What follow are the official rules for the Cantab World Qualifier Slams. The number of rounds and advancing poets are subject to change, depending on competitor attendance at the semi-finals.

Cantab World Qualifier Slam Rules (both nights)

• Poets who wish to slam will check in to draw no later than 9:00 P.M.
• Poets will have to pay the cover charge.
• Competing poets may not read in or host any portion of the open mic or slam.
• Competing poets may not work the door, wait tables, or bartend.
• Five judges (or teams of judges) will be selected from the audience by the slam host and bout manager. Up to two of these judges may be Cantab "regulars" as per the discretion of the slam host and bout manager. All judges will be encouraged to choose poetry over performance.
• For both nights, all IWPS rules apply: original work, no props, no costumes, no music, penalties levied for exceeding the time limit.

Cantab World Qualifier Semi-Finals Rules and Format

• All poets who have qualified to slam, even those who do not intend to attend IWPS, are encouraged to slam.
• There will be at least one warm-up poet, then two rounds of slam, with the order drawn randomly for each round. Whether there is a break between rounds or not is left to the discretion of the host and bout manager.
• Round one will have a time limit of 2:10. Round two will have a time limit of 1:10.
• Poets may use any original poem in their repertoire, including poems used in previous open slams and poems used to qualify in previous years.
• The top ten cumulative scorers will advance to finals the following week. If there is a tie for the tenth spot to advance, all tied poets will advance.

Cantab World Qualifier Finals Rules and Format

• Poets who slam in the finals are considered committed to representing the Cantab at the Individual World Poetry Slam. Poets who are not interested in representing the Cantab at IWPS may not slam in finals.
• Poets may not use poems they used in the previous week's semi-final.
• Order for all rounds will be drawn randomly.
• In the case of ties to advance, all poets tied for the last advancing slot will advance.
• There will be at least one warm-up poet, then one round of slam. Time limit will be 3:10. The top eight round one scorers will advance to the next round.
• Round two time limit will be 3:10. The top six round two scorers will advance to the next round.
• Round three time limit will be 4:10. The top four round three scorers will advance to the next round.
• Round four time limit will be 3:10. The top round four scorer will represent the Cantab at IWPS.
• If there is a tie for the top slot, all tied poets will return to the stage for another 2:10 round. The order will be the same as the last round. The top scoring poet of the tie-breaking round will represent the Cantab at IWPS.

Poets are encouraged to contact the SlamMaster directly by email with any questions or concerns.

The following is expected of the poet who qualifies to represent the Cantab at the Individual World Poetry Slam:

• Attendance at the next IWPS, pending PSi approval of the Cantab's application to IWPS.
• Financial responsibility for travel and stay at IWPS (beyond whatever the venue is able to raise), assuming attendance.

If the poet is unable to fulfill these responsibilities, or the poet declares a preference to not represent the Cantab at IWPS, another poet will be chosen.

The replacement hierarchy for the IWPS representative is as follows:

1. The next available top scorer in the final rounds of the Cantab World Qualifier Finals.
2. The current Champion of Champions of the 8x8 series.
3. The next available top scorer in the Cantab World Qualifier Semi-Finals.
4. The top scorer in an open poetry slam held exclusively for the purpose of choosing a new representative, if time and venue constraints allow.
5. The next available top scorer in the final rounds of the most recent Cantab Team Selection Finals.
6. The most recent Head-to-Head Haiku Champion.
7. The next available top scorer in the most recent Cantab Team Selection Semi-Finals.
8. The next available least recent winner of the open poetry slam since the Cantab Team Selection Slams.
9. Open vote among all interested parties, wherein said parties may not vote for themselves. Ties will be broken by the vote of the SlamMaster.