Attention all Guitar Hero fans!! Thank you for your patience! Here are the Official 2008 Guitar Hero Championships Contest information and rules. Please note that we have made some changes, including reducing the amount of age groups to three, but increasing the amount of competition groups by allowing people to chose to compete at the Hard, or Expert Level in each age group. We have increased the prize money and savings bond value to more than $4,000 in cash and prizes. We have also divided up the $890 first place prize awarded in the oldest two categories between the “Expert Level” Winner getting $590 in cash and the “Hard Level” winner getting $300. Please read below for additional rules and information.
Contest Participation: FREE OF CHARGE
Online registration will close on Thursday August 28, 2008 sometime after Noon. All other contestants must register onsite at the Timbuktu Café Booth on Pike Street near the north Crofoot entrance during Guitar Hero Competition Hour (see below for more details). Completing registration DOES NOT guarantee a reserved participation slot. Officials from Arts Beats and Eats will contact contestants who pre- registered online to arrange a competition time.
Onsite Registration:
Potential contestants can register at the Timbuktu Café Booth on Pike Street near the North entrance of the Crofoot Ballroom. Registration is on a first come first serve basis. Contestants will be asked for their name, phone number, e-mail address, age, song selection, and level of difficulty at the time of registration, and will receive a scorecard. Completing registration DOES NOT guarantee a place in the competition. You may only register and compete once. If for any reason a contestant obtains more than one score over the four day competition, they lose the chance to move on to finals. Arts Beats and Eats officials reserve the right to stop registration when all available slots have been filled.
Competition Hours:
Friday from 4-8pm, Saturday and Sunday from 1-8pm, Monday from 1-5pm.
There will be approximately 600 competition slots available throughout the weekend (with more than 100 taken from the pre-registration process). Showing up at the Timbuktu Café booth or to the Crofoot Ballroom does not guarantee an opportunity to compete or participate.
Age/Difficulty Divisions:
There are three age groups/6 divisions. 7-12, 13-17, and 18 Plus. Contestants 12 and under must have a parent/guardian complete a permission form and be present when they compete. Within each age group players will have a choice between competing on a Hard or Expert level. There will be two 1st place winners and two 2nd place winners in each age group. See prizes below. There will be three systems running in the Crofoot during the preliminaries. Each system will be committed to a specific age group to ensure fairness.
Song Selection/Scoring:
Contestants will play one out of ten songs from the Aerosmith version of the game. The song will be randomly selected by Arts Beats and Eats Officials with special attention to the appropriateness of the music for the younger age groups. The possible ten songs will be announced as soon as possible. Finalists will be chosen based on percentage. Two contestants per day with the top percentage of their age/difficulty division will advance to the finals on Monday. If multiple people obtain the same percentage they will be asked to stay that day to compete for a position in the finals. Example. If the highest percentage of any given song obtained is 98% and four people received this score, those four contestants will be asked to stay and compete against each other in a “play off” for the two spots in the finals at the end of the competition day. The contestant must be present at the time of the playoff to have the opportunity to compete for the finals.
Event Finals:
Finals will be run in bracket style. The 8 finalists from each division will compete against each other in pairs. The winner of each pair advances to the next round until we name our 2008 Arts Beats and Eats Guitar Hero!! Competitors will be notified by cell phone or home phone, and must be available for the finals on Monday evening to be eligible for prizes. Competitors must answer their phone or confirm they have received the message about qualifying for the finals to be eligible to participate in the finals. Scoring for finals starts from zero and will be based on point total, not percentage. The Finals will be at the Crofoot Ballroom on Monday evening from 5:30pm to 9:00pm. The 7-12 age group competes at approximately 5:30pm, the 13-17 group at 6:30pm and the 18 and older group at 8:30pm. The Top Two scores in each age division are guaranteed prizes. All finals participants will receive a Chrysler Arts, Beats T-Shirt and Poster, and extra free game time from Timbuktu Cafe.
PRIZES:
Age 7-12 Expert Level
1ST Prize: $300 Savings Bond (courtesy of WNIC and Flagstar Bank)
2ND Prize $200 Savings Bond (courtesy of WNIC and Flagstar Bank)
Age 7-12 Hard Level
1ST Prize: $300 Savings Bond (courtesy of WNIC and Flagstar Bank)
2ND Prize $200 Savings Bond (courtesy of WNIC and Flagstar Bank)
Age 13-17 Expert Level
1ST Prize $590 Cash (courtesy of 89X and part of $890 given away to first place winners in this age division)
2ND Prize $200 Cash
Age 13-17 Hard Level
1St Prize $300 (courtesy of 89X and part of $890 given away to first place winners in this age division)
2ND Prize $100
Age 18 Plus Expert Level
1ST Prize $590 Cash (courtesy of 89X and part of $890 given away to first place winners in this age division)
2ND Prize $200 Cash
Age 18 Plus Hard Level
1St Prize $300 (courtesy of 89X and part of $890 given away to first place winners in this age division)
2ND Prize $100
Age 18 Plus Hard Level
1St Prize $300 (courtesy of 89X and part of $890 given away to first place winners in this age division)
2ND Prize $100
DISCLAIMER:
By registering and participating in the Guitar Hero Championships contest, you, and your parent or guardian agree to be bound by the decisions of the Judges. All scores are final, and the Judges will interpret all applicable rules and resolve any disputes, conflicting claims or ambiguities concerning the rules or the Contest, and the Judges decisions concerning such disputes will be final. If the conduct or outcome of the Contest is affected by human error, any mechanical malfunctions or failures of any kind, intentional interference or any event beyond the control of Arts, Beats & Eats Inc. (the Contest Organizers), the Judges reserve the right to terminate the Contest, or make such other decisions regarding the outcome as the Judges deem appropriate. The Judges may waive any of these rules in their sole discretion. By participating, where allowed by law, you, or your parent or guardian grant the Contest Organizers exclusive permission to use their names, characters, photographs, voices, and likenesses in connection with promotion of this and other contests worldwide and waive any claims to royalties or remuneration for such use. By participating in the Contest, where allowed by law, the you agree that the Contest Organizers may disclose personal information obtained from participants in the Contest to third parties and use such information for marketing and other purposes. By participating in the Contest, you or your parent or guardian waive any and all claims of liability against the Contest Organizers, the Judges, its employees and agents, the Contests sponsors and their respective employees and agents, for any and all liabilities, claims, causes of action, damages, costs and expenses, of any kind or nature whatsoever, including claims for personal injury or loss which may occur from the conduct of, or participation in, the Contest, or from the use of any prize. You, or your parent or guardian, hereby agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Arts, Beats & Eats Inc., Contest Organizers and Contest Sponsors and their respective agents, officers, directors, employees, and Judges, with respect to any and all claims, actions, causes of action, liabilities, suits, expenses and negligence of any kind or nature, whether foreseen or unforeseen, arising directly or indirectly, out of any damage, loss, or injury to the undersigned or his or her property in any way connected with the undersigned's participation in this Contest.