Top Chorus Distribution Announcement from SCJC
The Society Contest and Judging Committee (SCJC) aims to ensure that top-seeded choruses are distributed fairly while maintaining a random draw for the 2025 International Convention order of appearance. The plan is to assign one top-seeded chorus to each group of 5 performances. Here’s how it works:
Key Steps:
Step 1: Group Choruses into Fives
Divide the choruses into groups of five for the draw (e.g., groups 1–5, 6–10, 11–15, etc.). If the total number of choruses isn’t divisible by five, the final group of each day will include the remaining choruses.
Step 2: Identify Top 20% of Choruses
Determine the top 20% of choruses based on qualifying scores. If this doesn’t divide evenly, round up. For example, with 35 choruses, you’d select the top 7; with 36 choruses, you'd select the top 8. This ensures that one, and only one top-seeded chorus is placed in each group of five.
Step 3: Mark Top Choruses
Mark the top-seeded choruses with an identifier (e.g., an asterisk) next to their names, keeping it concealed from the person conducting the draw.
Step 4: Conduct the Draw
Choruses are drawn randomly. If a top-seeded chorus (marked with an asterisk) is drawn and there isn’t already one in the group, it is placed in the next available spot. If a top-seeded chorus is drawn in a group that already contains one, it is moved to the first available spot in the next group. If necessary, continue moving it to the next groups until an open spot is found.
Step 5: Handling Groups Without Top Seeds
If a group of five is drawn without a top-seeded chorus, the last spot in the group remains open for the next top-seeded chorus. The next chorus drawn that is not a top seed will fill the first available spot in the following group, and that will continue until an asterisk is drawn. When this happens, the asterisk chorus is placed in the first available spot left open from earlier groups.
Example:
Imagine you're drawing choruses for positions 1 through 5. If the first four drawn are not top-seeded choruses, the fifth spot will remain empty. As you continue drawing choruses, when you eventually draw a top-seeded chorus, you will place it in the first available spot from the earlier groups (e.g., position 5, which was left open).
If a second top-seeded chorus is drawn in the same group, it’s moved to the first available spot in the next group. This ensures that each group contains only one top-seeded chorus.
Conclusion:
This method guarantees that every group of five performances contains at least one top-seeded chorus, while still allowing for the possibility of two top-seeded choruses being drawn consecutively.
Questions?
Please email questions to events@barbershop.org.