The Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, also known as the Australian Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, was an Australian dance and drama challenge for government-funded

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

that was active between 1980 and 2012. Initiated by the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge Foundation as part of the Global Rock Challenge, the aim of the event was to promote

healthy lifestyle Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, the "process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health." Scope The WHO's 1986 Ottawa Charter for He ...

choices, particularly abstinence from

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

s. The event started in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1980 and subsequently spread to other

States and territories of Australia The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

and a small number of other countries. In 2004 an event for

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

students was started, called J Rock, to raise awareness about

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

and other eating disorders by promoting dance as a fun way to exercise. On 9 February 2010 it was announced that due to lack of funding, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge would not take place in 2010. The event was subsequently revised, however ceased permanently following the 2012 event. On 30 June 2013 the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge Foundation voluntarily revoked its accreditation as a registered charity with the

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the regulatory authority for charities and not-for-profit organisations within Australia. The Commission was established in December 2012 as part of the ''Australian Charitie ...

. In 2013, the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the Executive (government), executive government of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. As a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutiona ...

supported the establishment of the Wakakirri School Challenge as a replacement of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge for

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

primary and high schools.

Concept

Rock Eisteddfod shows are stories on stage of no longer than eight minutes. Participants can have between 10 and 120 students on stage, as well as up to 20 back stage crew. The entire show is set to a pre-recorded soundtrack of contemporary music, and the aim is to use dancing and drama to tell the story. There are also sets and costumes to be thought of and the performances often combine elements from the whole arts curriculum. Schools choose their own theme and story and work collaboratively with teachers and parents to bring their ideas to life. While performances are professionally staged events, the Global Rock Challenge is about having fun along the way. Students, teachers, parents and communities work together over many months helping to prepare the school's performance. Many state government health and education departments put their support behind the event. The Australian Department of Health and Ageing sponsored the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge television specials with various tobacco, alcohol and drug prevention messages for 18 years. Almost a million young people aged between 11 and 19 years have performed on stage. In 2005, 100,000 young people from 800 schools took part in one of the hundreds of shows staged worldwide. In 2006 over 400 schools and 40,000 students competed in 50 Rock Eisteddfod Challenge shows in 17 regions across Australia.

History

The concept began in Sydney in 1980 known as the Rock 'n' Roll Eisteddfod, a NSW Arts Council sponsored-event held at the

Hordern Pavilion Hordern Pavilion (known locally as The Hordern) is a building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground. Now known as a sports venue, dance party and music concert venue, the Hordern ...

. The idea was developed by Sydney radio station

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's prog ...

and, with support from

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

, the NSW Arts Council promoted the event as an example of local youth culture in action. In 1988 the

New South Wales Department of Health The New South Wales Ministry of Health, branded NSW Health, is a ministerial department of the New South Wales Government. NSW Health supports the executive and statutory roles of the Ministers for Health, Regional Health, Mental Health, a ...

was the first to see the Rock Eisteddfod as an opportunity to deliver the ''Quit for life'' anti-smoking message to secondary school students in New South Wales. At the same time, Kerrie Hayes and Peter Sjoquist took over and revitalised the event which became known nationally as the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. In 1998 the Rock Eisteddfod was televised nationally for the first time on the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

as part of the National Drug Offensive. Novelist Tim Levy was an organiser of the Junior youth competition and hosted it in five cities across Australia.

Expansion to other countries

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the event was introduced in 1993, where it was branded as the Smokefree Stage Challenge, starting with 20 schools and 2000 participants, and had grown to include 171 schools and 16,381 participants. In 1995 Inspector Mark Pontin of the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

Constabulary visited Australia on a

Churchill Scholarship The Churchill Scholarship is awarded by the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States to graduates of the more than one hundred colleges and universities invited to participate in the Churchill Scholarship Program, for the pursuit of res ...

. Pontin saw the Australian Rock Eisteddfod Challenge first hand and was so impressed that he persuaded the Chief Constable, Sir

John Hoddinott Sir John Charles Hoddinott (21 September 1944 – 13 August 2001) was a senior British police officer who rose through the ranks to become Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary. He was born in Winchester, Hampshire and educated at Barton P ...

, to introduce it to their area of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1996 the inaugural event of the

Rock Challenge The UK Rock Challenge was the British arm of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. The Rock Challenge was an anti-drug and crime-prevention event that took the form of a friendly performing arts competition for schools and colleges. Originating in Aust ...

was staged in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

with eleven schools and 800 students. This has now turned into a national series of competitions, usually starting in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in February and running through many parts of the UK (including London, at the Hackney Empire) until the northern and southern Grand Finals around the end of May / beginning of June. Rock Eisteddfod events were staged in several locations worldwide. New Zealand,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

(until 2003), United Kingdom,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

have all taken up the Global Rock Challenge. A sister event, The Croc Festival, staged a series of festivals in remote and regional areas of Australia, aimed at both

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

and non-indigenous communities are held each year. In addition to performing, the three-day festivals provide the opportunity for rural and remote students to participate in many health, education, employment, sport, visual and performing activities during the day.

Outcomes

Global Rock Challenge events in each country attempt to deliver specific health and lifestyle themes such as anti-tobacco, drugs and alcohol messages. A three-year research study by the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Department of Public Health and Community Medicine was the first cross-sectional analysis of participating and non-participating students. Professor

Don Nutbeam Donald Nutbeam , also known as Don Nutbeam, is a British-Australian public health scientist and academic known for his work on health promotion and public health policy. Nutbeam serves as executive director of Sydney Health Partners and professor ...

found that participants in the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge in Sydney secondary schools had higher self-esteem than the control group of schools who did not participate in the event; that participants smoked less tobacco and marijuana and drank less alcohol than the control group. Dr Rose Grunstein also found that students in participating schools but not in the actual team also had lower propensities to smoke, drink excessive alcohol or take other drugs. The ''Rock Eisteddfod Challenge as an Intervention to Increase Resiliency and Improve Health Behaviours in Adolescents (1999–2001)'' study examined a sample of 44 Sydney high school students and explained the effectiveness of the events as a youth program. The overall findings included a lower incidence of drug, marijuana and alcohol use among participating REC students compared to students in non-participating REC schools. Students similarly had an improved sense of identity, belonging, purpose, problem solving skills, and social competence. As an intervention program, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge improved flexibility, empathy and caring, good communication skills, sense of belonging and sense of purpose. 90% of students from REC schools and 87.5% from control schools knew that the message was an anti-substance abuse message, the study found very positive attitudes toward the REC, particularly amongst those who took an active role in the event.

Divisions

In all Rock Eisteddfod Challenge events there are Open and RAW divisions. In

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and Sydney there is an open, small and premier division. Introduced in 2006, the RAW Division is the division of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge which has a 'no set' rule, focusing purely on dance. Participants are encouraged to explore using the human body in order to tell their story, and as a result RAW division has greater emphasis on choreography, dance and drama. Schools may compete in Open/Small/Premier AND Raw divisions. The Small Teams division was cut out of the competition in 2008 in favor of RAW.

References

External links

* * * {{cite web , url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisrodley/greatest-rock-eisteddfods-ever , title=The 40 Greatest Moments in the History of Rock Eisteddfod , work=Buzzfeed , author=Rodley, Chris , date=21 September 2015
Global Rock Challenge website (still hosting Global Rock Challenge videos on 24/12/15 though these seemingly not updated after 2012)UK Rock Challenge website
Music competitions in Australia Dance in Australia Performing arts education in Australia School dance competitions Eisteddfod Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Recurring events established in 1980 Arts festivals in Australia Recurring events disestablished in 2012