How to enter

Gather a crew (group of singers, any number)
Nominate a 'shanty leader' to be the designated contact for your group.
Choose two songs to sing, and record a video of yourselves singing them!
Upload the video.
- YouTube, TikTok, Dropbox or Google Drive are all acceptable (we recommend Google Drive or Dropbox)
- The video must be accessible to shantycompetition@gmail.com.
By 10pm 1 October 2026:
- The shanty leader completes the entry form, including a link to your video recording, and
- Complete media permission forms for everyone who is in the video.
  You can either:
  1. Have each crew member complete their own media permission form (entrants under 16 must also have a parent or guardian sign this), or
  2. Your teacher can collect them for you:
    - Your teacher must send an email from their school-issued email account to shantycompetition@gmail.com stating that all media release permissions have been collected by them (including parent permission for under 16's), and provide copies.
The judges (a panel consisting of members of the Pōneke Shanty Club) will contact all registered crews to confirm we have received your entry.
The judges will contact the winning shanty leaders to award their prizes.

Entry requirements

Both of the songs you record (it MUST be video) and submit must be sea shanties. If you are not sure which songs classify as 'shanties', we have a list of examples.
Make sure your crew is all between 12 and 19 (inclusive) and are all high school students in the greater Wellington region (see Who can enter?).
The best entries will be enthusiastic and demonstrate unity and teamwork.
Entries must not include any musical accompaniment or use enhancement of any kind (including AI: see our good-faith AI guidance).

If you have any other questions, read through the FAQ or send us an email: shantycompetition@gmail.com

Prizes will be sent to a bank account nominated by your shanty leader.

Your shanty leader is responsible for distributing the prize money fairly amongst your crew and any helpers (e.g. film and editing).

Prizes are from a grant kindly provided by The Walker Traditional Folk Music Trust.

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