OWC and Distance Tournament

NEW: This year, the CIG Online Wildcard will be joining forces with the Distance tournament to create one, huge, epic ONLINE TOURNAMENT. That means you can join if you fit into the following categories:

1. You are a Canadian secondary school that exists outside the geographical boundaries of a CIG tournament (i.e., you are 3+ hours away from your nearest regional tournament). 
2. You are a registered CIG school looking to get an extra evaluation and submission to the National Festival. 

The top winning team from the entire Online Tournament will proceed to the National Tournament in Ottawa ON on the week of April 15-18th, 2026.

Each team that registers in this program is entitled to:

• A consultation call with Program Manager or Operations Manager to discuss options and opportunities for the year
• 1 mid-season evaluation. Teams may submit 8 minutes of footage for feedback from CIG adjudicators.
• Participation in the Online Tournament which will take place in March 2026
• Possible participation in the 2026 National Tournament, and National Finals (dependant on ranking)

Mid-Season Evaluations

Every team is allowed to submit 8 minutes of footage (6 minutes for junior teams) for evaluation. Teams do not need to perform CIG events but are encouraged to do so. These scenes will be adjudicated by CIG trainers and feedback will be given within 10 days of submission.

The deadline for midseason evaluations is February 1st, 2026, but we encourage teams to submit earlier to avoid the bottleneck that happens during spring break.

If you are performing in person, you may record using a phone, a camera, or any video taking device. The most important thing is that we can see and hear you. The format in which you submit your mid-season is NOT necessarily the same format in which you will perform your competitive submission. 

Here are a few more rules about the midseason evals

1. Mid-season submissions do not need to be filmed in front of a live audience. Rehearsal footage is acceptable.

1. Mid-season submissions do not need to be filmed back-to-back in a single video, they can be two separate videos.

1. You are not required to submit mid-season videos to participate in the competitive portion of the tournament.

1. You MUST submit your video link before February 1st, 2026 in order to receive feedback.

1. To submit your video. Simply upload it to Youtube (and list it as private if you don’t want others to be able to see it) and send it to operations@improv.ca with a link to the video!

Competitive Submissions

Competitive submissions are due on March 6th, 2026. You must inform CIG of your planned filming time, so we can coordinate beforehand to deliver your ask-fors. Your submission will be evaluated by a panel of online judges. In the case that the volume of submissions exceeds 15, participating schools will be randomly sorted into smaller “zones” to compete against, and winners of “zones” will then be judged against each other. 

Video submission Guidelines – Competitive Submissions

1. Your submission must be filmed and recorded in front of a live audience (even if it is just a few friends or classmates!) A good audience serves as a source of energy for your players!
2. Your Canadian Improv Games presentation needs a host (referee) and a timekeeper
3. If you do decide to use an auditorium, you can charge admission for this show if you like – proceeds could go to the improv program at your school!
4. The entire video entry (which will include all 4 events) must be shot using one continuous camera angle, which includes event introductions, giving suggestions, huddles, and full scenes.  In other words, keep the camera in the same spot and position throughout the entire filming! This means that if you are filming two teams at the same event, each team must perform their events back to back before the other team performs – they can not alternate events.
5. If using in-camera sound, make sure the camera (or microphone, if using a separate microphone) is close enough to the performance that voices can be heard clearly.  So, if in a large auditorium, don’t have the camera way at the back and zoomed in, have the camera as close to the action as possible, but in a spot where you can see the whole stage, for the best sound possible.
6. We understand that improv on video can pale in comparison to seeing it live.  All we ask is that we can clearly see and hear the action.
7. Feel free to recruit others to help out with the video production!  Many schools have an A/V team capable of shooting and editing video.  Ask your students if they know anyone who can help out on the technical side of things.
8. When processing your video submission keep in mind that the finished product should be no longer than 30 minutes.  We recommend, when exporting your final video, to select a “medium” quality, giving you a file size of about 300MB.
9. The submitted video can begin at the introduction of the first event.
10. Upload your submission to YouTube (keep it unlisted if you don’t want it publicly viewable) and send us the link. OR Send it as a google file to operations@improv.ca

YOU’RE ALL SET!!