The Spear of Lugh Eisteddfod
Judging Criteria
The panel of three judges (past winners and Eisteddfod organisers) assess each contestant based upon the following five criteria:
- Quality of material Pagan content/message
- Poetic / song-writing / storytelling skill
- Overall performance
- Persona / stage presence
- Audience awareness / response.
Each is marked out of 10, with 1 for poor and 10 for excellent. The score is added up by an independent volunteer and the final score (maximum 50) is set against the rest. The winner is simply the contestant with the highest mark - the judges do not know who has won until the final scores are added up and the top three are announced at the end in reverse order.
2008 judges. Photography ©Tony Faulkener.
If you do not win one year, dont give up each time you perform you improve and you have a whole year to hone your skills. In this way the Spear of Lugh Eisteddfod encourages and rewards excellence thus preserving and promoting the bardic arts but it also acknowledges the effort and achievement of all the contestants, who all get applauded at the end of the contest.