• You must write original work that you are willing to read out loud to an audience.

• You must sign up at the door to perform said work (If you signed up virtually, you still need to check in on the signup list with either the Door Manager or the Bout Manager)

• You must be present when the draw for order happens. Failure to do so will either:

-Disqualify you from reading that night

-Give you an automatic sacrifice spot where your score will not count but you will still be able to read

-Give you the very first spot in the competition to read

• All of these options are at the discretion of the Host or Bout Manager.

• There will be a sacrificial poet used to calibrate the judges, but their scores will not count towards the competition.

• You must perform your own original work.

• You must show support for the fellow community members.

• You must be ready to perform at the time your name is called or you will lose your slot.

• There is a 3 minute time limit with a 10 second grace period. After that grace period you will lose .5 points for every 10 seconds over that.

• There are no animal acts, musical accompaniment (except for noises made with your own body), costumes, or props. 

This means; if you have a poem that includes a reference to your shoes, do not point at your shoes.

Disqualification due to rule violation will result in you losing your spot in the next round (if you would have progressed) & any points from that bout that would have been awarded for the season will be removed. This information will be communicated to you by the bout manager or host

• There will be no less than 3 & no more than 16 poets in the competition. 

• There are no less than 3 & no more than 5 judges. The lowest & highest scores are dropped (when there are 5 judges)

• The three middle scores are then added up & become the poets “score” for the round. 

• In the event of a tie for a round, order is determined by whoever read first in the previous round (Poet who read earlier in the prior round will read later in the next round). 

• Cumulative score can be used as a tiebreaker in rounds 2 & 3, but every round is ranked as a clean slate.

• You will still treat judges with respect as they are an essential part of the competition. Without them, there would be no competition.

• You are expected to engage with the other poets in a cordial & supportive manner. 

• You are part of a community. This is the time to show support to your community. This continues in the days after the competition is over. If you have a disagreement with another poet, show enough respect for the community to communicate with them that you will set aside your differences during the event so it does not negatively affect the evening.

• If there is a member of the community who is behaving in a problematic, toxic, or negative manner; show enough respect to the leadership to come talk to a poet liaison about the issues at hand. They will be addressed in a timely manner. 

• If anyone is acting in a way that is detrimental to the community & is unwilling or unable to stop their behavior they will be removed from the community. This is called the FAAFO rule.

• There are points that are awarded towards the season that will qualify you to participate in  special events like Qualifiers & Quarterfinals. 

• They are awarded as follows:

-1st place is awarded 5 points (4 points if there is a tie without a tiebreaker)

-2nd place is awarded 3 points

-3rd place is awarded 2 points

-Everyone else is awarded 1 point for reading at an event

-Special events are scored the same except for in the Haiku Deathmatch where 1pt is awarded per round won

• No points will carry over from previous years

• Any competition that is a closed list (where poets were invited to participate instead of signing up) will not count towards the season’s points. This includes, but is not limited to: Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Finals, Femme Fatale, & Regional Qualifiers, etc.

• No points will be awarded for any Takeover slams

• No points will be awarded for sacrificial poets

• Points for specialty slams may or may not be counted towards the season. Check with your bout manager at the draw if this information has not been communicated before that.

• A quarter is approximately every 3 months.(See Links below)

-The top scoring poets (using the points awarded from that Quarter) will be invited to perform at the Quarterfinals Slam. To qualify for the invitation, you must participate in at least 3 events during that quarter. No monetary award will be given at Quarterfinals, as it is used to accumulate the grand prize for Finals. Instead, the top poet will receive a guaranteed spot on Final Stage & 2nd place will be awarded a spot at Semifinals.

• Semifinals will be a closed list of the four 2nd place finishers at Quarterfinals & qualifiers with the remaining spots being filled with the top scoring poets from throughout the year. There will also be a total of 10 poets in the Semifinal competition. You must participate in no less than 5 slams during the Slam Season to qualify.

• Finals will be a closed list of the 4 winners of Quarterfinals & the winners of any Qualifiers. The remaining spots will be filled by the poets who scored the highest at Semifinals until all 10 poets have been selected.

• When you win a quarterfinal, semifinal, or final stage slam, two of the poems you performed for each competition are considered “burned.” This means that these two poems cannot be reused to win both the Quarterfinals and the Final Stage in the same season. If you placed 2nd at Quarterfinals, you burn one of the two poems at your discretion for Semifinals & Final Stage of this year’s competition. If you place 2nd at semifinals you again burn one of the two for this year’s Final Stage. 

• For the top poets at Final Stage who qualify to be on the team, they will burn the two poems that got them on the team for the next 5 years on subsequent Final Stage competitions. For example, if you place 3rd at the Final Stage one year, you can still use the poems from that year’s Quarterfinals in the next year’s Final Stage. However, you cannot use the poems from the previous year’s Final Stage.

• Haiku is a poem of 17 syllables with accommodations allowed to account for pronunciation & dialect.

• Rounds are performed 1V1 (head to head) with the winner of the round moving on to the next round.

• In certain scenarios, the defeated poet of the first round may progress to a redemption round for a chance to re-enter the competition

• Poets will be called up to the stage by the officiant. They will then be asked if they are ready to compete & told when they may approach the microphone & perform their Haiku.

• Participants will read 1 haiku a piece & judges will cast their vote as to which haiku they feel was the better of the two. The winner will then be instructed to read first in the next round.

• The winner of the final round will be awarded the title of Haiku Deathmatch Champion

• Bout: Also known as the event, the competition, the match. A single poetry slam.

• Bout Manager: The person running the show in every other aspect except for hosting & admittance at the door. They act as the liaison when poets have questions about the Bout. They ensure that scores & times are recorded, poets know what order they are going up, & that the Host understands the schedule & time frames of the bout.They make sure that the bout proceeds in a timely manner, and that everything necessary to run the bout is in place. They may also, but not necessarily, be the DJ, time-keeper, score-keeper, host, etc in the capacity to ensure that the bout progresses without incident.

• Burned Poem: A poem that has limitations placed on it for when it can be used in a bout.

• Door Manager: Allows admittance to the event by accepting payment from the audience & checks in the poets that will be competing in the bout.

• Draw: When poets choose their order in the competition.

• FAAFO: Fuck Around And Find Out. You will no longer be allowed to attend APS. If you have violated this rule, you are endangering the community in some way and will no longer be allowed to participate in it. Criminal charges have been filed in the past. This rule is not a joke.

• Host: (A.K.A. Emcee or MC) Person running the stage at the bout. They communicate the rules & expectations to both the poets & the audience. They announce the poets to the stage. They give instruction

• Sacrifice: The first poet reading in the night used to help the judges understand their role