the Championship is ‘Comradery – Geniality – Affinity’, feel free to tackle whatever your heart and/or mind desires. Two pieces, from any of the three Arts & Sciences areas of Physical Object, nonPhysical Entry and/or Research Paper, are requested from those who intend to vie. You may submit your entries as two from the same area, or one from each of two different areas. The three A&S area rubrics are available at: Avacal A&S Judging.
Display Only? Those who would desire not to vie, but, rather, to display, are cordially invited to submit one piece of work for the indulgence of those of the Populace who would be grateful for the presence of your display entry. Your display will not be formally judged.
Format? Entrants will be asked to present their two pieces in a manner that best allows their submissions to be appreciated by all. A period of display for the general populace will be arranged, followed by your presentation to the judges. Following the presentation to the judges, those same judges may then ask a few questions.
Judging? Judging will be undertaken by way of Cooperative Judging: entrants will be asked to judge one another rather than present to a panel of judges from the wider populace. The ideal is to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration, and to strengthen the ties between artisans within the broader Arts & Sciences community.
Scoring? The Championship will be judged against whichever of the three Kingdom of Avacal Arts & Sciences rubrics – Physical Object, nonPhysical Entry or Research Paper – you feel is most appropriate to your entry. Pieces will be scored on the rubric(s) designated by the entrant.
While the Physical Object and Research Papers categories may be familiar, a nonPhysical Entry may reflect something, perhaps, more ephemeral: a musical or vocal performance that, once given, is lost to the passage of time; a scent that leaves but a reminiscence of its refinement in one’s memory; a taste that dances for the briefest of times, fleetingly tantalizing one’s palate . . .
Their Excellencies, the Baroness and Baron of Montengarde, Freiherrinna Freydis and Freiherre Sigfuss have kindly agreed to cast an eye over the entries and select their ‘Baronial Choice’.
The populace will be invited to vote for a separate ‘Populace Choice Prize.
Works in Progress? Absolutely! We would much rather see a work in progress and share your journey, than for you to feel ‘incomplete is insufficient’, and have you not entered. We wish to embrace, and be inspired by, your work.
Entry Guidelines? A more exhaustive set of guidelines is available Here and Dáire welcomes further inquiry at champion-as@montengarde.org.
Entry Deadlines? Please have your intention vie sent in by midnight January 1st, 2027; forward to both the current Emerald Rose, Dáire Ó Lochlainn (champion-as@montengarde.org), and to their Excellencies, the Baroness and Baron of Montengarde, Freiherrinna Freydis and Freiherre Sigfuss (excellencies@montengarde.org). For Research Papers, please forward completed documents to Dáire by January 8th, 2027, so that they might forward said paper(s) to their respective judges, for reading prior to the competition day.