Recommendations for the running of a Feis

The following guidelines have been produced by the
Southern England Regional Council
for those who have the responsibility organising and administering a feis registered under the auspices of
An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha.

General Rules appertaining to the running of a Feis.
An application to run a feis will only be considered by the Regional Council if submitted in writing using the approved Application Form provided for this purpose. (see Appendix)

A feis organising committee must consist of a competent person, or persons, who in the view of the Regional Council have the necessary experience to run a feis in accordance with the Rules of An Coimisiun.  Where an application to run a feis is made on behalf of a dancing school, the teacher  must be registered with An Coimisiun and be actively involved in dancing.

The applicant will be required to complete all sections of the form, which will be presented to a full Council meeting, taking place immediately following the date of receipt.  As a rule, written applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis, if there is conflict regarding specific dates.

After approval of the dates, the applicant will be required to submit to the Council, the following documents:

Two copies of the draft syllabus  (usually sent to the Council Secretary)
 The Feis Registration fees  (see appendix)
The Feis Insurance premium  (see appendix)

These documents and enclosures must be submitted to the Regional Council as part of the registration process, 6 months prior to the commencement date of the feis, which is in accordance with the Rules of An Coimisiun.

The Regional Council reserve the right to decline an application for dates to hold a feis, if by approving such an application, such an event would lead to a clash of dates with another feis registered under the auspices of An Coimisiun.

Where a feis is registered and held in aid of a charity, an Official Receipt showing the donation of monies realised as a result, to that named Charity, must be provided to the Council Secretary, within 21 days of the completion of the feis.

Where an application is received to hold a ‘new’ feis in support of a charity, verification of this fact must be provided with the application, by the named Charity.  Similarly, should this intention change or alter, prior to the feis being held, this fact should be made known to the Council Secretary.

No feis will be registered to run within 12 months of its previous dates, unless at the discretion of the Regional Council there are grounds for permitting this to occur.

Ideally there should be two clear weekends between feiseanna registered by the Council, however the Council reserves the right to alter this recommendation at its discretion.

If the feis is likely to be cancelled, feis organisers are requested to advise the Council, as soon as this fact is known, in order that the dates of the feis may be re allocated (if this is possible)

The results of all competitions at a feis must be notified to the Regional Council registering the feis within 14 days of the feis ending.  This is a condition of registration and a rule of An Coimisiun.  Failure to comply with this rule will have a bearing on any future application for the feis to be held again. These results will comprise of the first 3 places.

This figure may vary, as each Regional Council will have to set the percentage of regrading places for Beginner, Primary and Intermediate Grades which will be applied annually, consequently the number of places to be recorded and submitted may have to change accordingly.

In the Trophy competitions, a dancer is only able to perform their choice of dance as long as they are eligible for that particular dance in the solo competition and grade on that day.

Confined feiseanna will be defined as having a catchment area for entries of bordering counties within the region, the choice being a matter for the organisers and approved by the Council in the application process.

There is no distinction between Confined and Open feiseanna with regard to these guidelines and the application of the rules of An Coimisiun with regard to competitions.

No adjudicator should be engaged to judge at a feis, if he/she has been engaged at a feis, registered within  the Southern England Region, Within the previous 6 calendar months.

Pupils of adjudicators employed to judge at a feis may not compete or take part in the feis, even if the adjudicator if judging alternative age groups.

Stages at feiseanna must be of sound and proper quality and dimensions.

The standard of musicians, stage stewards, sound systems, and prizes must all be of good quality.

No video or cine or flash cameras are permitted to operate whilst competitions are in progress.

No syllabus for a feis may be sent to registered teachers until it has been submitted to the Regional Council and it has been passed as being within the rules of An Coimisiun.  The syllabus, once passed for publication by the Regional Council may not be altered in any way without the express permission of the Council.

If any amendments, omissions or exclusions have been made or advised by the Council, or the organisers, the syllabus must be re submitted showing these changes, before it is published.

General guide-lines for syllabus content.
The names of all adjudicators engaged for the feis must be shown on the syllabus.  It is not permitted to publish ‘A.N. Other’ as a temporary measure.

An adjudicator not previously shown on the feis syllabus, may be used to judge competitions only in the case of an unforeseen emergency, causing the original engaged adjudicator to have to withdraw.

In such situations, where it is known in advance of the feis commencing, the Regional Council Secretary must be advised accordingly.  If possible this information should also be made known to those teachers having entered competitors or having received a syllabus but not at that time entered competitors.

The term Non Medal Holders will no longer be used, competitions in this grade will be refered to as Beginners.

It is a requirement of the council, that feis organisers include within the Beginner competitions, at least the following dances:  REEL,  SLIP JIG,  HOP(SINGLE) JIG,  LIGHT(SOFT)JIG.

 The syllabus should contain notice to the effect that Beginner Grade steps should be BASIC in style i.e. a Reel should consist of a lead round, sevens and basic step, no twists, rocks etc..

Beginners and Primary competitions are normally confined to dancers who reside within the region registering the feis.

Special conditions apply within the rules of An Coimisiun relating to when such dancers may compete out of their home region.  The Feis Secretary has responsibility to ensure that in this situation, the region in which such dancers reside, are advised of any relevant placing achieved.

It is a recommendation of the Council that feis organisers consider implementing 2 year age groups within the syllabus.

10% of the total number of competitions within a syllabus must be devoted to team competitions.  A ‘team’ is defined as comprising of 4 dancers or more.

The Under six, seven and eight age group championships must dance Reel and Light Jig.  The competitors must have performed these dances on the day of the feis to be eligible.

It is a recommendation of the Council, that feis organisers consider the implementation of  mixed Championships.

It is a recommendation of the Council that, in order to encourage and support Figure and Ceili dancing, the 75% upwards (ages) movement as in the Rules for the All Ireland and World Championships, be permitted in these competitions within this region.

The syllabus (feis) rules
The lodgement of entries at a feis implies that the teachers of the dancers they relate to, accepts the rules relating to the feis in their entirety as laid down by the Southern England Regional Council and An Coimisiun Le Rinci Gaelacha.

There must be an indication in the syllabus to the effect that the age of a dancer competing will be taken as from the 1st day of JANUARY of the year in which the feis is run.

A BEGINNERS Grade is confined to dancers who have not won a 1st  2nd  or 3rd place in a Beginners competition, or any place medal in a higher age group for that dance.

A PRIMARY Grade is confined who have not won a 1st place medal for that dance in any age group.

An INTERMEDIATE Grade is confined to dancers who have not won a 1st place medal for that dance in that age group or in a higher age group for that dance or in a higher age group for that dance or have won a Championship or Premier Championship.

The winner of a trophy competition must move up to the next grade if they have won 1st place for that particular dance.

Where in any of the above Grade Competitions, 5 or less dancers compete, the prize winners need not upgrade.

With regard to the publishing of age groups within the syllabus, the following must be borne in mind:
  • Lowest age group  - state maximum age
  • Highest age group - state minimum age
  • Between age groups - state maximum and minimum age
  • Senior competitions - must have a minimum age of 16 years

It is a requirement of the Council that the dance to be performed in Trophy competitions is to be stipulated within the syllabus, i.e. Trophy Reel….

A provison for feis discipline should be considered within the rules, for example a warning that the adjudicators should not be approached.

The manner in which a Feis organiser wishes for objections to be dealt with should also be considered for inclusion.

It is recommended that entry fees include the provision of a Family Fee.

The CLOSING DATE for entries should be clearly and prominently displayed within the syllabus.

An appendix to this document shows the minimum content, dances and competitions, required to constitute a Feis Syllabus.

The Venue and Safety
When a venue is contemplated for a feis, attention must be given to the capacity of the halls to be used.  The venue must be adequately covered by a fire certificate and statutory fire precaution measures, for example properly signed exits, extinguishers etc...must be evident and current.

The premises selected to hold the feis are important with regard to certification,  licensing and safety.

Under current Health and Safety legislation, the organisation or owner of the property(premises) is the occupier, and has several statutory responsibilities.

Most premises used, such as schools, will have properly signposted fire exits, fire precautions etc… and you should ensure that you are familiar with these and the evacuation procedures set out in conjunction with them. Ideally you should ensure all those working for you at the feis are conversant with the fire precautions and evacuations procedures. (if possible these should be made known to those attending the feis also)

In accordance with the Rules of An Coimisiun, smoking should not be permitted within the hall where competitions are being run, equally smoking areas should not be located where people indulging in this obstruct doorways.

Provision should be made for crowd control in gangways, stairways and lobby areas to and from the halls.

Basic common sense should prevail with regard to the loading of a hall or other area for dancing. For instance, when considering a location for dancing, i.e.  a classroom, ask whether those in the room have enough space to properly observe the competitions, what would happen if they had to vacate the room in a hurry, is there a chance that panic would lead to congestion and probable serious implications as a result?  If so abandon this location….

There is little doubt that Health and Safety issues are a part of life, and if you ignore the safety of those attending the feis will focus your attention on the issues, probably by calling in the local fire service who have the authority to close the feis down immediately in the event of a breach of Health and Safety Legislation being discovered.

The message therefore is:
Make sure the location for dancing is large enough, not only for the dancers, adjudicators and musician, but for those wishing to observe.
Make sure that entrances to halls, rooms, corridors etc., are not obstructed by furniture or people standing or sitting.
Make sure that within halls, there are adequate gangways for people to walk through and about the audience area.
Make sure that fire exits are clearly indicated and not obstructed in any way, even a dancing dress hanging over a door or sign can be enough to ‘hide’ the exit!
Make sure that all those people working at the feis are aware of fire precautions, the location of fire fighting equipment, and evacuation procedures.
Make sure you have adequate communications available to you ( in order to be able to summon the fire or ambulance services)
Make sure that parking provision is made for the fire engine or ambulance.
Don’t  ignore the canteen or kitchen area of the venue, these areas within a venue are potentially the highest risk areas for fire and injury.  It should be noted that young children should not be allowed within these areas, consider an age limit