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Ceremony Team Evaluation Details

Index:

Introduction | Schedule of Ceremonies | Evaluation Procedures | Guidelines

INTRODUCTION

     The NOAC Inductions and Ceremonial Events Committee has established the rules and procedures for the 1998 Ceremony Team Evaluation. Please read the information in this packet very carefully! EVERY LODGE IS EXPECTED TO ENTER AT LEAST ONE TEAM IN THE UNIT ELECTIONS, CALL-OUT, PRE-ORDEAL, BROTHERHOOD, AND/OR VIGIL HONOR CEREMONY EVALUATION! This will be an outstanding opportunity to improve your lodge's ceremonies.

     The purpose of the 1998 NOAC Ceremonies Evaluation is to improve ceremonial skills and standards in participating lodges. Teams will not compete against each other but rather be compared to a standard of excellence. Each team will have an opportunity to see and hear others in action and to share performance techniques with other teams. Trained NOAC staff evaluators will lead evaluation and critique sessions with all teams. Each team will receive written comments, their final rating, and recognition immediately after their evaluation. If you're interested in improving your lodge's ceremonial teams, your lodge should strongly consider entering the 1998 Ceremony Team Evaluation.

     Your lodge can enter as many ceremonial teams as you wish in the Unit Elections, Call-Out, Pre-Ordeal, Brotherhood, and/or Vigil Ceremonies.

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SCHEDULE OF CEREMONIES

Here is a tentative schedule for the five events:

UNIT ELECTIONS CEREMONY evaluations will be Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 noon. Your team will be expected to perform either the unit elections ceremony provided in the Guide for Officers and Advisers, or an alternate ceremony that meets the requirements set forth in the Guide for Officers and Advisers.

CALL-OUT CEREMONY evaluations will be Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Your team will be expected to perform a ceremony which upholds the principles set forth in the Guide for Officers and Advisers.

PRE-ORDEAL CEREMONY evaluations will be on Monday and Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Your team will be expected to perform the entire Pre-Ordeal Ceremony.

BROTHERHOOD CEREMONY evaluations will be on Monday and Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon and from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Your team will be expected to perform the entire Brotherhood Ceremony.

VIGIL HONOR CEREMONY evaluations will be on Tuesday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. We will use peer evaluation.

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EVALUATION PROCEDURES

     When your team enters the Pre-Ordeal or Brotherhood Ceremony competition, your team will perform and get an evaluation in a three hour period with two other teams. All three teams will arrive at the same time at an indoor site, will check-in with their evaluators, and will meet the other teams. One team will perform the ceremony while the other two teams observe. Then there will be a break so that all team members and evaluators have an opportunity to make some written notes about each team's performance.

     We encourage you to bring your own audio or video taping equipment to the conference so you can tape your team's performance. You can also audio tape the evaluation discussion if you want. This will allow you to bring the information back home with you.

     After all three teams perform, the evaluators and teams hold an evaluation session. We will ask all participants to offer open, honest critiques of each team's performance under the guidance of the evaluators. This is the most important part of the plan. We want all teams to leave NOAC and return to their home lodges prepared to inspire candidates with their newly learned knowledge about ceremonies.

     The evaluators will announce their decisions immediately after the evaluation period. Medallists will know their final score immediately, but the actual medals may be presented later. All teams will receive written comments at the end of the session.

     Your team's score will not depend on the performance of any other team. Ceremonies are performed by teams, and there will be no separate scores for individual members. Each of the four actors performing on a team will receive the same award. We urge you to read the evaluation criteria carefully and let it be your guide in preparing for the 1998 NOAC Ceremonial Evaluations.

     The Vigil Ceremony evaluations will be run in a similar manner to previous years. Each Vigil venue will choose the medallists based on peer evaluation under the guidance of staff evaluators.

     The Unit Elections evaluations, a new addition at the 1998 NOAC, will be run by NOAC staff evaluators in a similar manner to Pre-Ordeal and Brotherhood.

     The Call-Out evaluations, another new addition at the 1998 NOAC, will be conducted by participants and trainers from the Intensive Inductions Training sessions. Other than this minor difference, the Call-Out evaluations will be run in a similar manner to the Pre-Ordeal and Brotherhood competitions.

     Wednesday, some Medallists will have an opportunity to perform in a National Showcase so that all NOAC participants can watch some of the truly outstanding ceremonies. Finally, the Medallists may be recognized on stage at the closing show.

     The Induction and Ceremonial Events Committee members sincerely hope that all lodges will support and participate in the 1998 National Ceremony Competition. Ceremonial competitors who perform outstanding ceremonies at the NOAC will continue to be recognized. More importantly, Arrowmen who come from lodges that need improvement with their ceremonies will get help from more experienced ceremonial teams and evaluators. This will help all lodges improve their ceremonies. Good luck. We hope to see your team performing at the conference!

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GUIDELINES

1. All ceremonial team members must be from the same lodge. Ceremonial actors may perform with only one team per ceremony category; however, all actors may perform in more than one category.

2. All participants MUST be under 21 years of age on August 2, 1998 and be a member of the lodge entering the team competition.

3. All participants must wear American Indian style dress. As occurred in 1996, the American Indian Activities staff will assist teams by evaluating the appropriateness of their outfits in a separate session. Dress will not be judged as a part of the performance evaluation; however, any show of disrespect, carelessness, or gross inappropriateness in American Indian dress may disqualify a team from receiving an award.

4. Use of face and body paint is prohibited at all national ceremonial team competitions. Use of face or body skin coloring or wigs in simulation of ethnic traits is not acceptable.

5. All ceremonial parts MUST be fully memorized. (Memorization will be evaluated in the Pre-Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil evaluations. In the Unit Elections and Call-Out evaluations, participants will be evaluated according to the continuity of their performance.) Teams may be disqualified for omitting or garbling large portions of the ceremony text. Ceremony memorization will be judged using the following publications:

Pre-Ordeal: Ceremony for the Ordeal, BSA Number 34993, 1996 Printing

Brotherhood: Brotherhood Ceremony, BSA Number 34994, 1994 Printing

Vigil Honor: Vigil Honor Ceremony, BSA Number 34043, 1994 Printing

6. Lodges can enter as many ceremonial teams as they wish in all ceremonies as scheduling permits.

7. All lodges MUST pre-register for the NOAC Ceremony Competition by returning the Ceremony Team Pre-Registration form before June 1, 1998. The pre-registration form will help the staff plan for the necessary number of performance sites and judging staff positions needed. Feel free to make copies of this form if your lodge plans to bring more than one team.

8. Only pre-registered ceremonial teams will be guaranteed a place in the Ceremony Team Competition since the number of ceremonial sites and evaluators needed will be based on pre-registrations. Teams that have not pre-registered MUST check-in during NOAC registration on Saturday or Sunday at the Inductions and Ceremonial Events desk to find out if there are any spaces available in the competition schedule.

9 All ceremonial teams MUST check-in on Saturday or Sunday when their lodge contingent registers at the NOAC. A Inductions and Ceremonial Events desk will be set-up in the conference registration area. Ceremonial teams will be asked to sign-up their team members by name and to verify their performance schedule. Ceremonial teams that do not check-in upon arrival will be replaced in the schedule by teams that do not have pre-assigned times.

10. Ceremonial teams may provide whatever props they wish and may use any extra people that they feel will enhance their performance. The staff will provide markers to indicate the locations of the central fire and places for fire pots in the performance area, but the actual items will not be provided by NOAC staff. Teams should bring everything they need to make their ceremony performance as realistic as possible.

11. Each team must be present and ready at their assigned time, even if the evaluators are running behind schedule. Each team MUST remain for the entire venue, approximately three hours, and participate by observing and evaluating other teams.

12. There will be three staff evaluators at each ceremonial site, two lead evaluators and one memorization judge. Each team will perform and be evaluated by the other two teams in their venue and will help decide the award rating (Participation, Achievement, Merit, or Honor) for each team. The evaluators will attempt to help the entire group reach a consensus on each of the factors that will be evaluated. The lead evaluators will make the final decision on each team's rating and announce each team's award.

13. Experienced ceremonialist who want to volunteer for a judging position should fill out and send in the "Questionnaire For Ceremony Staff Evaluators" form as soon as possible. We expect to have all judging positions filled before May 1, 1998. Please be aware that we will hold training for evaluators beginning on Saturday August 1, one day before NOAC begins.

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Revised 7/3/98.