TheInternational Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), originally theNational Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (NCCA, a play onNCAA), is an international competition run by Varsity Vocals, that attracts hundreds ofcollegea cappella groups each year.[1]
The competition sees groups from theUnited States,Canada, and theUnited Kingdom compete across 9 regions, culminating in the ICCA Finals inNew York City.[2] A small number of groups from Ireland, South Africa, and Mexico have participated sporadically as well.
Founded in 1996 by formerTufts UniversityBeelzebubs music directorDeke Sharon and formerBrown UniversityDerbies member Adam Farb, the ICCA tournament takes place from January through April in nine regions: West, Southwest, Midwest, Great Lakes, Central, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, South, and United Kingdom.
The ICCA has been presented byVarsity Vocals since 1999, when the competition was purchased by Don Gooding (Contemporary A Cappella Publishing). The success of the ICCA produced two spin-off competitions: theInternational Championship of High School A Cappella (ICHSA), starting in 2005; and the International Championship of A Cappella Open (The Open), starting in 2017. Amanda Newman became owner of Varsity Vocals in 2008 and has since produced the events.
The 2006–2007 competition season was a focus of the bookPitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, which followed three groups vying to win the Championship.[3] The book later became the basis for thePitch Perfect film series, the first of which featured the protagonists competing in the ICCA.
The ICCA was also featured in thereality TV seriesSing It On, which aired for two seasons (2015–2016) onPOP TV. The series, which was executive produced by singerJohn Legend, premiered on May 13, 2015 and over the course of sixteen episodes followed groups such as theNor'easters fromNortheastern University,All-Night Yahtzee fromFlorida State University,Faux Paz from theUniversity of Maryland, andS#arp Attitude from theUniversity of Massachusetts as they advanced through the competition.[4]
The 1999 National Championship of Collegiate A Cappella tournament was never held due to financial difficulties. It was resumed in 2000 and renamed theInternational Championship of Collegiate A Cappella after its purchase by Don Gooding.
The 2020 ICCA tournament was cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One quarterfinal, seven semifinals, the wild card round, and the 2020 ICCA Finals were cancelled.
The 2021 ICCA tournament was held entirely virtually to compensate for COVID-19 safety guidelines. Groups participating in the competition were expected to submit homemade videos to be judged.[5] It was the first time the entire tournament was free to watch.
There are four or five quarterfinal events held in each of the eight American regions (Central, Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, South, Southwest, West),[6] while the United Kingdom region holds four. Generally, the top two college groups at each quarterfinal advance to the semifinals in their respective regions.[7] The winner of each semifinal is invited to participate in finals, currently held atThe Town Hall in New York City, (the event has also been held in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, PlayStation Theatre, and the Beacon Theatre), where they compete for coveted title of International Champion.[8]
Each group prepares a short 10 minute performance (usually three songs) that best show the group's strengths. Primary focus is on a group's musical performance, but presentation and choreography are scored as well. Groups generally range in size from 8-20. A panel of three to five trained judges evaluates the group's performance.
According to official Varsity Vocals documents, the aspects of vocal performance that are integral to a high-scoring ICCA performance include balance and blend, quality and inventiveness of arrangement, rhythmic accuracy, interpretation of song, intonation, solo interpretation, tone quality, dynamic precision, and diction. The first six of these concepts are graded on a 1-10 scale, while the last three are graded on a 1-5 scale. These numbers are added up, then added to the number for the next section, Visual Performance. The total possible score for this section is 75.[9]
Visual performance is, while not as highly weighted as vocal performance, still an integral aspect of any ICCA performance. The various aspects of visual performance include visual cohesiveness, effectiveness of presentation, energy/stage presence, appropriateness of movement, creativity of movement, transitioning/blocking, and professionalism. The first three categories are graded on a 1-10 scale, while the last four are graded on a 1-5 scale. The purpose of visual presentation is to present, not unlike a show choir, the emotiveness of a performance through body movement. While oftentimes a group may value Vocal Performance over Visual Performance, high marks and Semifinal award-winning performances have relied equally on the strength of their movement with that of their sound.[9]
Finally, another crucial aspect of the performance grade comes in the form of a ranking box. If a judge decides that your group merits 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the overall competition, they circle one of these choices, which comes to correspond with an additive point value. So, if a judge decides you are the 1st place group, another 30 points are added to that individual judge's overall score. If they decide you are 2nd, you receive an additional 20 points, and if they decide you are 3rd, you receive an additional 10 points. These go towards the eventual rankings at the end of the night's performance, when the judges announce the first-place winner, the runner up, and the second runner up.[9]
Occasionally the event has caught the attention of national media. The greatest television exposure was three successive performances onThe Today Show in 2001, culminating with a Monday morning performance by the champions, theUniversity of MichiganCompulsive Lyres. The following year, competitors theSkidmore Dynamics were the subject of aNew York Times article a few days before they took the stage at Lincoln Center.[10]
Following their first ICCA win, and appearance onThe Today Show in 2008, the SoCal VoCals were featured in an article inNewsweek.[11]
Various ensembles compete for the ICCA national title in the comedyPitch Perfect, while a fictionalized World Championship competition is portrayed inthe 2015 sequel.Pitch Perfect 3 was released on December 22, 2017.
