Submit to Compete
Important Dates
- November 16, 2025: Submission deadline
- December 2025: Selection Announcement
- Friday, February 13, 2026: LAAF 2026 Competition.
The LAAF Competition form will open in late September. Selected competitors will be announced December 2025.
Questions? Concerns? Contact Evan Fraser, LAAF Competition Coordinator, at [email protected]
Groups are eligible to apply for the 2026 LAAF Scholastic Competition if they are made up entirely of full-time students OR are a recognized student group affiliated with a high school, college or university and adhere to college/university student group bylaws. Groups that are formed with the intention to earn a profit, provide mentorship and coaching, or otherwise seek to book headlining performances are not qualified to apply for the scholastic competition, but are encouraged to engage the LAAF production team for other opportunities. All questions regarding this rule should be directed to a LAAF 2026 producer.
This year due to requirements from our venue, high school groups will be required to submit a COI for the venue. The LAAF production team will reach out after you purchase tickets.
For your application, here’s what we are looking for from you:
Competition Submission Instructions
-
RECORD YOUR GROUP FOR UP TO EIGHT MINUTES OF FOOTAGE
It can be in rehearsal, in concert, on the street corner or in your garage — we just need to see enough a cappella to know your particular musical version of awesome. However, you’re more than welcome to use some of your time to tell us why you should be selected for the LAAF competition! This video should be a genuine representation of your group, so show us what makes you different! If you only need one song to do so — so be it. As this is an all-voices competition, your music submissions must be a cappella, and the video has to be of members from this school year (the 2025-2026 school year). Furthermore, all submissions must have unedited/raw audio so as to reflect the clearest version of the sound that you will bring to the competition should you be selected; remember, there’s no Melodyne in a live performance! All arrangements and material will be considered. Video submissions over 8 minutes and with any form of post-production could be docked/disqualified by the Selection Committee. Remember that they are your ticket into the competition so consider the viewer experience when submitting! It’s time to put your best foot forward.
The Selection Committee is a random selection of experienced A cappella judges (some from ICCA), professionals, and enthusiasts from around the country. Neither the Competition Judges nor the LAAF Producers are part of the Selection Committee to ensure as fair a competition process as possible.
-
POST THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
Make sure that you title the video ‘LAAF 2026 Scholastic Competition – (Insert your group name here)’, and make sure to use the video info section of the uploader to indicate your school, title/arranger for each song on the recording, and a roster of those appearing in the video. You do not have to record the songs that you’ll be competing with, but it will not hurt your chances. Again, the Selection Committee is different from the Competition Judges and the latter won’t see your work until you step onto the LAAF stage. It is wise to set your video as private/unlisted, but not required.
-
FILL OUT THE COMPETITION SUBMISSION FORM
Make sure to include all requested information and paste in a link to your YouTube video. Your group's info and video link will be sent to a diverse committee that will choose the six groups.
-
GET READY TO BUY YOUR LAAF WEEKEND PASSES!
You will be notified when you are able to purchase your group’s LAAF Weekend Passes. Please note: YOUR GROUP MUST PURCHASE ALL-ACCESS PASSES FOR ALL ATTENDING MEMBERS BY THE EARLY-BIRD DEADLINE TO BE CONSIDERED TO COMPETE. SORRY, NO EXCEPTIONS. All tickets are non-refundable, so make sure you have your ducks in a row before you buy.
LAAF 2026 Competition Format
This year we’re doing things a little bit differently. We will be separating each group’s time into two rounds. In keeping with tradition, performance order will be selected at the venue, but each group will perform once before intermission and once after.
We also want to encourage groups to level-up their performance. Maybe a costume change at intermission, or secret ribbon wands, or maybe a flash mob dance troupe from your school will join you on stage. We want you to think big, but also keep in mind that our schedule and venue come with limitations. For example, sound checks (typically about 12 minutes) will not include extra time to rehearse with your props or dancers, and limited backstage space may mean that your baton twirlers will not get any dressing room space. Further details will be coordinated with groups selected to compete.
2 Rounds as follows:
Round 1: Origin Story - 6 Minutes
LAAF began in 2010 as a passion project among students who were in search of a greater opportunity to connect with and learn from the larger a cappella community. That dream became reality and we’ve since shared countless hours of music and learning moments with each other.
In 6 minutes, share with us your origin story. Think songs you grew up listening to in the car with your parents, on the radio late at night with your friends, or the songs you played on repeat, becoming an important part of your life leading up to when you first joined a cappella.
Round 2: Redux - 4 Minutes
Music speaks to us all in different ways. We start with the original artist’s interpretation, but those same lyrics or melodic and harmonic movements can mean something totally different to each of us. A few years ago we were blessed with Kygo’s release of Whitney Houston’s rendition of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love, and even more recently Luke Combs graced us with his re-interpretation of the legendary Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car. These covers didn’t go viral simply because of who performed them, but because they gave us the opportunity to connect with the work in a way we hadn’t felt before.
So, in 4 minutes, please share with us your re-interpretation of stories that we all know and love.
"*" indicates required fields