Adjudicated Event sites and contact information are available on the OMEA website, including revisions as they occur during the school year. In case of a weather related or other emergency situation that could jeopardize the safety of participants, directors, adjudicators, and spectators, an event may be canceled by authority of the OMEA Executive Director and Adjudicated Events Committee Chair in consultation with the Local Event Chair, the site school's administration and the District President.

If an Adjudicated Event is canceled, at the discretion of the OMEA District or Region officers, any expenses incurred, including the chair fee, may be paid from the participants' fees. Remaining funds will be returned to the participating schools on a pro-rated basis.

Proof of OMEA membership is required of all participating directors/teachers. Dues for the current year must be paid by the director before access to the OMEA portal is granted and applications can be processed Annual dues are payable to National Association for Music Education, Robert Fulton Drive, Reston, VA, http://www.nafme.org. Payment of dues secures active membership in both OMEA and NAfME, and includes a one-year subscription to TRIAD, Music Educators Journal, and Teaching Music. Membership information is on the OMEA Web Site.

An Adjudicated Event participant must be officially enrolled (student is counted on the EMIS report as filed by the superintendent with the Ohio State Department of Education) in the school he or she represents and be a regularly participating member of that school's vocal or instrumental program, (i.e. string players - orchestra; vocalists - choral group; wind and percussion players, auxiliary members - band or orchestra) to be eligible to participate. The teacher registering the event must be both an OMEA member and the director of the large group that the student represents - choir directors register students/events for vocal participants, band and orchestra directors register students/events for their respective instrumental participants. Penalty for ineligible participants is disqualification of the performing ensemble and possible future suspension from OMEA Adjudicated Events.

Piansts, harpists and guitarists who are not members of any school ensemble, or other instrumentalists or vocalists where a performing group does not exist in the school, are eligible to participate in Solo & Ensemble Events. Private teachers (provided they are OMEA members) of these students may register students via the online application available on the OMEA web site. Private teachers are encouraged, however, to coordinate with the school music teacher(s) whenever possible and include these events with those from the local school. If the private teacher is not an OMEA member, the events may be registered by the OMEA member music teacher from the participating school.

School organized on any school plan which includes grades 5, 6, 7, 8, and/or 9 may use fifth or sixth grade students in Large Group Events if those students rehearse regularly with the middle school group.
Sixth grade only Large Groups are eligible to participate in Junior High Large Group Adjudicated Events. It is suggested that directors use discretion in considering the participation of sixth grade only large groups.
Fifth Grade only ensembles may not participate in Large Group.

No student below the fifth grade or above the ninth grade may participate in Junior High/Middle School Large Group Events.

Participants must be enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11, or 12. Seventh and eighth grade students, however, may participate in Senior High Large Group Events providing they are regularly participating members of the group (Section I, Paragraph I).

Fifth and sixth grade students are not eligible to participate in High School events.

A student may participate in both Junior High/Middle School and Senior High Large Group Events in the same year providing the student is a regularly participating member in both groups.

No student below the seventh grade or above the ninth grade may participate in Junior High/Middle School Solo & Ensemble Events.

A student may not participate in both Junior High/Middle School and High School Solo & Ensemble Events in the same year.

Students enrolled in the Post Secondary Option Program may participate in Adjudicated Events providing they meet the eligibility requirements defined in Section I. Post Secondary Option students who relinquish membership in the high school performing group to participate in a college ensemble or other music class are not eligible for OMEA Adjudicated Events.

It is the intent of OMEA to encourage the development of a music program in every school. Any exception to an entrance and/or eligibility requirement (Section I, Paragraph I) must receive the annual approval of the Adjudicated Events Committee prior to November 1 of the current school year.

Home-schooled students may participate in Solo & Ensemble Events. The onlin registration takes place via their private instructor (who must be an OMEA member) and their parent or guardian becomes the acting school administrator.

Home-Schooled students are to follow the rules/procedures that pertain to their situation (eg. A Home-Schooled junior high soloist will follow all rules applying to middle/junior high, high school solo will follow the rules applying to high school).

Home-schooled students are eligible to participate in Large Group Events if they meet enrollment requirements and are permitted participation by their local school district, and meet all other OMEA eligibility requirements.

The Ohio Five Rating Plan of Adjudication will be used for all Adjudicated Events. The decision of the judges is final. A participant or group may elect to perform either for a rating or in "Festival Performance" for comments only, but must perform the required composition(s) for the classification.

The Five Rating Plan is as follows:

Rating I:
An outstanding performance with very few technical errors and exemplifying a truly musical expression. This rating should be reserved for the truly outstanding performance.

Rating II:
An unusual performance in many respects, but not worthy of the highest rating due to minor defects in performance, ineffective interpretation, or improper instrumentation.

Rating III:
An acceptable performance, but not outstanding. Showing accomplishment and marked promise, but lacking in one or more essential qualities.

Rating IV:
A poor performance showing many technical errors, poor musical conception, lack of interpretation, incomplete instrumentation, or lacking in any of the other essential qualities.

Rating V:
A very poor performance indicating deficiencies in most of the essential factors, and indicating that much careful attention should be given to the fundamentals of good performance. This rating should be used sparingly and only when it is possible to cite major faults.

The Contest Committee of OMEA was formed in 1934 for the purpose of overseeing contest operations in Ohio. The committee recommended in 1935 that these contests deviate from the practice of assigning ratings and points for the bands' performances and begin to use a "ratings only" method of adjudication. In 1936 the committee recommended that the State adopt a "five rating plan." The former six rating plan included the levels "superior, excellent, very good, good, fair. and poor." Each of these levels was assigned points with a superior worth 10, excellent 7, very good 4, good 2, fair 1, and poor 0. The new system deleted the "very good" category, as well as doing away with the point system. The sight reading rating could lower the overall rating if it was more than one rating lower than the final rating of the three combined judges.

Competitions were suspended in the state during World War II and ran into rough times in the 1950s when school administrator associations and the North Central Association recommended that other than athletic contests, inter-scholastic events should be curtailed. This recommendation was rescinded in 1951, leaving such determination up to the individual school systems.

In 1951 Ohio began to use the district/state levels of adjudication still in use today. Bands that received a "I" or "superior" rating in the district contest then advanced into the state level several weeks later in the spring. The five rating plan was refined so that there was a well-defined standard assigned to each rating. This statement of standards still accompanies the five rating plan today.