The Amateur Singing Contest with John Santos 2011/2012, hereby referred to as The ASCJS 11/12, is open to contestants age 10 and above. (Special consideration may be given to children under 10 who demonstrate exceptional ability combined with the level of maturity deemed necessary to compete in this contest.)

Contestants who have professionally recorded and released a complete solo album are not eligible to take part in The ASCJS 11/12. Should it be discovered that a finalist has professionally recorded and released a solo album in the past, the finalist must reimburse The ASCJS 11/12 the full cost of the recording's and/or return any prize collected.

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 at the time of registration 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 11/12, which are final and binding in all respects.

A maximum number of 20 (in general 10 Juvenile & 10 Adult) 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 online registration, registration in person, audition acceptance and whether or not they have been deemed ready to enter the competition by The ASCJS 11/12. At the end of each month, 4 contestants (in general, 2 Adults & 2 Juveniles) will earn a spot in the final qualifying rounds (semi- finals). The following month, the next 20 contestants will compete and so on. This is the basic format of the competition. The actual format of the competition will be finalised according to the actual number of registrants who pass the audition process.

The ASCJS 11/12 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 in which case the increase/decrease will become effective immediately. The ASCJS 11/12 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 supervision of The ASCJS 11/12. 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 9 & 17, 2012.

There will be 2 semi-final rounds on March 9 & 17, 2012 in which 10 finalists will be chosen to move on to the Grand Finale on April 21, 2012.

The voting process for the semi-finals will be the same as the qualifying voting process illustrated above.

The voting process for the Grand Finale which will take place on April 21, 2012, will be the same as the voting process illustrated above except that each member of the audience & panel of judges will select only one contestant from each category.

In the event of a tie, at any time during the voting processes, the tie will be broken and the winner determined solely by the result of a second vote by the panel of judges.

Judges will be selected by The ASCJS 11/12. 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 contestants, including qualifying & final round winners, are not eligible to be judges.

• 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.
• Each contestant must be prepared to perform 1 "fast" song and 1 "slow" song in the final. The ASCJS 11/12 will make the final decision regarding whether or not a contestant's choices are suitably different. These are also the songs to be performed in the semi-finals.
• Contestants are expected to be on time at all times.
• 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 rehearsal, you may be disqualified or may only compete depending on the availability of future 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 (both on behalf of themselves and the contestant) grant 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.
• The ASCJS 11/12 reserves the right to change any qualifying dates and/or venues and will notify contestants of any changes as soon as possible.
• Once a contestant advances to 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.
• Semi-finalists must attend both semi-finals even if they win a spot to the Grand Finale at the 1st semi-final.
• One of the songs with which a contestant qualifies to the final shall be recorded and be part of a professionally mastered CD. Upon reaching the Finals, contestants are obligated to make themselves available to attend a recording session within the time period allotted by The ASCJS 11/12. In general, the recording will take place during the week immediately following each semi-final. 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.
• Finalists are obligated to make themselves available for any and all promotional appearances that The ASCJS 11/12 requires of them such as but not limited to, filming for television and photo shoots.
• Finalists must be able to attend the dress rehearsal on Friday, April 20, 2012
• Those who sing in more than one language (the final 2 song choices) will be eligible for a special prize. The prize will be won by the contestant with the highest score in either the Juvenile or the Adult category. If nobody in the final sings in 2 languages, then the semi-finalists will be eligible for the prize.

• 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 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.
• Finalists who are unable to fulfill their obligations will be disqualified. Should there be any financial costs incurred by The ASCJS 11/12 as a result of their disqualification, they may be held liable for those costs. The semi-finalist with the next highest score will take their place in the final and if time allows, on the compilation CD as well.

The ASCJS 11/12 reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change, add to, delete from, modify or amend the terms, conditions and rules affecting the contest, the conduct of the contestants in the contest, any contest activities, the disqualification or elimination of contestants from the contest, the granting of any prize and the allocation of votes.

Should any company sponsoring a prize in the contest fail to deliver their goods or services or be unable to follow through on their commitment for any reason, The ASCJS 11/12 shall not be held liable.

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 11/12, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this contest, The ASCJS 11/12 reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest indefinitely.

The ASCJS 11/12 does not have any influence in the final outcome of the contest except to ensure that the ballots of the audience and judges are handled with extreme care in terms of both distribution and collection. Therefore, the decisions are not subject to challenge or appeal and, except in the case of a winner failing to meet their responsibilities, the final outcome shall be considered final and binding.

After a contestant qualifies for the semi-finals, they will be presented with further documents to sign regarding an Artist Management Agreement between the Finalists and The ASCJS and its affiliates. Those signed documents will grant The ASCJS and its affiliates 90 days to negotiate in good faith, an Artist Management Agreement with the finalists. Qualifying contestants will officially advance to the semi-finals only after they have understood and signed the further documents.

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-Final - 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

If a contestant has been selected to move on to the final round of the Amateur Singing Contest with John Santos 11/12, he/she will record at least one song by the end of the contest season to be included in The ASCJS 11/12 compilation album and shall waive the recording rights. The first place winner of each category will record a ten song album at the end of the contest and will retain the recording rights but the phrase "Winner of the Amateur Singing Contest With John Santos 2011/12" shall be visible on the outside cover of the CD along with the contest logo, the dimensions of which will be no less than 1.5"w x 1"h. The winner is also obliged to attend the grand finale the following year to perform a song from their new album. Also, for the period of 1 year following their win and/or up to 6 months following the release of their CD, whichever comes last, the winner shall be introduced as the "Winner of the 6th season of the Amateur Singing Contest With John Santos" whether they are performing for a contest- sponsored event or in an event unrelated to the contest. Should they be performing for an unrelated event, they must instruct the organizer that they are under a contractual obligation to be introduced in that manner. If the organiser fails to introduce them appropriately, they are obliged to announce it themselves. Failure to do so may result in the winner being held liable for the cost of the recording.

I _______________________ am committed to competing in The Amateur Singing Contest with John Santos 11/12 and will record one song if I am one of the finalists. Furthermore, I understand that if I win The ASCJS 11/12, I must record a 10 song album at a professional studio chosen by The ASCJS 11/12. The ASCJS 11/12 will supply the studio, engineer, musical arranger and producer. I understand that I am responsible for supplying the 10 songs to be recorded although the ASCJS and its affiliates may help with writing or having songs written for me. I understand that the album must be completed before February 1, 2012. I understand my initial commitment to this contest and agree to fulfill these commitments as stated if I succeed as a finalist and/or winner. I also understand that should I qualify to the semi-finals, I will be presented with further documents to sign before I officially advance.