The Bless Offs is structured into three rounds and relies on the audience to choose who goes through to the next round with yellow or red cards, that correspond to their favoured poet.
"They both blessed us, but who blessed you most! Hold up red for [Poet 1], hold up yellow for [Poet 2], 3,2,1!"
(MC Dai Woolridge)
Two Bless Off Poets are invited to go head-to-head, to out encourage one another and they are prepped before hand who they will be facing.
Each poet takes it turns and is given 45 seconds to bless the socks off their 'opponent', and the audience. Time's up when the DJ triggers the claxon.
(In the full feature model, Round 1 looks like 8 poets going head to head in 4 'bless off battles', with 4 advancing to the next round, voted by the audience.)
(Left to right - Co-host Abby Doyle, Jude SImpson, David Joey (judge) Still Shadey (judge). May 2024 Big Church Festival Spoken Word Stage, sponsored by Bible society, photo credit @alexbakerphoto)
With 4 advancing to Round 2 (a.k.a. 'the Semis'), the Poets have another task. To out encourage their 'opponent' using characters from the Bible as their inspiration. Where Round 1 was a fully preppred round, the Poets won't know who they'll be facing in Round 2, so this round is part prepped and part 'freestyle'.
(Left to right - Spoken2Life, Chris Matthewman, Still Shadey (judge). May 2024 Big Church Festival Spoken Word Stage, sponsored by Bible society, photo credit @alexbakerphoto)
Round 3 (a.k.a. 'The Final') is where anything can happen! Hopefully if everything has gone to some kind of plan, the poets, the audience and the judges have been entertained and properly blessed. The final round pitts the audience's two favourites from the previous rounds against each other. Their objective is the same, 45 seconds to 'out encourage' one another, to bless their counterparts socks off!
But the big difference this time is, they have to 'Bless', while weaving in 3 random words - one from the audience, and one from each respective judge.
(From left to right, 'Briggs the Wordsmith', 'Spoken2Life', David Joey (judge), 'Still Shadey' (judge), Dai Woolridge (MC) | May 2024 Big Church Festival Spoken Word Stage, sponsored by Bible society, photo credit @alexbakerphoto)
(From left to right, Still Shadey (judge), Bless Off Champion 2024 'Spoken2Life' | May 2024 Big Church Festival Spoken Word Stage, sponsored by Bible society, photo credit @alexbakerphoto)
Finally, we announce the 'Bless Off champion'. The winner gets crowned and robed, and given a spectre to wave around. It's all very exciitng.