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RULES and REGULATIONS - where are they?
Rules are detailed in a two-volume pack sent out to Liaison Teachers well in time for them to start preparations. Changes are made each year, so relying on the previous year's pack can be fatal. Speak to your Liaison Teacher and ask for an overview of the rules and specific regulations that apply to the performance and/or students.
If the booklet has been lost, call the UK Rock Challenge® office on 02380 617 729 or send an email to:enquiries@rockchallenge.co.uk |
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MUSIC PERMISSIONS
All teams need permission from recording companies or the artists concerned to use extracts of their music in your performance soundtrack. It can seem difficult to get replies so you should contact the rights owners as soon as you have a list of tracks you are planning to use. If a couple of tracks drop off but you still obtained permissions, then at least there is no harm done by being prepared.
To find out the record company for a particular artist check:
The CD/tape/record case
The artist’s website
Search www.wikipedia.org <www.wikipedia.org/> or (even easier!) go to the page at <tinyurl.com/265e4dz> (and it includes a sample letter too :)
If you cannot find information about the tracks you've chosen, or have not received responses but time is pressing on - call Rock Challenge on 02380 617 729 or email:
enquiries@rockchallenge.co.uk
Please note:
The Rock Challenge® holds licences with the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Phonographic Performance Limited Company (PPL) and pays Performers Rights Society fees which are based on ticket sales at the venues. The event is also supported by British Music Rights (BMR), the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
It is STILL necessary, however, for individual schools to obtain permission from the Record Companies to use their music. |
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EXAMS AND ROCK CHALLENGE TIMING
Try to check early if you think there may be a clash with an exam on a Rock Challenge® day. Talk to your teacher(s) in that subject (and/or your school or college's Exams Officer) to see if they've got the date(s).
This suggestion comes from Roxanne, a team member at Driffield School, who pointed out in February 2005 that team members in England and Wales who were worried about possible Exam Clashes could check out the QCA's "find out your exam timetable" website..
She added "As long as you know the exam board you're fine. Make sure you set the session/year correctly and - just in case you don't know ('cos I didn't) "GCE" on the website means exams like AS and A level!"
It should be easier in Scotland as there's only the one Exams Board to check - so try to find out the provisional Examinations timetable. If anyone knows the 2013 one is on the web - let me know and I'll add the link. (john@arrowsmith.demon.co.uk to email me) |
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EVENT PHOTOS - Where are they?
The former practice of carrying good-quality images on both this and the Rock Challenge® photographer's website has ceased due to child protection concerns and safety of young participants. The photos used on our sites are illustrative of events only so as to avoid children's images being exploited.
Our photograher Nick Scott takes lots of shots of each team's performance, and makes available a selected set of images (at a reduced price :) for each team's Liaison Teacher to order. Nick's photographs are widely praised by the teams and can also help make really good displays in school. Contact him on:
nick@nickscott.co.uk |
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TIPS FOR STARTING UP A TEAM
An entry is most likely to succeed where there is a committed teacher to act as what we call the Liaison Teacher.
It would be highly unusual for a team to have no Liaison Teacher, or even no teacher involvement at all. If no adult will take on the role then an entry only really stands a chance of happening where a sixth-form student has taken it on. A Support Assistant or Technician may get involved in place of a Liaison Teacher.
"Success" here, for new teams, means getting and keeping your team members together all the way through from the initial call for participants through to arriving and performing at an Event.
If you can't think of what such a willing teacher might look like, they might be the ones who (used to ?) put on an annual school pantomime at Christmas, or a school musical, or they run Talent Nights or they might have no experience of school shows at all but they do dance - maybe dance aerobics - in PE, or perhaps they're straight on to the floor at the school prom.
You might also like to get support from your PSHE teachers as being a part of Rock Challenge® has been shown to have real benefits regarding health, school attendance, and reduction in substance use or abuse. We encourage students to make certain commitments in these areas through participation. |
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FEES
The fee for participation in Rock Challenge® is £7 per performer and student backstage crew member. There is also a separate £100 fee for schools entering events from a local authority area that does not contribute to the event costs.
The team contribution is taken as a donation to the charity behind Rock Challenge® (the Be Your Best Foundation) otherwise it would be unable to continue to operate in the UK. The amount raised from ticket and merchandise sales together with the amount raised from sponsors is no longer sufficient to cover the hire of venues and equipment and the costs of insurance. |
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TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOWS
Schools and colleges will know how many tickets are in their initial allocation about 12 weeks before their event. Schools are given a window of approximately four weeks to book their tickets.
Tickets are sold through the venue in most cases with schools organising how many tickets they can sell to their team members and then phoning and booking and paying them directly with the venue's box office.
After the cut-off date, all tickets not booked by schools go on first-come, first-served public sale to any parents who missed out or any schools who need additional tickets or the public in general.
Rock Challenge® has become so popular that venues often sell out completely - so ring the Box Office as soon as you can. (You'll find the phone number against the venue name on the "Tour Dates" page of the website :) |
