Global Whistling Championship 2024
~ Rules

Please also refer to our GWC 2024 Main Page and Frequently Asked Questions section to ensure your submission meets all the requirements.

Rules

General Entry

1. Participation is open to everyone.

   • Participants under the age of 18 must have parental consent.

2. Entry fee: Free for IWG Members! $20 USD for non-members.

   • Non-IWG members must pay the entry fee before submitting their video. Proof of payment may be necessary.
   • If you are an IWG Member, skip Step 1 during the submission process.
   • You can become a supporting member of the IWG ($15 first year, $25 second year onwards) before making your submission to take advantage of the cost savings. More info here.

3. All submissions are final. There will be no resubmissions.

   • If you have questions about your submission, please email the IWG before you submit your video. Make sure you check the rules in advance to not panic at the last minute.
4. You must have a valid email address to make a submission so we have a method for contacting you.
5. Entries must contain whistling using only the human body (i.e., mouth and/or hand) to be considered for this competition.

Piece Selection

1. You may perform ANY song.

   • Choose any music that you believe best showcases your whistling ability. Original pieces are welcome!
   • Microtonal music (including music from South Asian, Middle-Eastern, Scandinavian and other traditions) is allowed, and the judges will be informed of this possibility.

Performance Length

1. Performances must be at least 1 minute long, and no longer than 4 minutes.

   • Any portion of your performance after 4 minutes will be ignored by the judges.
   • You may change the arrangement of a song in order for it to fit within 4 minutes. Be sensible about your arrangement (completely reorganizing a song or starting at the climax could be confusing to the judges).

Accompaniment

1. Your accompaniment should avoid having the main melody that you are whistling.

   • You are not allowed to whistle along with a melody in the accompaniment for more than half of the length of the song.

2. The accompaniment should have NO flute-like instruments (e.g., recorder, piccolo, tin whistle), vocal, or similar sound in unison or in harmony with your whistling.

   • Having such sounds during parts of the performance where you are not whistling is acceptable.
3. If you wish to accompany yourself, please record your accompaniment separately and then whistle along with the recording.
4. Live accompaniments are allowed, however the accompanist(s) cannot be featured in the video.
5. Please keep your accompaniment family friendly. If there are words in your accompaniment, please avoid vulgar or disturbing language.
6. There should be no whistling in your accompaniment

Judging Guidelines

1. The judging panel will be evaluating your performance primarily on your whistling ability.

2. Any violation of the rules stated above can result in disqualification or score deduction.

3. Judging scores (preliminary round) UPDATED FOR GWC2024

   • Each judge will give a score between 1-10, the sum of the scores normalized across the judges will be calculated.
   • The top 20~25 contestants will advance to the final round and will be required to submit a second video.

4. Judging Scores (final round) UPDATED FOR GWC2024

   • Each judge will give a score between 1-10 for each of the criteria below on the second submission. The sum of the scores normalized across the judges will be calculated to determine the winners. The winners will be determined solely based on the second submission.
   • Musicianship / musicality (40%)
     • Style, phrasing, tempo, dynamics, expression, continuity, balance with accompaniment
   • Technique (40%)
     • Artistry, rhythmic accuracy, articulation, precision, ornamentation, vibrato, tone quality
   • Intonation (20%)
     • Pitch accuracy, pitch consistency

Video Submission

1. There should be NO audio editing or live effects added to the whistling, including but not limited to compressor, equalization (including the low-cut switch on your microphone), auto-tune, and reverb.

   • You may record your video and audio using different devices at the same time and put them together, but you should be using at most 1 camera and 1 microphone.

2. We ask that you record in an area that minimizes natural reverb or echo, such as a small room.

3. There should be minimal video editing done to the video.

   • There can be no cuts in the video once the performance starts.
   • There should be no images covering up your performance at any time.
   • Videos should be recorded using a camera or camera app with basic video features.

     • You CANNOT use Smule, TikTok or any other similar recording/karaoke apps that add significant audio/video editing automatically!

4. Preferred video format: YouTube video

   • Other accepted format: Dropbox link. Contact the IWG for questions about video formats.
5. Submissions must be a video of the contestant whistling with the contestant shown on screen, not just an audio recording of the performance.
   • The contestant's entire head, face and mouth (and hand(s), for finger whistlers and hand whistlers) must be visible for the entire performance.
6. If a YouTube link is not provided, the International Whistlers Guild will upload your video to YouTube on the IWG YouTube channel so your video can be added to the Master YouTube GWC 2024 playlist. By submitting a video that is not a YouTube link, you are agreeing to let the IWG upload your video onto their YouTube page and are giving the IWG permission to use your video content as needed.
7. The video/audio recording must be a new recording that has not been published elsewhere prior to the submission period. The same video/audio should not be published on any other media/platform until after the winners are announced.
8. Only one person should be performing in the video. This is an individual competition.
9. Performances should be one single take (no cuts in the video or audio), and the audio and the video must be the same take (no lip synching).
10. You may whistle with a pre-recorded/live accompaniment or a cappella (i.e., without accompaniment). For live accompaniment, the accompanist(s) cannot appear in the video, and you cannot accompany yourself with an instrument while whistling.
11. You may wish to include a brief self-introduction in English at the beginning of the video, but it should be no longer than 10 seconds. This part will not be counted toward the four-minute time limit.
12. If you choose to submit the video as a YouTube link, the video title and description must follow the below template. You can only modify the text in red.

• Make sure the hashtags are included so that your submission can be found by the organizers. We highly recommend you to copy-and-paste and modify the text above.
• Country/region names can be acronyms, and include multiple locations if you feel that you represent more than one place. IWG does not take any stance/responsibility on which country/region the contestant states to represent.