Judging will include three preliminary rounds plus the state finals. Entries will be critiqued by a panel of professionals whose area of expertise includes the art represented in the category. When critiquing, judges will examine several elements of the piece including creative concept, originality, impact and memorable message, emotional appeal, relevance to the topic and overall effectiveness of the piece. Entries will be judged against other entries in the same category (i.e. writing against writing, performance against performance, etc.).

Following each round of judging, you and your school will be able to check to see if your entry has advanced to the next round. Advancement reports will be posted under the Winners section on the following dates:

Round One results:	Friday, March 7, 2008
Round Two results:	Friday, March 14, 2008
Round Three results:	Friday, March 21, 2008
	(announcement of state finalists)
State Winners:	Monday, April 14, 2008

Contingent on the number of entries, dates of advancement reports are subject to change.

It will be the judges’ decision as to how many entries qualify for the state finals in each category. The target number of state finalists per category is ten. However, there may be more or fewer than ten finalists in each category, depending on the quality of the entries.

All rules will be enforced. Entries that violate these rules will be disqualified. If an entry has been entered in an incorrect or inappropriate category, the judges reserve the right to place the entry in the correct category. All judges’ decisions are final.