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43-555: The Canadian Open Old-Time Fiddling Championship began as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club, with sponsorship from the club and the CBC. It came at a time when fiddle music was popular on the radio and the number of fiddlers in Ontario began to increase. The idea for the contest came from Shelburne Royal Bank manager Cliff McIntosh, after he saw a fiddle contest in another province. It was proposed as

86-402: A BBQ and market, and a church service. The events span over a week, expanding the tourist traffic to the town. The popularity of the event also led to Shelburne being dubbed "Fiddleville." It also proved to be a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club. While it grossed about $ 1000 in 1951, the amount grew by 1972 to $ 20,000 (roughly $ 148,000 in 2024), with about three-times that amount being put into

129-438: A Canadian citizen or permanent resident and be a member in good standing of the association. It is a closed championship, meaning that contestants must qualify according to the contest's eligibility criteria to compete. The contestants chosen by their respective provinces and territories are considered to be fiddling experts. Contestants can be eligible for the annual competition by the following methods: Each province/territory

172-557: A Hall of Honour. Five to seven recipients are chosen each year to be inducted into the Hall at the Canadian Grand Masters competition. By 2008, CGMFA became a national arts organization, showcasing its importance at a national level. Two years later, they achieved their charitable tax status. Canadian Fiddler Matthew Johnson also recognized the difference in atmosphere between the Canadian Grand Masters and other fiddle contests, noting

215-413: A fundraiser for the Rotary Club to help fund their charity donations, with the club set to organize the event. There were doubts from Rotary members that a contest would work, considering the Rotary Club hoped that people would pay to hear fiddlers play and compete despite the music being free on the radio. There was also concern about finding enough fiddlers to compete, which led to volunteers driving around

258-399: A girl." Johnson notes that since the 1970s, women fiddlers are often discouraged from competition in championships and open groups due to perceptions of gendered skill differences and a lack of role models. Women winning champion titles were often treated as unordinary and unexpected. In terms of the Canadian Grand Masters, Johnson also highlights instances where perceptions also influenced

301-468: A legacy project to help promote and preserve fiddling traditions in the North. This project highlighted and documented the history of Old Crow, Yukon , where fiddling and dances are common and led to their own distinct sound due to the community's isolated location. Several Yukon fiddlers emerged from the community, having learned fiddle tunes from the dances. Winners of the Canadian Grand Masters contest become

344-418: A new set of a waltz, jig, reel, and tune of choice. In the event of a tie in the top three, those tied will play another set of three tunes in 4 minutes and be judged again. Although issues with diversity amongst the fiddle circuit go beyond the Canadian Grand Masters, research on the event highlights issues it faced with gender, especially in the 1990s. Examining the culture of fiddling contests in Ontario in

387-469: A randomly selected order. At the end of this section, the top ten will be chosen to play again that evening in the finals before the winners are chosen from them. Up until 2020, a top eleven performed at the finals, but this has been changed to a top ten in recent years. Their first ever contestant was Keith Ross of New Minas, Nova Scotia . Besides the finals, the Saturday evening’s entertainment also includes

430-753: A showcase performance from the judges and the Junior Showcase. The latter features a small selection of young fiddlers from across Canada, chosen by the CGMFA, who play their own tunes of choice in a non-competitive environment. Many of these performers go on to compete in the main contest in later years. Saturday’s events also include the introduction of new honourees to the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honour. Started in 2022, CGMFA board members voted to combine their previous awards of recognition (Lifetime Achievement, Award of Merit, and Canadian Fiddle Legends Award) into

473-687: A version of the original as the "Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship." By 2004, the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship saw contestants from across Canada and the United States compete, becoming known as "the contest to enter." However, the Pembroke Fiddle & Step Dancing contest, along with the Canadian Grand Masters , have eclipsed the contest in terms of attracting a wider range of fiddlers across

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516-553: A wider range of fiddlers, and provides better access to the competition for those that would otherwise be unable to travel cross-country. In 2024, the Canadian Grand Masters will be held for the first time in Whitehorse, Yukon , again providing access to the contest for those that might not be able to travel, while also providing space for Northern fiddlers and fiddle styles to shine. The 2024 Canadian Grand Masters in Whitehorse included

559-550: Is allowed to send up to five contestants each year, although the host province/territory can send seven. During the preliminary round, contestants play a waltz, jig, reel/breakdown/hornpipe, and a tune of choice (that is not a waltz, jig, or reel) in any order in under 5 minutes. Unlike the American National Oldtime Contest in Idaho which uses closed judging (having judges in a separate room to counter visual biases),

602-435: Is to draw attention to and provide space for the traditional Canadian fiddling styles from across the country, while providing a space to showcase the country's top fiddlers. Aurora Fiddle Society member Teresa Watson noted that "it's also a chance to meet people who are significant in the fiddling world," adding that besides the space to perform, the contest is a major social networking event for Canadian fiddlers. According to

645-406: Is to support the preservation of traditional fiddle styles and recognize astounding Canadian fiddlers. In this effort, they elected to hold the first national championship the following year, originally known as the "Canadian Grand Masters Championship." For the first six years, the contest was held on Labour Day weekend before being changed in 1996 to the last weekend of August. The contest’s purpose

688-641: The Grand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship who award funds to their top three Albertan contestants. The event has become one of the highest honours to be invited to as a Canadian fiddler, with journalist Frank Peebles noting that "it's one of the hardest climbs in the Canadian fiddle world. Getting called to compete at the Grand Masters is a career watermark for any fiddler who gets their name on that coveted list." Besides

731-483: The CGMFA rules, the recognized styles include: country, old time, Cape Breton, Swing, Métis, Bluegrass, and French-Canadian. Classical, jazz, blues, and similar non-traditional styles are not accepted. The Canadian Grand Masters competition weekend in recent years consists of a dance/concert on Friday night, and the preliminaries, finals, a junior showcase, and Hall of Honour Inductees ceremony on Saturday. The preliminaries feature each contestant performing their set in

774-494: The Canadian Grand Master Champion. The contest also recognizes the first and second runner ups separately from the rest of the top 10/11 finalists. In 2019, Ethan Harty became the youngest fiddler to win the contest at the age of 17. Louis Schryer holds the record for most wins (4), with Patti Kustruok, Shane Cook, Ethan Harty, and Mark Sullivan tied for second with 3 wins. Louis Schryer and Patti Kustruok are also

817-402: The Canadian Grand Masters has made steps to ensure cultural diversity and support a variety of fiddlers and styles from across Canada. Their contests recognize and accept a range of traditional fiddling, including Indigenous/ Métis styles, and several top fiddlers and judges are Métis/Indigenous. The movement of the event each year across Canada between different cities also enables and attracts

860-559: The Canadian Grand Masters three times, the first Western Canadian to win, along with champion titles from the Grand North Americans and Pembroke. While women have won the Canadian Grand Masters championship more often than at the Canadian Open, they are also statistically less likely to make the finals which is a continuing issue each year, despite an equal number of women and men fiddlers competing in recent years. Besides gender,

903-455: The Grand Masters is more professional, with former president of CGMFA Bruce Cummings saying that the atmosphere is different largely due to its invitational nature, theatre venue, and structure. In its over thirty years, the Canadian Grand Masters established itself as the top tier competition in the country. Several regional competitions and associations help sponsor their provincial representatives to ensure their best fiddlers are sent, including

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946-402: The Grand Masters uses open judging where the judges sit on stage and listen to the contestants as they play with no additional audio equipment for aid. These three judges will then judge the contestants on intonation, technical ability, danceability, overall accuracy, emotion/feeling, and variety. The top ten from their marks will then proceed to the finals. Those chosen for the finals must play

989-525: The Heritage Music Festival in a move to rejuvenate the festival. This came as growing concern over the perceived dwindling number of fiddlers in the region, despite a growth of young fiddlers in Toronto. At the same time, the championship saw fewer contestants than previous years. With the help of siblings Linsey and Tyler Beckett, and former champions Scott Woods and Louis Schryer, they helped to promote

1032-548: The Novelty and Gospel classes, and one of either the duet or group classes. Judges award points based on time and tempo, tone, style and technique, and overall accuracy. Depending on the class, contestants play in the preliminaries before the top players are selected to play again in the finals where the winners will be chosen by the judges. Winners of this class are considered the Canadian Open Champions. Louis Schryer holds

1075-552: The Old Time fiddle style. The contest consists of Championship/Open, Duet, Gospel, Novelty, Canadian Old Time Junior Championship (18 Years & Under), 19–55, 10–12, 9 Years & Under, 56 Years & Over classes (ten classes in total), along with prizes for Canadian tune of choice, youngest competitor, oldest contestant, best fiddler from Dufferin County, and most entertaining fiddler. Contestants are allowed to enter one individual class,

1118-408: The belief that the stereotype of women being weaker fiddlers no longer exists. The results of the Canadian Grand Masters show some changes in the statistics and gender divide that support Johnson’s statement. As of 2024, out of the 370 contestants who have placed in the top eleven/ten, about 68 per cent (253) are men, while 31 per cent (116) are women. There are four years out of 34 where women made up

1161-425: The community through accommodations, shopping, and food spending by visitors. The earlier competitions held a jamboree while the judges decided on the winners. The contestants were recorded as they played, allowing the judges to listen again to their performances and decided together the top players. The judges now use headphones to listen to fiddlers, while remaining in an ‘open judging’ situation where they can watch

1204-462: The competition, the CGMFA also organizes workshops throughout the year, promotes National Fiddling Day events, and also launched The Canadian Fiddler newsletter in 1993. The newsletters feature events, news on fiddlers and fiddling in the country, interviews, results, tunes, and upcoming events. Since its incorporation in 1990, over 900 contestants have competed at the Canadian Grand Masters (including those who have competed multiple times). As of 2024,

1247-412: The contest and entice new fiddlers to sign up for the event. Another major issue impacting the survival of the festival came in 2020, with the cancellation of the contest due to the pandemic. Despite plans to reschedule for the next year, it was cancelled again. As of 2024, the contest has not been held since 2019. Contestants are asked to play a waltz, jig, and reel/breakdown/hornpipe in that order. This

1290-563: The core of the event is a concert/dance on Friday evening, followed by the competition the following day. Upwards of thirty contestants are selected to compete from across Canada, considered to be the top exceptional fiddlers from each province/territory. The winner of the contest earns the title of Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Champion. The Canadian Grand Masters is hosted by the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Association (CGMFA), founded in 1989. Their mission

1333-423: The country, especially due to their closeness in dates and being near Labour Day weekend. Yet, as argued by Sherry Johnson, the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddle Championship helped shaped these contests and their formats and became a vessel for "national exposure" for the contestants. By the 2010s, the contest was primarily organized by the Rotary Club of Shelburne, with various local sponsors. In 2018, they merged with

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1376-504: The early 2000s (which includes the Canadian Grand Masters, as it was held in Ottawa annually until 2013), Sherry Ann Johnson interviewed women fiddlers to understand if gender impacted competitions. Although Johnson notes that most did not experience any limitations based on gender, fiddler and judge Karen Reid said that there was a "definite old boy's school attitude" when it came to contests, with several comments made to her about being "good for

1419-471: The event, and was able to get the CBC to broadcast the contest. The involvement of the CBC helped grow the audience of the contest and its popularity. In 1973, the CBC also produced a documentary called "The Fiddles of Shelburne" about the event and its origins. The first contest happened on August 11, 1951, aligning with an open slot in the CBC's broadcasting schedule. Held in the Shelbourne Arena, it had

1462-463: The initial competition round on Friday, with the finals on Saturday. Admission costs ranged from 35 cents to 1 dollar, depending on age and event. Contestants paid $ 2 to enter with proceeds going to charity. The fee that was discontinued in 1983. Organizers made about $ 1000 from the event (which is nearly $ 12,000 in 2024). They had 44 contestants in total, including local fiddlers Lome Donaldson, Charlie Dyer, Annie Webster, and Albert Mews. The first winner

1505-502: The judging. In 1997, one judge's top eleven were all women, and he was asked to change his marks. In the end, the top eleven that year were made up of ten men and one woman, April Verch . Verch won the championship, and also won the Canadian Open the following year. Verch noted several comments were made to discredit her wins because of her gender, such as "it's time for a woman to win, so that's why [you won] it." Johnson concludes with

1548-755: The majority in the top eleven/ten (2001, 2002, 2006, and 2017), although there are seven years that only one or two women made the top eleven/ten (1997, 1998, 2008, and 2023 all had one woman in the finals, 2010, 2022, and 2024 had two). Looking at the top three contestants each year, out of the 99 contestants who placed in the top three, only 13 were women. Of the 33 winners, only six champion titles were won by women, with two women having won more than once. In her 2013 dissertation, Monique Giroux wrote that Patti Kusturok's wins, in particular, along with Crystal Plohman's second place finish "gave girls and women public role models that early generations did not have: not only were they competing, they were winning big." Kusturok won

1591-437: The players on stage while listening through the audio equipment. Their "audience-attraction" played a part in their scores, acting as a performance/presentation criteria. By the 1980s, the contest grew to hosting over 150 fiddlers and eight separate classes. The name of the event changed over the years, from the "Canadian Open Championship Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest," to "The National Fiddle Contest," and more recent returning to

1634-477: The record for the most championship wins. Blank spaces below represent missing data or an award not given out that year. Louis Schryer holds the record for most championship wins at eight, followed by Ed Gyurki (7). The Ladies Class ran up to 1981. Canadian Grand Masters The Canadian Grand Masters is an annual event celebrating traditional fiddling in Canada. Considered "the pinnacle of Canadian fiddling,"

1677-407: The region to promote the event and find fiddlers. As there were few contests of its kind before the 1950s, it was somewhat of a new idea for locals to consider fiddling as a competition. The committee also advertised through various newspapers and radio stations across the region, and had fiddlers spread the word of the contest. Don Fairbairn, who hosted "Neighbourly News" on CBC, also got involved in

1720-428: The town’s residents dedicate their time and efforts towards the event’s success...by 1951, the fiddle and fiddle music were traditions of Dufferin community life." Following its success in the early years, the event grew past just the two-days of the contest. Over the years, the festival added a country jamboree, jam sessions, square dancing, concerts, step dancing, a parade, a Fiddle Queen pageant, street fairs, dinners,

1763-549: The vast majority (181) are from Ontario. While there hasn't been a representative for Nunavut, Colin Adjun from Kugluktuk, Nunavut represented the Northwest Territories in 1991 before the forming of Nunavut as an official territory. The championship consists of upwards of thirty contestants. This number depends on the amount of representatives chosen from each province/territory who are able to attend. Each contestant must be

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1806-548: Was Mel Lavigne, with the first song played "The Victory Breakdown." The event became a massive success and brought thousands of visitors to the small town, with roughly 10,000 people in attendance between the players, organizers, volunteers, and audience. Discussing its impact, the Shelburne Free Press wrote "in a small community like Shelburne, everyone is affected to some degree by the Fiddle Contest, because so many of

1849-489: Was set as the main rule by organizers in accordance with contests in Western Canada. From 1951 to 1976, only one person, New Brunswick's Ned Landry , was disqualified for playing their tunes in the wrong order in 1959. All three songs must be performed in under four minutes unless otherwise specified for a specific class (championship/open class includes a Canadian tune of choice, for instance). The tunes played must belong to

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