The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any contestant whose manner, or that of their associates, is disrespectful towards other singers, coordinators, sponsors, and organizers of the event. No correspondence will be entered into.
Any contestant, family member or associates who argue the decision of officials may be considered unruly and the contestant may be disqualified from advancing in competition. Should the argument concerning the official outcome of a final event, and the contestant be awarded a prize, that contestant may be stripped of the prize and such prize awarded to another contestant.
Contestants, their family members, or any of their associates who exhibit offensive behavior during any portion of the contest will disqualify that contestant from future competition. If the contestant, their family, or associates exhibit offensive behavior after the contestant has competed, and such behavior is on Thirsty Axe property, even after the winners are announced, that contestant's score will be nullified. If the contestant whose score has been nullified is a winning contestant, the next contestant in scoring position for that category shall be the winner. It will not be the responsibility of The Thirsty Axe or any of its representatives to recover any money or prize awarded to a contestant who is later disqualified or found to be ineligible following final review and decisions of the officials.
All contestants are responsible for their own travel & accommodation costs to and from The Thirsty Axe.
It is the contestant's responsibility to be present when their name is called for competition regardless of the estimated and posted start or performance time. Contestants who do not appear when their name/number is called will be eliminated from the competition. It is required that contestants check in with The Thirsty Axe 30 minutes prior to scheduled competition time.
Upon completion of performances the contestant is given a brief moment to bow and take audience applause, then must immediately exit the stage. A delay by a contestant to leave the stage area may result in points being deducted from the contestant's score.
Reasonable care is taken by The Thirsty Axe, its sponsors, and its representatives to provide equal and adequate equipment for all contestants to the best of their ability. All contestants will be required to sign an affidavit when submitting their Mendo/Lake Karaoke Championship Registration Form, holding The Thirsty Axe and any of its sponsors or representatives harmless should any problem occur because of malfunctioning equipment or disc failure during competition.
Due to time constraints, a song that fails to play, skips mid-performance, or has any other malfunction does not give the contestant the right to start over or use a different song during the competition. The cause of the malfunction may or may not be taken into consideration in allowing a contestant to continue. A contestant who has performed at least 60 seconds of their song prior to any malfunction may or may not have their performance cut short. In the case of such an action the officials will be instructed to judge the contestant as though the contestant completed the song.
Judging Criteria
1. It is recommended that contestants dress to suit their song choice at all final levels to maximize judging points.
2. Judging will be based on the following criteria for the 2024 season: Voice, Technique, Artistry, and Stage Presence.
3. The officials' decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
4. Contestants, their family members, or associates are not allowed to have any contact with any Official during the contest performance periods. Officials on break during a contest period are treated as though they are still judging the contest. Offering bribes of any nature to a judge to help advance a contestant is strictly prohibited. Contestants are not to fraternize with the officials. (It is ok to say hello in passing but there is no reason for you to develop a relationship with them or have conversations while the competition is underway.)
The Grand Final winner will be required to have a minimum of 4 songs prepared for the Mendo/Lake Karaoke Championship. These songs must be submitted with the registration form. These songs can be from any category and are the choice of the contestant. Performance order may or may not be required at the time of registration at the discretion of The Thirsty Axe. Song choices may be subject to a time limit by the organizers of the Karaoke World Championships due to time restraints. Once submitted, the 4 song selections cannot be changed by the finalist.
Indemnity
1. By entering this Competition, you agree not to hold the Organizers liable for any loss, damage, illness, death, injury or claim whatsoever and to abide by the conditions of entry. Entries remain the property of the Organizers.
2. If applicable, any Cash Prizes awarded are to be finalized within 7 Days of Mendo/Lake Karaoke Championship.
3. By entering the competition, you agree to your image, sound and performance from any association of your involvement in the Mendo/Lake Karaoke Championship being broadcast in any form at any time, both now and in the future, and you will not claim any performance rights or fees. Recordings & photographs remain the property of the organizers & photographers.
4. By entering the competition, you acknowledge that the organizers of Mendo/Lake Karaoke Championship and The Thirsty Axe are not responsible for any changes to the organization, and prizes. The organizers reserve the right to change the prize package details to suit any unforeseeable changes made by any sponsor, number of paying contestants or any other reason.
5. All decisions made by the organizers are final. No correspondence will be entered into.
6. The 'Conditions of Entry' are subject to change without notice. All changes will be posted on the official website thirstyaxe.com