Contestants between the ages of 10 and 15 at the time of registration will be placed in
the Juvenile category.
Contestants age 16 and older will be placed in the Adult category.

By entering, you (and your parents/legal guardians if you are a minor) agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of The ASCJS 09/10 committee, which are final and binding in all respects.

A maximum number of 20 contestants will participate in each of the monthly qualifying rounds. Any additional registrants will be placed on a waiting list based upon their date of registration and whether or not they have been deemed ready to enter the competition by The ASCJS 11/12 committee. At the end of each month, 4 contestants (in general, 2 Adults & 2 Juveniles) will move to the final qualifying rounds (semifinals), thereby providing an opportunity for 4 new contestants from the waiting list to participate. This is the basic format of the competition. The actual format of the competition will be finalised accordingly with the final number of actual registrants.
The ASCJS 11/12 committee reserves the right to increase or decrease the maximum number of entries permitted into the Contest. Any such increase/decrease will be announced, in a manner deemed appropriate by The ASCJS 11/12 Committee in which case the increase/decrease will become effective immediately. The ASCJS 10/11 committee shall, however, be under no obligation to make any such increase/decrease.

The start of the voting process is tentatively set within the time period of the monthly contest. Voting will be conducted under the upervision of The ASCJS 10/11 Committee. At the end of the each voting period, winners will be announced.
Counting of the voting ballots will be witnessed by randomly selected members of the voting audience.
Two types of voting periods will occur to determine which contestants will advance to the final.

The winners of all Qualifying rounds will be determined by the audience and a panel of judges. The contestants will perform in front of the audience & panel of judges. Each member of the audience & panel of judges will select two contestants from each category. The combined audience vote and the combined judges vote will each account for 50% of the final vote. At the end of the voting period, contestants from each competing category (i.e. juvenile, adult) who have received the majority of votes will be declared the Qualifying winners. Qualifying winners will advance to the final qualifying rounds or Semi-finals on March 9th and 17th, 2012.

There will be 2 semi-final rounds round on March 9 & 12, 2012 in which 10 finalists will be chosen to move on to the Final on April 21, 2012. The voting process for the semi-finals will be the same as the qualifying voting process illustrated above.

Judges will be selected by The Amateur Singing Contest committee. Ideally, the judges selected will have some type of professional musical experience or advanced musical education.

Parents and the immediate family or members of the households of such contestants, including qualifying & final round winners, are not eligible to be judges.
The ASCJS 11/12 committee reserves the right to change any qualifying dates and/or venues and will notify contestants of any changes as soon as possible.

Contestants are required to be on time the day of the qualifying round.

• If a contestant is found to be not in compliance with these Official Rules or otherwise ineligible, it may result in their disqualification and an alternate winner selected.
• Throughout the contest, contestants may receive CDs containing the recordings of the song/s they will be competing with. These recordings are the property of the ASCJS and are to be used strictly for the purpose of practising. Anyone who uses them for public performance and/or copying and/or distribution will face prosecution.
• Contestants cannot compete with the same song two months in a row.
• Attendance at “Rehearsal Wednesdays” is mandatory unless illness or other circumstances beyond your control keep you from attending.
• If John Santos is not informed of your absence prior to a practice, you may be disqualified or may only compete depending on the future availability of positions in the contest. Only a phone call to 416-453-5646 will be considered acceptable notification.
• Where permitted by law, contestants and in the case of minors, their parents and/or legal guardians grant (both on behalf of themselves and winner) to The ASCJS 11/12 and those acting pursuant to its direction or control, (and agree to confirm such grant in writing upon request), the right to print, publish, broadcast and use, worldwide in any media now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to the world wide web, at any time or times, the contestant's and parents and/or guardian’s name, portrait, picture, video, voice, likeness and biographical information as news or information and for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without additional consideration and without notification, review or approval.
• Once a contestant has qualified for the semi-finals, they are bound to the remainder of the competition and may only withdraw due to extraordinary circumstances such as a medical emergency.
• Each contestant must be prepared to perform 1 “fast” song and 1 “slow” song in the final.
• One of the songs that the contestant qualifies to the final with shall be recorded
  and be part of a professionally mastered CD. Recording rights of the CD belong
  to The ASCJS 11/12.
• The album shall tentatively be released in April 2012 at The ASCJS 11/12 final.

• The ASCJS strives to be a positive experience with each contestant respected for and encouraged to develop their own unique talent. The ASCJS 11/12 committee reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual if it finds them or their parent/guardian to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules; to be acting in a non-sportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, intimidate, insult or harass any other person. Any contestant disqualified from The ASCJS 11/12 may be banned from joining The ASCJS in the future.

If for any reason, this Contest is not capable of running as planned due to unauthorized intervention, fraud, or any other causes which, in the sole opinion of The ASCJS 10/11 committee, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, The ASCJS 11/12 committee reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest indefinitely.

From time to time, John Santos may be in a position to offer some contestants the opportunity to perform in venues outside of the contest. This can provide the contestants with invaluable stage experience. Should a contestant be asked and accept to perform beyond the normal boundaries of the contest, they must allow John Santos to take a managerial position (free of charge) with their careers, in that, he must be informed and consulted about any and all singing appearances which they are offered or would like to participate in. Should there come a time that they no longer wish to adhere to the management terms, John Santos will no longer seek to provide them with venues
outside of the contest but they will remain welcome in the contest itself.

• SEPTEMBER 2011
Casa do Alentejo, 1130 Dupont St.
1st Audition & Orientation evening - Sept. 7 from 6pm

Rehearsal Wednesdays - Sept. 14, 21 & 28 from 6pm

• OCTOBER 2011
Polish Combatants' Association, 206 Beverly St.
Rehearsal Wednesdays - Oct. 5, 12 & 19 at 6pm

1st Qualifying Round - Wed., Oct. 26 at 7pm

• NOVEMBER 2011
Casa do Alentejo, 1130 Dupont St.
Rehearsal Wednesdays - Nov. 2, 9 & 16 at 6pm

2nd Qualifying Round - Wed., Nov. 23 at 7pm

• (NOVEMBER) DECEMBER 2011
Sport Clube Angrense of Toronto, 1195 Bloor St. W. (upstairs)
Rehearsal Wednesdays - Nov. 30, Dec. 7 & 14 at 6pm

3rd Qualifying Round - Wed., Dec. 21 at 7pm

• JANUARY 2012
Benfica House of Toronto, 1278 St. Clair Ave. W.
Rehearsal Wednesday - Jan. 4, 11 & 18 at 6pm

4th Qualifying Round - Wed., Jan. 25 at 7pm

• FEBRUARY 2012
Casa dos Açores Do Ontario, 1136 College St. (upstairs)
Rehearsal Wednesdays - Feb. 1, 8, 15 & 22 at 6pm

5th Qualifying Round - Wed., Feb. 29 at 7pm

• MARCH 2012
Casa dos Açores Do Ontario, 1136 College St. (upstairs)

Semi-Finals - Friday, March 9 & Saturday, March 17 at 7pm

• APRIL 2012
LIUNA Local 183 Ballroom, 1263 Wilson Ave.
Dress Rehearsal - Friday, April 20, 2012 at 7pm

The Final - Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 7pm sharp