Each year, since 1996, Anthology, Inc. has sponsor a team of poets to represent the Mesa community at the National Poetry Slam, sponsored by Poetry Slam, inc. These Rules Govern the way that The Anthology Slam selects the representatives for the annual National Poetry Slam. These rules are amended by agreement of the Slammaster for the slam in agreement with the Anthology Board of Directors.

• Qualifying for the Slamoff.

Any poet is eligable to compete for a spot on the Mesa Slam Team. To do so, the poet needs to first qualify for the Slamoff, the single event that we use to select the members of the team. In order to qualify, a poet earns points based on their participation in the weekly slam. For the current year, the period of earning points is as follows:

2010: January 1-April30th

 Each week, poets earn points based on how many total poets participate, and where they finish. For example, if 6 poets compete in a particular week- the winner received 6 points, the second place winner 5 points and so on. Every poet, provided they do not meet an exclusion below, will receive at least one point each slam they are in.

Exclusions

A poet may be excluded from earning points in a particular week for one of the following reasons.

• The leave early. If a poet does not slam in every round that they have qualified for, they forfeit their points for that slam. If a poet, because of "round cutting" by the host, does not qualify for the next round, they will earn their points for the slam, regardless of whether they leave.
• Conduct unbecoming. A poet that has behaved with conduct that is deemed inappropriate by the host of the event may not have their points awarded for a show, amongst other actions. See the Peer Review process below for additional details.

Hosting

Each week's host of the slam received 3 points for their work.

Updating Points

Points for each week's events will be updated in two places, online at Anthology.org, in the Forums area, and at Queen's Pizzeria, the current location of the Mesa Slam. Ensuring points are reported shall be the responsibility of the current Slammaster.

Final Results

Following the last day of eligability to earn points toward qualifying, the top 12 poets on the list will be invited to participate in the slam. Should a poet not accept the invitation, then the next poet in line will be invited. The final roster (Qualified plus Damico) is not allowed to exceed 15 poets.

Damico Poets

Special circumstances allow the slammaster to ADD to the list of poets competing in the slamoff, by allowing additional poets to compete by invitation, subject to the following limitations:

• There must be mitigating circumstances that have prevented the poet from gathering the points necessary to qualify.
• The inclusion of this poet must be to the benefit of the community as a whole.

•  Format of the Slamoff

The Slamoff shall be a 3 round competition with a 3 minute time limit in each round. A 10 second grace period shall be honored before the poet incurs time penalties. Time penalties and other rules shall be enforced as written by Poetry Slam Inc. in the official rulebook, a copy of which shall be available at the slamoff. You can get one here.

The slam team shall consist of the poets, in order, from the winner to the place of the size of the team decided upon. Currently Mesa is fielding:

4 member team, no alternate

In the event a poets drops from the team or is unwilling to be on the team, then the next poet from the slamoff in finishing order will be invited to participate. If the entire field is depleted, then a new open slamoff will be held without points qualifying to create a new list of qualified poets.

• Disputes, Objections and Protests

Host

Any dispute or protest during a weekly slam shall be the pervue of the host of the slam, with the exception of conduct unbecoming, which automatically is heard by a peer review. Should the host and the slammaster on a particular night not be the same person, the situation may be appealed to the Slammaster for final decision.

Peer Review

In the event a peer review is required, three poets that have previously attended the National Poetry Slam will be asked to hear the complaint and statements by each party, with the groups decision by vote being final. Only conduct related issues my be handled by Peer Review. The Peer Review also does not decide corrective action.

Slammaster

 It is the slammaster's responsibility to decide appropriate action in any dispute or protest. The SM must balance the rules of PSI, Anthology and any decision of a Peer Review in any action. The slammaster is free to decide any action, from disqualification from a particular slam night, or disqualification from competing for the team altogether.

Anthology Board of Directors

It is the Anthology Board of Director's right to maintain the final decision on all disputes, in their relation to harming the integrity and standing of the organization. 

•  Fees and Dues

Poets will not be charged any fees to participate in the slamoff process. There will be a registration fee for the slamoff, that will be calculated as follows:

• The current NPS team registration fee, minus-
  • Monies collects at each slam for the slamoff
  • Monies raised at fundraisers specifically for NPS registration
  • Donations received toward the registration fee. 
• The resulting number divided by the number of poets competing in the slamoff.

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