The following is an overview of the Canadian Improv Games program running from September 5th, 2023 – March 30th, 2024.

Registration this year is based on a per/team payment system. The cost to register will be $299+tax per team. Your school may register as many teams as they like – junior or senior. Teams can be ADDED anytime before the registration deadline of December 1st, 2023.

The program is designed for schools that can meet safely in person and can attend in-person events outside of school such as All Teams, X-Rounds, and a Regional Tournament. This program is also built on the understanding that if a school qualifies for the National Festival they will be allowed to travel to Ottawa, Ontario March 27th – 31st, 2024.

The CIG is committed to getting back to in-person games where it can be done safely and effectively. 

There will be in-person regional tournaments in the following regions:

• Vancouver Island
• Lower Mainland
• Alberta (this program is run through Rapid Fire Theatre, we will provide teachers with information on how to contact them directly for in-person program updates)
• Saskatchewan
• Manitoba
• Toronto
• Tri-City
• Ottawa
• Kingston
• Quebec
• Nova Scotia
• Newfoundland

Each team that registers is entitled to:

• A consultation call with National Director Spencer Dunn (or Operations Manager) to discuss options and opportunities for the year
• Participation in the All-Teams Event (dates vary depending on region) which includes 2 hours of workshop time with other schools in the region
• 1 performance opportunity sometime before the regional tournament for feedback from CIG Judges and Adjudicators, this might occur on the evening of an All-Teams Event or at another time during the year (varies based on region)
• Participation in the regional tournament round robin.
• Possible participation in regional finals, the national tournament, and national finals (dependant on ranking)
• Access to individual workshops (either in-person or online)

All-Teams and X-Rounds

As much as possible this year the all-teams event and x-rounds nights of play will be scheduled for the same day/weekend to reduce travel costs and potential infection.

Regional Tournaments

Regional tournaments in each of these regions will take place in Late January/Early February of 2023. COVID protocols will be in effect based on individual health units protocols. Masks may be required to attend shows, venue capacities may be enforced, and social distancing may need to be maintained, depending on regional and venue requirements. At this time, students are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

All other regional rules are in place as per the CIG Rulebook. 

*NEW THIS YEAR* Request for Regional Scores

This year teams in the competitive stream may request their final scores broken down by skill on the scorecard up to two weeks after the regional finals. Teams will be given an average score between all judges broken down by scene and by skill on the scorecard. These scores will not be up for dispute or debate and do not need to be requested by all teams. The goal of this addition is to provide teams with an understanding of where they are excelling or struggling on the scorecard. This will help teams focus their efforts the next year. Teams may book a workshop with the CIG to focus on specific skills.

This program is designed for schools who fall outside of the geographic regions listed above. This may include areas that have traditionally been involved in regional tournaments or it may include teams completely outside of the scope of regional programming. For the purposes of this year “falling outside of the geographic region” will mean anyone who has longer than a 3-hour one-way travel time to attend a regional tournament. This program is also built on the understanding that if a school qualifies for the National Festival they will be allowed to travel to Ottawa, Ontario March 27-31, 2024.

Registration this year is based on a per/team payment system. The cost to register will be $250+tax per team. Your school may register as many teams as they like – junior or senior. Teams can be ADDED anytime before the registration deadline of December 1st, 2023.

Teams that CAN participate in regional programming will be encouraged to do so. (ie. if you are a school in Halifax, you will be entered into the Nova Scotia regional tournament, and may not opt into the distance program)

Each team that registers in this program is entitled to:

• A consultation call with Program Manager Spencer Dunn to discuss options and opportunities for the year
• 2 free workshops. The students will meet in person and a Zoom call will be set up with a CIG trainer for two free 1-hour workshops.
• 1 mid-season evaluation. Teams may submit 8 minutes of footage for feedback from CIG adjudicators.
• Participation in the “Distance Region” Tournament which will take place in February of 2023.
• Possible participation in distance finals, the national tournament, and national finals (dependant on ranking)

This year teams may also have any number of NON-competitive teams registered in the Non-Competitive stream. You may register a mix of competitive and non competitive teams. The cost for a non competitive team will also be $299+tax. Non-competitive teams will take part in all of the yearly programming and will have their own night of play during the week of the tournament. They will be given in-depth adjudications.

Non competitive teams will be given a discount to attend the National Festival (more info coming soon!)

For an additional $129+HST, schools may register one of their competitive teams for the Online Wildcard Tournament. This is an extra chance to attend Nationals as a competing team. Teams in the online Wildcard will submit video footage for judgement by Friday February 2nd and winners will be announced by Monday February 12th. The Online Wildcard is separate from the Distance Tournament. The full details of the Online Wildcard will be given as teams register.

The CIG is thrilled to announce that plans are underway to host an in-person National Festival in Ottawa in March of 2024. The confirmed dates are March 27th-31st, 2023. Teams are encouraged to register ASAP if they plan on attending- winning teams will have their Nationals Registration fees waived. 

The Festival will consist of workshops, forums, demos, and tickets to the shows each evening. More information about the National Festival will be announced before the winter break.

National Tournament

As always, the National Festival runs alongside the National Tournament, hosted at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

This year the breakdown of the competing teams is as follows:

Vancouver Island – Top Team

Lower Mainland – Top Team

Alberta – Top Team

Saskatchewan – Top Team

Manitoba – Top Team

Toronto – Top Team

Tri-City – Top Team

Kingston – Top Team

Ottawa – Top Two Teams

Quebec – Top Team

Nova Scotia – Top Team

Newfoundland – Top Team

Distance Tournament – Top Team

Online Wildcard Tournament – Top Team

This means there will be 15 competing teams (3 nights of play, 5 teams each night) and the top 5 will advance to finals on the fourth night. This is subject to change. 

Each in-person region this year will send ONE team to nationals (except Ottawa who will send two) and numbers from any given year will determine how many teams your region will send the following year, any regions that have up to 24 competitive senior teams registered this year will continue to send one team, any region that has 25-44 teams registered will send two, and any region that has 45 and over will send three. Ottawa will always send two teams.

National Festival

ALL teams (regardless of regional ranking) are encouraged to sign up for the National Festival! This is a massive improv festival that runs alongside the National Tournament. Students who register for this paid program will receive daily workshops, access to forums, showcases, and meet and greets. Any team that registers for the National Festival will also receive tickets to all of the shows in the evening. National Festival registration will launch in December of 2023.

National Festival Teacher’s Conference

The national festival will also include the first ever CIG National Improv Teacher’s Conference. There will be workshops, tickets to events, and meet and greets. This content will qualify for professional development.

Virtual Teacher Consultation Calls (October -December 2023)

Regional All-Teams/X-Rounds (November  2023-January 2024)

Regional Tournament (January/February 2024)

National Festival and Tournament (March 2024)

All the regional dates can be found here: improv.ca/eventdates

Registration

Registration for the 2023/24 season will run from September 6th, 2023 until December 1st, 2023. Payment for schools is due ONE month after receiving an invoice. An electronic invoice will be sent to the email you provide and can be paid online. If your school does not allow for online payments, contact the CIG National Office ASAP at registration@improv.ca. Failure to pay this invoice within the given timeframe will result in a removal from the program.

The registration form will be checked daily and your registration package will be sent out within 48 hours of registering. Invoices will be sent out within 5 days of registration.

Registration this year is based on a per/team payment system. The cost to register will be $299+HST per team in the Regional Program and $250+tax for the Distance Program. Your school may register as many teams as they like – junior or senior. Teams can be ADDED anytime before the registration deadline of December 1st, 2023.

Refund Policy

Once an invoice has been paid, refunds will not be given except on a very specific case-by-case basis to be decided by the board of directors. Please consider your ability to run a team(s) before registering. Lack of commitment from students is not grounds for a refund.

This year we are offering workshops by the hour!

We are excited to be able to offer in person workshops once again! And for those schools in which this is not an option we had a lot of success and positive feedback from our online workshops in the 2020/2021 and 21/22 year, and are happy to be continuing to offer these workshops moving forward!

Any school or team is welcome to purchase extra workshop time at any point during the year- regardless of if they are registered in our full program or not!

If you are meeting in person and can safely have a CIG trainer attend your school we will send a trainer to you. A $25 surcharge will be added to workshops where a trainer has to travel to teach at your school.

Workshops cost $99/hr+HST (+$25 flat rate for in-person workshops) and financial support is available if the cost is a barrier to you.

To register for a workshop please fill out this form:

Workshops by the Hour