FAQ

WAAO (World Artists Online) hosts international online competitions for all classical instrument soloists.
Currently, competitions in partnership with WAAO are composed of the following five main sections, offering a wide range of opportunities to participants:

Piano Section
Strings & Plucked Instruments Section: Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Guitar, Harp, Mandolin, Lute, etc.
Wind Instruments Section: Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone, Horn, Tuba, etc.
Percussion Instruments Section: Timpani, Xylophone, Marimba, Vibraphone, etc.
Vocal Section

For detailed information on the specific regulations and included instruments for each competition, please visit the 'Competitions' menu on the WAAO website and check the respective competition list. WAAO is continuously striving to embrace participants from various instrument fields.

WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) is a global competition open to all musicians worldwide. Therefore, there are absolutely no nationality restrictions for participating in WAAO competitions.

While there is no uniform age limit, to create a fair competitive environment for participants, each competition operates various categories based on age and level (e.g., Professional, Amateur, Junior, Bambini, etc.). The detailed eligibility requirements for each category can be found on the regulation page of the respective competition.

WAAO competitions are open to music enthusiasts and professional performers of all ages. While there are no individual age limits for specific competitions, we operate subdivided categories to ensure fair evaluation based on the participant's developmental stage and expertise.

WAAO offers various categories by age and level, such as Professional, Amateur, Junior, and Bambini, to support all musicians worldwide in showcasing their skills in an environment that matches their abilities. Amateur musicians are welcome to apply through the appropriate category. Please refer to the regulation page of the respective competition for detailed eligibility and rules for each category.

WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) supports various and secure payment methods for the convenience of participants worldwide.

The main payment methods are as follows:

Credit Card: Payment is possible via major international credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.
Online Payment Platform: You can pay safely and quickly through global online payment platforms like PayPal.
WAAO prioritizes the simplification and security of the payment process, supporting easy payment completion at the time of application.

To ensure the stability of competition operations and provide fair opportunities to all participants, WAAO operates under a 'non-refundable' entry fee policy. We urge you to familiarize yourself with this policy before applying.

Non-Refundable Policy: Once the application and entry fee payment are completed, the paid fee is non-refundable for any reason (including personal circumstances, illness, non-participation, technical issues, etc.).

Policy Background: Upon completion of application and payment, WAAO immediately begins system maintenance, individual participant information management, judge assignments, and other administrative tasks for the competition. This is an essential process for fair and stable competition operation. Therefore, considering the costs and preparation efforts incurred by a cancellation, we pre-notify that refunds are not possible.

Request for Careful Decision: Participation in a WAAO competition is considered a final decision based on your own will. Therefore, please carefully review all WAAO regulations and guidelines, especially the refund policy, before applying and making a payment. Applying and paying is considered as full agreement to this refund policy.

Those wishing to participate in a WAAO competition can find detailed participation methods by visiting the 'Apply' page of the respective competition. WAAO prioritizes the convenience of participants, allowing them to enter all competitions simply by filling out an easy online application form. You can complete the application process quickly and easily without any separate document submissions.

The results of competitions in partnership with WAAO are typically announced within 2-3 weeks from the competition's end date.

All participants will receive an email regarding the announcement of the results. Additionally, the final list of winners and detailed results will be officially announced on the 'Winners' page of each competition on the WAAO website.

WAAO (World Artists Award Organisation) has established a unique and robust system to ensure the most fair and transparent judging that participants can trust. This is secured through a process of anonymous judging by a professional panel and score averaging.

In line with this firm principle of objectivity and finality in judging, the results of WAAO competitions are absolute upon announcement. Therefore, we inform you that individual objections, requests for re-evaluation, or changes in ranking are not possible under any circumstances.

We ask participants to fully understand the finality of WAAO's judging process and its results, and to apply after carefully reading the competition regulations.

All winners of WAAO competitions will be issued an official digital award certificate (in PDF format) via email upon the announcement of the results. If you have lost your certificate or require a re-issuance, please request it through the contact form at the bottom of the page. After a verification process, we will promptly re-issue it for you.

Yes, you can. WAAO aims to provide more opportunities to participants, and you can participate in multiple competitions partnered with WAAO without any restrictions. Each competition is judged independently, and only the ranking points earned in the Professional category are accumulated.

To ensure fair and stable competition operation for all participants, WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) does not permit any changes to the repertoire or other information once the application and payment are completed.

This is because upon completion of the application, WAAO immediately begins system maintenance, individual participant information management, judge assignments, and other administrative tasks for the competition. This process is an essential step to provide a fair judging opportunity to all participants. Therefore, no modifications to the repertoire or key information are possible for any reason after the application is complete.

We ask participants to carefully review all entered information and make a deliberate decision before applying and paying for the WAAO competition. The application and payment are considered as full agreement to this policy.

Currently, performance video submissions for WAAO competitions are made by uploading the video to YouTube and/or the participant's preferred common video platform and then submitting the link. When uploading, all submitted videos must be set to 'Public' or 'Unlisted'. Videos set to 'Private' cannot be judged, so please be sure to check the privacy settings of your link before submission. For more detailed regulations regarding video editing and content, please refer to Q10.

To provide a fair judging environment for all participants, WAAO competitions do not permit any editing of performance videos. All submitted performance videos must be a single, unedited original recording from start to finish. Any form of editing or post-production (e.g., sound mixing, adding video effects, cutting out unnecessary parts, etc.) is strictly prohibited.

Even if there are multiple performance pieces, they must all be included in a single video submission. Please be aware that any video judged to be edited or in violation of the regulations may result in the disqualification of the entry.

WAAO (World Artists Online) operates a special judging system to provide transparent and fair evaluations to all participants.

Professional Jury Composition and Delegation: WAAO delegates the judging criteria and methods of the competition to a carefully selected jury. These individuals do not judge all competitions; instead, they are individually appointed to handle judging based on the characteristics and needs of each competition. The judges personally decide and implement the criteria and methods for evaluating participants' performances.

Thorough and Fair Judging: The judges have no knowledge of who is judging which competition. Furthermore, to ensure transparent and fair judging, the identities of the judges are not disclosed. This system allows all judges to focus solely on the participant's performance with equal authority.

Score Averaging System: The scores given by each judge are collected by WAAO's results announcement team. This team aggregates the scores from each judge to calculate an average, which is then used to determine the final rankings of the participants.

Maximum Fairness Guaranteed: This system of averaging scores from multiple judges ensures that the opinion or score of a single judge does not have an overly strong influence, and any potential unfair evaluation is averaged out by the scores of other judges. With this unique system, WAAO strives to ensure that participants receive the most fair and objective evaluation possible.

WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) places the highest value on the fairness and transparency of judging in a 100% online competition environment, and has built a multi-layered security and evaluation system to this end.

Top-Tier Jury: WAAO demands exceptional expertise in its jury composition. We only invite professors or musicians from around the world who hold a master's or doctoral degree in the instrument field they are judging and have a history of winning international competitions.

Anonymity-Based Systemic Fairness: WAAO operates a 'fixed jury system,' where each judge is individually appointed according to the competition's characteristics. All judges are guaranteed strict anonymity from one another and conduct their judging without any knowledge of each other. This is to ensure that judges are not influenced by external factors and can focus solely on objectively evaluating the participant's performance skills.

Data-Driven Objective Result Derivation: The evaluation scores from all judges are collected by WAAO's independent results announcement team. This team aggregates the individual scores to calculate an average and determine the final rankings. This system effectively averages out any potential for a single judge's opinion to be overly influential or for unfair evaluations to occur, through the evaluations of other judges.

Reliability Optimized for the Online Environment: This unique WAAO system overcomes the potential limitations of the online judging environment and strives for perfection so that participants can receive the most objective and reliable evaluation anytime, anywhere.

WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) applies strict criteria to the composition of its jury to ensure professionalism and reliability in judging. We only invite authoritative professors and musicians from around the world who are recognized performers, hold a master's or doctoral degree in the instrument field they are judging, and have a history of winning international competitions.

WAAO operates a 'fixed jury system,' forming a jury of 2 to 5 members for each competition. Currently, to ensure the fairness and independence of the judging, the identities of the judges are not disclosed to each other, and their personal information is kept private from the public. This system is designed to make the judging fairer by ensuring the jury members do not know each other, allowing them to focus solely on the participant's performance without external influence.

However, WAAO will continuously review and strive to provide greater inspiration and motivation to participants by introducing WAAO judges and world-class artists who collaborate with WAAO through the 'Artist' section on our website in the future.

WAAO (World Arts Award Organisation) operates its own unique ranking system. Participants who win prizes in the Professional category of any competition partnered with WAAO are awarded WAAO points.

These points are accumulated and ranked through WAAO's automatic ranking aggregation system. The final ranking is determined based on data from one year, from December to the end of November of the following year. The participant with the most outstanding results is provided with prize money and unique WAAO benefits that will substantially help their music career development.

For accuracy and consistency in ranking aggregation, please always use the same email address when participating. Detailed regulations for the WAAO Ranking Tournament can be found on the 'Tournament' page of the WAAO website, and all participants must read the detailed regulations before applying.

Outstanding participants in WAAO competitions are given various benefits commensurate with their talent and effort.

WAAO Point Award: In all competitions partnered with WAAO, WAAO points are differentially awarded to Grand Prize, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, and finalist winners, as well as all participants. These points form the important basis of the WAAO ranking system.

Grand Prize Winner Benefits:
Certificate: A prestigious Grand Prize certificate is awarded.
Prize Money: Prize money is provided to the Grand Prize winner. The prize money is flexibly determined based on the sponsorship status and scale of the competition for that year, and specific details will be individually communicated to the Grand Prize winner.

Other Winner Benefits:
Certificate: From 1st place to finalist winners, an official certificate is awarded in addition to WAAO points.

In the WAAO Ranking Tournament, all points earned in the Professional category of all participating WAAO partner competitions are accumulated. In other words, the more competitions you participate in and the better your results, the higher your rank you can achieve in the annual WAAO ranking.

WAAO ranking points are automatically aggregated based on the email address used at the time of participation. If you accidentally used different email addresses and your points are dispersed, you can request to have your points combined through the contact form at the bottom of the page after a verification process. However, for smooth point management and accurate aggregation, we strongly recommend using the same email address at all times.

The WAAO Ranking Tournament starts a new season on December 1st of each year, at which time all participants' accumulated points are reset to 0. The ranking records from the previous season will be preserved separately in the 'Hall of Fame' section of the WAAO website.

If you no longer wish to receive the WAAO newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the 'Unsubscribe' link at the very bottom of the most recent newsletter email you received. If you have trouble finding the link or experience technical difficulties with unsubscribing, please request assistance through the contact form at the bottom of the page, and we will promptly process your request.