The Statute of the 5th China International Violin and Bow Making Competition
Chapter I Overview
1. Approved by the competent authorities of the Chinese government, the 5th China International Violin and Bow Making Competition will be held at China Music Valley in Pinggu District, Beijing, China from 15 to 19 May 2024.
2. The Competition aims to promote the international exchange of ideas within the violins and bows making industry, to improve the technical level of Chinese violin and bow making, and to provide a platform for young string instrument makers from various countries to showcase their artistic talents.
3. The official competition section include:
a) Violin group: violin, viola, cello.
b) Bow group: violin bow, viola bow, cello bow.
4. The Organizing Committee, the judging panel, and other functional committees have been set up to ensure that the Competition strictly follows the principles and practices of international violin making competitions. Meanwhile, the Competition will be conducted in the way of absolute anonymity to ensure the fairness and impartiality of all procedures.
5. The "Violin Scroll Engraving Competition" will also be held simultaneously at the competition site. For details, please refer to the "Statute for the Violin Scroll Engraving Competition" on the official website of the Organizing Committee (www.civmc.cn).
Chapter II Registration Procedures
1. Entry qualifications and registration
a) Any person with a background in the professional production of violins and bows from all countries and regions, regardless of age and gender, are welcome to register and participate in the Competition. However, those who are relatives of any judge of the Competition, or who have been employed by any judge in the last two years will not be accepted.
b) Participants may register via one of the following two ways:
- On-line registration: Participants can fill out the Registration Form directly from the website of the Organizing Committee (www.civmc.cn or civmc.cn) and send it to the Organizing Committee.
- Written registration: Participants should fill out the Registration Form clearly and completely (See Annex I) and send it to the Organizing Committee. The Registration Form can be photocopied or downloaded from the website.
2. Registration fee
a) Participants from China: RMB 1,500 Yuan for the first entry and RMB 1,000 Yuan for each additional entry. Participants can pay the registration fee by scanning the QR code on the website, and bank transfer or postal remittance vouchers must be submitted.
b) Participants from foreign countries and regions: 200 Euros or 210 USD for the first entry and 130 Euros or 150 USD for each additional entry. Participants are required to submit copies of bank transfer or postal remittance vouchers.
c) The registration deadline is May 5, 2024. The full registration fee must be paid when submitting the registration Form. After receiving and verifying the registration Form and registration fee, the Organizing Committee will publish the list of participants on the website. After being qualified for the Competition, participants can send their entries by mail.
d) The registration fee for domestic participants can be paid by scanning the QR code on the website; foreign participants can pay or consult with the organizing committee's financial personnel (Chang Jie; mobile phone number: 13811685170; email: civmcn@sina.com) about the registration fee at the time of instrument submission.
e) Those who withdraw from the Competition after receiving the qualification confirmation, as well as those who are unqualified due to the registration information being untrue or incomplete, will not have their registration materials returned and registration fees refunded.
3. Notice to participants
a) By submitting the Registration Form, the participants accept the competition procedures and rules formulated by the Organizing Committee and the judging panel.
b) Participants shall respect the Organizing Committee's right to tune their instruments. If it is necessary to replace spare parts, the participant's consent must be obtained in advance and the cost shall be borne by the participant.
c) Participants shall agree that the Organizing Committee has the right to take photos, video record, and publicly publish the entries free of charge.
4. Authenticity guarantee
a) Ensure that all entries are made after May 2019. The Organizing Committee reserves the right to supervise and review in this regard.
b) Ensure that the entries, including painting techniques and assembly, are independently produced by the participants and not in collaboration with others.
c) Ensure that the production process of the entries is completely handmade, without the use of mechanical equipment for grooving or painting.
d) Ensure that the entries do not use wild animal and plant materials prohibited by international conventions.
Chapter III Entries
1. Number of entries:
a) The maximum number of entries for each participant of the violin group is three, with no more than two entries for each category (violin, viola, cello).
b) The maximum number of entries for each participant of the bow group is three, with only one entry for each category (violin bow, viola bow, cello bow).
2. For the violin group, no instrument will be allowed to participate in the Competition if it:
a) has previously entered in any similar competitions and received awards;
b) is made by machinery or sprayed with paint;
c) uses special shapes, decorations, colors or wood materials that violate traditional craftsmanship of violin making;
d) has antiquing effects on wood or paint;
e) has abnormality in size (e.g. the length range of the viola body is 400 to 425 millimeters);
f) has any inconsistency as deemed by the judging panel as not proper for the level of the Competition.
3. For the bow group, no bow will be allowed to participate in the Competition if it:
a) has previously entered in any similar competitions and received awards;
b) imitates the Baroque style bow;
c) has bow stick made of artificial synthetic materials such as carbon fiber;
d) has the name of the maker or other identification pattern engraved on bow stick;
e) uses prohibited materials such as ivory, tortoiseshell, and whalebone;
f) has bow frog not made by the participants themselves.
g) has any inconsistency as deemed by the judging panel as not proper for the level of the Competition.
4. Participants can freely choose various brands of strings and accessories.
5. All entries must be absolutely anonymous and must not bear any markings identifying the maker neither inside nor outside, which include the covered markings and trademarks, names, numbers, letters, etc. Any violating entries will be disqualified by the Organizing Committee.
Chapter IV Submission and Retrieval of Entries
1. Participants can choose to submit and retrieve their entries on-site or by mail, and bear all related costs on their own.
2. The Organizing Committee will be open to accept entries from 8:00 to 17:00 on May 13, 2024. Participants or their clients can directly send their entries to the competition venue: China Music Valley Exhibition Center in Donggaocun Town, Pinggu District.
Address: 3rd Floor, China Music Valley Exhibition Center, No. 68 Xingye Road, Donggaocun Town, Pinggu District, Beijing, China
Postal Code: 100031 Tel.: 0086-69900299
Contact person: Chang Hong Mobile phone number: 0086-15911119624
3. Send the entries to the competition venue through post office, express delivery, and other delivery methods. The entries must be delivered to the competition venue before May 10, 2024; the submission and retrieval methods for entries from countries and regions outside of China are detailed in the Overseas Entries Mailing Process (Annex II).
4. For each instrument delivered to the venue, the Organizing Committee staff will open and check the box in front of the carrier and make a record. If any instrument is found to be damaged during transportation, the Organizing Committee will take pictures for evidence and immediately notify the participants. If such damage causes the inability to participate in the competition or affects the competition results, the Organizing Committee shall not be held responsible.
5. Upon receiving the entries, the Organizing Committee will appoint staff members to register and label them; participants can take photos of the numbered instrument for future reference. After receiving the instrument, the staff will hand over the fee receipt and the instrument retrieval voucher with the competition number to the participants or their representatives.
6. Retrieval of entries:
1) From the exhibition hall after the end of the exhibition at 16:00 on May 19, 2024 and at 08:00-17:00 on May 20, 2024.
2) The participants to retrieve their entries are required to present the instrument retrieval voucher. When a participant entrusts a representative to retrieve the instrument, the representative must present the participant's instrument retrieval voucher and power of attorney, as well as the representative's personal identification documents.
3) If the instrument has been mailed for participating in the Competition, it will be mailed back through the original route by the post office, and the cost will be borne by the participants.
7. The Organizing Committee will make every effort to maintain the safety of all entries, but will not be liable for any damage, destruction, or theft of the entries that may occur during the competition or exhibition period. Participants should insure their entries themselves.
Chapter V Evaluation Procedures
1. The judging panel consists of the president, a team of violin and bow makers, and a team of violinists. The president is responsible for organizing and leading the overall work of the judging panel, but does not participate in the scoring process of the competition. Internationally renowned violin and bow makers as well as string musicians will be invited as judges of the respective teams.
2. Pre selection: The judging panel conducts a pre selection of the participating instruments and bows. Any pieces that do not meet the requirements of the Statute or do not meet the level of competition in terms of craftsmanship or acoustic quality will be eliminated. Only by qualifying for the competition through the pre selection, the entries can enter the stage of official competition.
3. The official competition is divided into three rounds: preliminary, semi-final, and final. Before the evaluation, the staff will number the participating instruments and bows one by one as identification marks during the evaluation. The competition for the violin group and the bow group will be held separately.
- Violin group:
1) Preliminary: The judge team consists of violin makers will evaluate the craftsmanship and artistic quality of the entries. The judging panel will rank the participating instruments based on the scoring results, and then discuss and decide on the entries for the semi-finals. The number of instruments entering the semi-finals will be decided by the judging panel.
2) Semi-finals: The judge team consists of violinists will evaluate the acoustic quality of the instruments qualified for the semi-finals. The judging panel will discuss and determine the qualifying instruments for the finals based on their rankings in the preliminary and semi-final rounds. The number of instruments entering the finals will be decided by the judging panel.
3) Finals: After the staff re-number each finalist's instrument, the judge team consists of violin makers and the judge team consists of violinists will respectively re-evaluate the craftsmanship, artistic quality, and acoustic quality of the participating instruments, and determine the top three based on the total score. The acoustic quality judging in the final stage will be open to the public.
- Bow group:
1) Preliminary: The judge team consists of bow makers will evaluate the craftsmanship and artistic quality of the entries. The judging panel will rank the participating bows based on the scoring results, and then discuss and decide on the entries for the semi-finals. The number of bows entering the semi-finals will be decided by the judging panel.
2) Semi-finals: The judge team consists of violinists will evaluate the acoustic quality of the bows qualified for the semi-finals. The judging panel will discuss and determine the qualifying bows for the finals based on their rankings in the preliminary and semi-final rounds. The number of bows entering the finals will be decided by the judging panel.
3) Finals: After the staff re-number each finalist's bows, the judge team consists of bow makers and the judge team consists of violinists will respectively re-evaluate the craftsmanship, artistic quality, and acoustic quality of the participating bows, and determine the top three based on the total score. The acoustic quality judging in the final stage will be open to the public.
4. Competition results:
1) The final score of the entries will be the sum of their scores in the preliminary, semi-final and final rounds.
2) After completing all the score calculations and carefully reviewing them, the judging panel will hold a review meeting to discuss and decide on awarding the top three participants with gold, silver, and bronze medals based on the final score of the entries. The list of winners for other types of awards will also be determined, including the results of special situations such as vacancies or tied winners.
3) Each participant will be informed of their score for each round and total score after the end of the competition (no acoustic quality score in the preliminary round; no craftsmanship score and artistic quality score in the semi-finals).
5. The decision on the ranking and awards made by the judging panel will be the final and cannot be changed.
Chapter VI Prizes
1. Gold Awards:
1) The Competition sets up six gold awards for the first place winners, namely Gold Award (Violin), Gold Award (Viola), Gold Award (Cello), Gold Award (Violin Bow), Gold Award (Viola Bow), and Gold Award (Cello Bow).
2) The gold award winners' works will be purchased by the Beijing Yuedong Public Welfare Foundation to support cultural and artistic public welfare undertakings.
3) The winner of the Gold Award (Violin) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 120,000 Yuan
The winner of the Gold Award (Viola) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 140,000 Yuan
The winner of the Gold Award (Cello) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 200,000 Yuan
The winner of the Gold Award (Violin Bow) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 20,000 Yuan
The winner of the Gold Award (Viola Bow) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 25,000 Yuan
The winner of the Gold Award (Cello Bow) will receive an award certificate, a gold medal, and a purchase payment of RMB 30,000 Yuan
4) The winners shall provide their bank account information to the Organizing Committee after the competition. The relevant taxes generated during prize payment shall be deducted from the prize and paid by the Organizing Committee on behalf of the winners.
2. Silver Awards:
1) The Competition sets up six silver awards for the second place winners, namely Silver Award (Violin), Silver Award (Viola), Silver Award (Cello), Silver Award (Violin Bow), Silver Award (Viola Bow), and Silver Award (Cello Bow).
2) The Organizing Committee will issue each winner an award certificate and a silver medal.
3. Bronze Awards:
1) The Competition sets up six bronze awards for the second place winners, namely Bronze Award (Violin), Bronze Award (Viola), Bronze Award (Cello), Bronze Award (Violin Bow), Bronze Award (Viola Bow), and Bronze Award (Cello Bow).
2) The Organizing Committee will issue each winner an award certificate and a bronze medal.
4. Individual Awards: The Organizing Committee will issue an honorary certificate to the participant of the violin group with the highest score in craftsmanship and acoustic quality.
5. Finalists Award: The Organizing Committee will issue an honorary certificate to the participants of the violin group whose entries have entered the finals.
6. Special Awards: Certain special awards have been set up by competition judges, invited guests, industry associations, music groups, etc., to reward the exceptional quality of a particular entry. The establishment of special awards is evaluated by the judging panel, which will be approved and awarded by the Organizing Committee.
7. Certificate of Participation: The Organizing Committee will issue a certificate of participation to all eligible participants.
Chapter VII Exhibition and Miscellaneous
1. The Exhibition of Works of the 5th China International Violin and Bow Making Competition will be held on May 19, 2024, and all eligible entries must participate in the exhibition. Participants who decide not to participate in the exhibition for any reason should declare such absence when submitting their entries and pay RMB 300 Yuan or 40 Euros or 45 US dollars for early withdrawal from the exhibition.
2. The Exhibition may display the participants' artistic resume and photos of the entries. Participants who have objections to the exhibition content must declare to the Organizing Committee before the competition.
3. During the Competition, the Organizing Committee will carry out cultural and industry networking activities for string instrument production in multiple locations, including concerts of award-winning works, academic lectures by domestic and foreign violin and bow making masters, visits to instrument making enterprises, participants gatherings, and other related business activities. Participants and people from all walks of life at home and abroad are welcome to take part in these activities.
4. The Chinese version of the Statute shall prevail, and the foreign translation is for reference only.
5. The Organizing Committee of the Competition reserves the right to final interpretation of articles of the Statute.
Annex I
The 5th China International Violin and Bow Making Competition
Registration Form
Name Gender:
Address
City Province Country/Region
Telephone/ Mobile Postal Code
ID Number or Passport Number
I am applying to participate in the 5th China International Violin Making Competition in 2024 with the following instruments:
Violin piece(s); Viola piece(s); Cello piece(s)
Violin bow piece(s); Viola bow piece(s); Cello bow piece(s)
Note: For number of entries, please refer to the relevant provisions of Article 1 of Chapter III of the Statute
Statement: I have carefully read and fully understand all the rules and regulations of the Competition, which I will completely obey and abide by. If there is any violation from my part, I fully accept any punishment by the Organizing Committee.
Signature:
Date:
Annex II
The 5th China International Violin and Bow Making Competition
Overseas Entries Mailing Process
1. Participants from overseas can bring their instruments into China as personal items and exit after the Competition or Exhibition, with the same procedures as domestic participants. If foreign participants stay in China for a short period of time, they can apply not to participate in the Exhibition after the Competition (see Article 1 of Chapter VII of the Statue for detailed information).
2. For all participants who have been accepted for registration, the Organizing Committee will coordinate for the entry and exit of their entries. Participants can apply for an ATA certificate for the convenience of round-trip customs clearance.
3. Participants should self insure their returned entries. In the event of any damage or loss, the Organizing Committee may assist in the search, but shall not assume any other responsibility.
4. Participants should be aware of the relevant regulations of their country's customs regarding the return of their entries beforehand, and prepare corresponding customs declaration documents in advance. The Organizing Committee does not assume any responsibility for any consequences such as delay, fines, or seizure of the entries at the customs of the participant's home country.
5. The returned entries will be delivered to the participants according to the relevant regulations of the post offices or courier companies. The Organizing Committee does not promise a delivery deadline.
6. Mailing address for entries:
China Music Valley Exhibition Center (3rd Floor)
Address: No. 68 Xingye Road, Donggaocun Town, Pinggu District, Beijing, China
Tel.: 69900299/15911119624
Email: yggwh01@126.com
Contact person: Chang Hong
