1. The purpose of the Competition is to showcase the talents of our many talented ATOS members, provide an opportunity for those entering to receive constructive feedback from highly qualified judges, and to have FUN!
2. Participants in the Competition must be at least 13 years of age as of April 20, 2005. Age divisions for entries will be as follows:

1. Youth Division, 13 - 21
2. Adult Division, 22 and over

3. Up to three places (1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd) may be awarded in each division based on the number of entries. If there should be insufficient entries in any one division, divisions may be combined at the discretion of the Competition Committee. The judges and Competition Committee reserve the right to determine if an entry in any particular division is of high enough standard to win a place in the Competition in a given year.
4. A first-place winner in a division may not enter in that same age division again.
5. The Competition is open to ATOS members and their dependents. For purposes of eligibility, ATOS membership must be current as of the official Competition deadline date of April 20, 2005, and be kept current until the conclusion of the 2005 annual convention. Members may verify the expiration dates of their ATOS membership by checking the "label" on their journal, Theatre Organ which lists the expiration date.
6. This is intended to be a competition open to amateur theatre organists. For the purposes of this rule, an entrant will be deemed to be a professional theatre organist, and thereby ineligible for competition, if he or she has done any one of the following:

1. appeared as a featured organist at any convention or concert(s) sponsored by ATOS, other than in connection with a "competition" sponsored by ATOS; OR
2. appeared as a featured organist, other than in connection with an ATOS-sponsored convention or concert as provided in paragraph a, in an organ concert or other organ performance that
1. was open to the general public;
2. was advertised to the general public as featuring the entrant; and
3. was a performance for which the entrant was compensated in an amount above and beyond that which would reasonably be necessary for reimbursement of travel-related expenses.; OR
3. sold or offered for sale to the general public professionally marketed theatre organ recordings for his or her financial benefit; OR
4. performed regularly on the theatre organ for pay before the general public in any restaurant, pizza parlor, or other entertainment venue.

If your particular situation requires clarification please contact the Committee Chair.

16. Recognition will be provided to the first, second, and third place winners in each category. Winners will receive an official ATOS Certificate honoring their achievement at the Annual ATOS Convention. For winners unable to attend the convention, the certificates will be mailed to the entrant, or provided for presentation at a local Chapter function. All winners and the judges will be recognized in Theatre Organ.

The following guidelines have been developed to provide for the best possible recording which will show off the artist, the instrument, and his/her music. All "requirements" must be met, while the suggestions are at the discretion of the performer.

1. The competition entry must be submitted on one of the following media types unless prior approval for alternate media is given by the Competition Chairman:

1. Analog Cassette Tape
2. Minidisc (MD-80)
3. CD
4. DVD

2. All entries must be recorded with microphone(s) in order to capture the ambiance of the room. Direct recordings using audio output jacks or other direction connections are prohibited.
3. The artist’s name should be written on the actual tape, Minidisc, CD, or DVD using appropriate labels, or appropriate marker.
4. The media case should be labeled with the following information:

1. Artist's name
2. Sponsoring Chapter
3. Date of original recording
4. Make and model of organ
5. List of selections

5. The recording submitted need not be the original recording, but should be a good copy. If the original is sent in, it would be a good idea to retain a good copy in case the original is lost in the mail or otherwise damaged in transit.
6. Entries should be recorded with selections played in the order specified in the competition rules, i.e.

1. Up-Tempo
2. Ballad
3. Entrant’s Choice

7. If using tape or other continuous recording, please leave a 30 second break between selections to assist in the copying of each selection for the judges.
8. There should be no announcements or other talking on the entry. The entry should represent only the music of the artist. Applause is not precluded, but is not necessary for the purposes of this competition and will be edited out during reproduction for the judges.
9. Entries should be mailed or shipped to:

ATOS Electronic Theatre Organ Competition

% Bob Acker, Chairman

216 Glenwick Place

Allen TX 75013-1529

10. You will receive an acknowledgement that your entry was received. The provision of an email address will expedite this acknowledgement and any other necessary correspondence.
11. The entry must be received not later than April 20, 2005, however, you are encouraged to submit the recording earlier to avoid the last minute "rush".

1. A high quality recorder, microphones, and media should be used for the recording if possible. If using cassette tape, "Metal" or "high bias" tapes have superior qualities over normal tapes and tend to result in better recordings.
2. Be sure that the recorder's controls are set to match the type of media being used. As an example, if using cassette tape, insure that the setting matches the tape type, i.e. Normal, FeCr, Cro2, Metal, etc. Some recorders require more complicated bias and equalization adjustments.
3. If at all possible, avoid battery-operated recorders, as the batteries could be weak and affect the speed and quality of the recording. If you must use batteries, use fresh ones!
4. Recording level is extremely important. Automatic level adjusting recorders should generally be avoided since they don't give the best representation of dynamic level changes.
5. Levels for recording should be adjusted carefully. A good technique would be to set the maximum level of the recorder (below the distortion point) corresponding to the loudest sound to be played on the organ. Note this level and leave it constant throughout the program.
6. When the recording is stopped, do not abruptly stop the recording with the pause button. Make sure that the sound being reverberated has ended, then decrease the recording volume to zero, advance the recording approximately 5-10 seconds, then stop the recorder.
7. Microphone placement is extremely important and is, of course, dependent upon the location of the organ in a theatre, auditorium, home, etc. Each microphone should be aimed toward the source of the sound.
8. Make sure that the microphones are not placed near air-conditioning ducts or other noise producing things in the facility. This includes activity around the recording machine. People should not be near the microphones.
9. Use good packaging materials when submitting your recording. The entry should be in the original plastic container. Padded mailing envelopes appear to protect tapes and disks reasonably well.
10. Due to the unknown delivery time for "media mail", it is recommended that your entry be sent First Class, Priority Mail, Express Mail, etc. You may also wish to add "tracking" to your mailing in order to know when your entry is delivered.