Apply for ICCA & ICHSA | Varsity Vocals

ICCA & ICHSA

Apply for ICCA & ICHSA Regular Season

Applications and associated materials must adhere to the following application policies. By submitting an application your group agrees to abide by all policies listed on this website.

Deadline

Applications for ICCA and ICHSA Regular Season are due by November 1 at 11:59 pm EST and may be submitted electronically only.

Application Materials

There are three components to a complete application: an audition video, an application form, and an entry fee. All components must be submitted electronically by 11:59 pm EST on November 1.

PART I: Audition video
Make a video recording of your group performing three or four songs. Upload it to YouTube as an unlisted video (instructions here). You will be asked to provide the unlisted URL in the online application form (PART II, below).

Your video must be labeled in YouTube with your group name, school name, and date of recording, as well as the following information about each song in your set: song name, original artist, soloist, arranger, and any other special performers (vocal percussionist, etc).

You may record all three songs separately, but if you do so, you must edit them together so that you provide us with only one link to your audition. You may not stop or edit within a song; it must be a truly live performance. There are no constraints on song or set length in your audition.

Recordings must be made after August 1 of the current year and accordingly will include those were in your group at that time. You may make changes to your roster later.

You do not need to sing what you intend to sing in competition. This is simply an audition.

PART II: Application form
Click here to submit the application form online

PART III: Entry fee
Click here to pay your $250 entry fee online
Important: Please label your payment with your group and school name! You will be promoted to do so under "Special Instructions," on the last page of your Paypal checkout, just before you click "Pay Now." You MUST provide your group and school name here, or we will not know what group you are paying for!

Your entry fee is due by the November 1 deadline. It will be refunded if your group is not accepted into competition.

Special Consideration

Late applications:

Because the general application deadline has been extended to November 1, petitions for late applications will not be accepted.

Returning competitors:
All applicants, including returning competitors, must submit an audition video.

Eligibility

Groups must consist of permanent, full-time, full-fledged participants who are full-time students enrolled at your school or university. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis and will take into account the academic enrollment status of the member in question as well as the individual school's policy for participation in registered student organizations. Please contact headquarters with membership questions.

You must notify headquarters of any exceptions or new members not on the original roster included in your application in order for these members to be eligible to compete. Groups who lose members between rounds will not be penalized.

Under no circumstances should groups bring in outside performers for competition. Failure to comply with this regulation may result in disqualification from any and all future competitions.

The Varsity Vocals Championship accepts vocal ensembles of all styles, but it is not a choral competition. Groups composed of more than 24 members should contact headquarters before applying.

Acceptance

Groups will be considered based on the musical aspects of our competition judging criteria and selected by the Executive Director and the Executive Producer.

Accepted applicants will be notified on a "semi-rolling" basis beginning September 1, but we will not be able to schedule groups into quarterfinals until after the November 1 application deadline.

Note: Although headquarters will fill spots beginning at this time, adequate space will be reserved for those applying in the fall. Headquarters will allow for as many groups to participate as application quality permits.

A final list of acceptances will be posted on November 15.

Commitment

By sending in an application, your ensemble agrees to compete and pay all fees incurred by competing in the events.

Please list on the application form any known academic conflicts with events in your region. If you apply before all the events in your region are scheduled, you should still submit your conflicts to headquarters before the November 1 application deadline. Once this deadline has passed, we will schedule accepted groups into quarterfinals, doing our best to take into account academic conflicts and academic breaks.

We recognize that groups have very full schedules, and we will do our best to accommodate groups who share their conflicts with competition dates before the application deadline. Unfortunately, due to the limited number of events in each region, we may not be able to accommodate all conflicts. Applicants are expected to make Varsity Vocals events a priority whenever possible. Those who withdraw from competition because of a conflict of which Varsity Vocals is not notified before the November 1 deadline may be barred from competition for one year, and their entry fee will not be returned.