Compete at the World Championships of Magic
Would you like to compete in the World Championships of Magic in Italy this year?
Do you live in Australia or New Zealand?
The Australian Institute of Magic is now taking video submissions from magicians interested in competing in the 2015 FISM World Championships of Magic to be held in Rimini, Italy from July 6 to 11, 2015.
- Places:
We have one place for Stage Magic and one place for Close up Magic to be allocated at the discretion of the Jury.
The places will only be allocated to an act that fulfils the criteria set out in the FISM competition rules to a satisfactory level. Please read the competition rules thoroughly before submitting your entry. The rules can be found below.
- Send entries to:
Entry videos should be uploaded to YouTube, either public or privately listed, and the link emailed to: info@australianinstituteofmagic.org
Your video should not be edited but be single camera recording of your live performance of an act (either Close Up or Stage) no less than five minutes and no longer than ten minutes and consist of more than one effect.
- Closing date for submissions:
February 20, 2015. Contestants will be contacted privately by email by February 22 and the winners announced on this website on February 23.
- Entry fees:
AIM Members: $40, non AIM members $80 (includes 1 year of AIM Membership). You will be invoiced for the entry fee when we receive your video submission)
It is important to note that there will be costs associated with competing at the FISM World Championships of Magic that will be the responsibility of the competitor. The World Championship competition entry fee is 60 Euros, the convention registration fee is 650 Euros, you will need to pay air fares, accommodation costs, and incidental costs. The AIM will not pay any costs in association with the competition.
- Important info:
The AIM’s sole responsibility is to assess the performer’s standard by way of a judging panel following the statutes and competition rules of the FISM in order to establish the most suitable competitor to award the AIM’s allocated competition places. The AIM will then be the official sponsor of those competitors.
In the event that no suitable competitor is identified from within the pool of submitted videos no competition place will be awarded.
Each competitor will receive constructive feedback from at least one of the judges on the judging panel should they wish to.
Any competitor awarded a place to compete at FISM 2015, will compete with the act presented in their video submission. Any changes to the act are to be submitted to the AIM for approval by the judging panel in order to maintain the standard of act being admitted into the FISM 2015 WCM competition.
An act may only be changed with the written permission of the AIM including both content and structure.
COMPETITION RULES
The contest performances are open in the following categories:
1 – Stage Magic Performances:
• Manipulation: A magic stage act wholly or largely based on sleight of hand.
• General Magic: A magic stage act which is, in most cases, a mix of several of the other categories. The props used are usually smaller than the ones used in a Stage Illusion act. Some performances using modern high-tech or video technology can also be categorized under this denomination.
• Stage Illusions: A magic stage act in which huge props are used (even when these are not visible to the audience). Often several people and/or animals are involved.
• Comedy Magic: A magic stage act of which the main purpose is to make people laugh. It can be based on any one of the aforementioned categories, provided the emphasis is laid on the magic nature of the performance.
• Mental Magic: Branch of magic comprising demonstrations of apparent extraordinary or supernatural mental powers, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, super memory, lightning calculation and simulations of mediumistic phenomena.
2 – Close-up Magic Performances:
Acts intended to be performed for small groups of people in close proximity. The contestant can be seated or standing behind a table, mostly with some members of the audience also seated at this table, but the act can also be presented standing up without any use of a table. The items used are generally small and most effects directly involve the spectators or participants.
Three categories are distinguished:
• Card Magic: the act is exclusively based on effects using playing cards.
• Micro Magic: although playing cards are not to be excluded, the act is of a more general nature.
• Parlour Magic: An act, midway between close-up and stage magic, meant to be performed for a group of people in a moderately sized room.
NOTE: If the Judges are of the shared opinion that it would be in the best interests of a contestant to change his or her category, they are entitled to make such a change.
ABOUT THE CONTESTANTS AND THE CONTEST PERFORMANCE
a) A contestant is responsible for his own performance.
He undertakes to FISM™ that he has secured the necessary rights to perform this full and complete contest performance, (also known as his ‘act’).
b) The contestant’s undertaking includes the right to perform the act in question and encompasses the contestant securing all ancillary rights and licences whether music or otherwise from all legally required third parties, if applicable.
c) The contestant will specifically undertake to FISM™ that he is entitled to exploit and grant solely licence of his act and that his act does not infringe the rights of any third party.
Comment to 4a, 4b and 4c: No one else but the contestant is responsible for his performance at the WCM. He needs to have fulfilled all (legal) requirements.
It should be noted that these paragraphs do not refer to the right to compete, but just emphasize the responsibilities of the performer when competing.
d) In the event that the contestant is in breach of any of the aforementioned undertakings, he has to accept all the consequences and liabilities. If the contestant is in breach of the regulations concerning the Music Rights of his act, if necessary the Organizing Committee has, after having communicated with the contestant, the exclusive right to either obtain the necessary performance and/or music rights at the expense of the contestant or to substitute the music in question.
Comment: If a contestant (despite his responsibilities/obligations, as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs) has not taken his responsibilities seriously, he has to accept the consequences and liabilities.
If it concerns the Music Rights of his act, if necessary, the contest-organizers will help the contestant to solve the issue as explained in the rule.
e) A contestant must present a complete act (not a single trick) of at least five minutes and not more than ten minutes.
f) A contestant can only present one act in one category in Stage magic and one act in one category in Close-up magic.
g) A contestant who presents an act that is obviously a copy of the act, or a significant or typical part of it, of another performer will be disqualified.
h) Performances, mainly depending on a pre-arrangement between the contestant and a volunteer or assistant in the know, are not considered magic performances. The contest, being a contest on the performance of magic, the Jury can decide to disqualify the contestant.
In case of doubt the competitor will be asked to explain the method used and, if necessary, to repeat the effect in front of the judging panel.
Comment: The inclusion of a ‘non-stooge paragraph’ was suggested by the Jury of FISM™ WCM2006 in Stockholm who noticed that in the absence of a ‘non-stooge’ paragraph in the CR&P means that we continue to accept that we are not able to disqualify a performer who obviously makes use of a stooge. The Presidium agrees with the FISM™ WCM2006 jury that it is better to accept the fact that we cannot detect ALL cases of using a stooge, than to have to accept not being able to disqualify a contestant who obviously does make of a stooge in a way that is not acceptable for a magical performance.
A contest rule should not be considered a means to detect and cover all the ways of making use of a stooge, but more and primarily as a clear signal that the obvious use of a stooge is not allowed and that if a violation is detected it can lead to disqualification..
It should be emphasized that it is a magic contest in the first place that is being judged and that performers who obviously violate the widely accepted rule within the magic fraternity that the use of stooges is not a contribution to the Art of Magic, can be disqualified. As there can be circumstances however that will not justify a disqualification, we leave the decision to disqualify a performer to the judges.
ABOUT THE JUDGING PROCESS
a) The Jury for the AIM video submission competition shall consist of:
- Lee Cohen – AIM President (President of the Jury)
- Dan Bingham – AIM Vice President
- Les Cohen – AIM Treasurer
- Nathan Ernest – AIM Secretary
- Tim Ellis – Past FISM Jury Member
- Craig Mitchell – College of Magic (South Africa)
- Eric Eswin – Honorary President of FISM
b) A member of the jury shall give a fair judgment on the performance of every contestant, without prejudice, with an equal level of critical standards in regard to the following six aspects:
- Technical Skill / Handling.
- Showmanship / Presentation
- Entertainment value
- Artistic Impression / Routining
- Originality
- Magic Atmosphere
c) Each judge will give a total score of up to 100 points to each contestant.
Adding the scores of all Judges and dividing the total by the number of judges, the final score will then be calculated. The maximum final score for a contestant will thus be 100 points.
d) A contestant with a final score lower than 50 points is considered below the FISM™ level and will be disqualified.
e) Having seen the performances of all the contestants, the individual Judges may reconsider their judgments and, with the approval of the President of the jury, will be given the opportunity to change some of their scores. These changes will be given to the special staff members who will recalculate the final scores.
f) After all necessary calculations are complete, the list of final scores will be handed to the President of the Jury, who will consult with all the judges in a meeting to determine who qualifies for sponsored entry to the FISM World Championships of Magic.
g) If, in the opinion of the Jury, no contestant has reached the FISM standard, no competition place will be awarded.
FOR THE FULL RULES FOR THE FISM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS CLICK HERE