REQUIREMENTS
The contest is a gay event, and Contestants must be residents of North Carolina, be 21 years of age or over, and should self-identify as gay. The Mr. NC Triangle Leather Contest is open to all gay Leathermen. While everyone is welcome to attend, the contest is not open to heterosexuals.

There is no fee to enter the Mr. NC Triangle Leather Contest.

Due to limited space in the backstage dressing areas, Contestants are not permitted to have an assistant or dresser for events, so plan accordingly. Only contestants will be permitted in the backstage area. Contestants are REQUIRED to be on time for all scheduled events. Continued tardiness indicates a lack of commitment and dedication to the task and is unfair to others who are forced to wait. A contestant who continually disrupts preparations or is late will be disqualified.

SUGGESTIONS
Contestants are required to be at all official events between 9:00 p.m. on Friday through 2: a.m. on Sunday; it will be a busy weekend. It is recommended that contestants try to arrive Friday morning and leave Sunday afternoon. This may help contestants look and feel their best.

Some contestants will have a sponsor helping to defray some or all of their expenses ... some contestants do not have sponsors and may find that, even the relatively modest expense of attending Leather Weekend is a financial burden. If you wish to be a contestant, it is recommended that you try to find a "sponsor" to help with your expenses. Your local bar, leather club, or other gay/lesbian business or organization may be interested in becoming your sponsor, and it is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to get wide-spread publicity for your benefactor. Sponsors are mentioned on stage. The sponsor of a titleholder gets even more publicity as the titleholder travels. Sponsoring a contestant can also serve as a focal point for unifying an organization's members or patrons.

JUDGING METHOD
The judges are prominent/established members of the leather community. In order to ensure fairness in selecting the winners of the contest, the Olympic Scoring System is used. In the event of a tie of the cumulative contest Olympic scores, the non-Olympic scores (without the high/low exclusions) will be used to determine the winner - if both the Olympic and non-Olympic scores are tied, the Head Judge will make the final decision. Contestants can, immediately following the contest, make a formal request to the Tally Master to examine the original scoring sheets. Copies of the scoring sheets will be mailed to all contestants upon request. Judges will be identified by their numbers, not their names on the scoring sheets. Keep in mind that judges do not necessarily look for the most handsome or beautiful face.

They do not look for the most muscular or erotic body, but rather, the person who best typifies the ideal Leatherman and in the Judges opinion can best represent the MrNCTL at the Mid Atlantic Leather (MAL) Contest in Washington DC, as well as throughout the year. This involves the Judge's personal subjective judgment of each contestant's leather image, physical appearance, attitude, personality, self-assurance and "presence".

MRNCTL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CONTESTANTS AND/OR IMPOSE AN EARLY ELIMINATION "CUT" BASED UPON PRE-JUDGING TO ENSURE THE CONTEST WILL BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE TIME FRAME ALLOWED AT THE CONTEST SITE.

FRATERNIZATION WITH JUDGES
Contestants and judges may and should "fraternize" informally in public situations. Private meetings between judges and contestants during the Mr. NC Triangle Leather are absolutely prohibited. Any sexual contact between judges and contestants during the contest is absolutely prohibited. Any behavior that might create even the appearance of bias will be brought to the attention of all the other judges who will decide if the disqualification of the judge and/or the contestant would be prudent. To avoid accidental violation of propriety, all contestants and judges must display their contestant or judge identification badges whenever they are in public places during the contest.

JUDGING CATEGORIES
Special Note: No genitalia may be exposed on-stage, in public places or in pre-judging interviews.
Interview & Pre-judging - maximum 25 points - Each contestant will individually meet with the full panel of judges and respond to whatever questions they are asked. This interview will take place in private (off-stage) without any audience. Attire should be "Leather Casual". (Formal leather is NOT appropriate.) Judges' questioning often covers knowledge of the leather community, its leaders and history, and the contestant's service, contributions, and leadership in the Leather Community.

Formal Leather - maximum 20 points. Contestants appear on-stage in the formal leatherwear of their choice. Remember that your attitude, presence, and confidence all are part of the impact you make on the judges.

Attitude and Personality -maximum 30 points. Each contestant will appear on stage in the leatherwear of their choice and will answer a question asked by the Emcee. Poise, the ability to speak clearly, with clarity and with authority, are all-important factors for most judges. 

Jock Strap - maximum 25 points. Each contestant appears  on stage in a jock strap while a piece of music they have chosen that they feel represents them self is played in the background. The Emcee will read what the contestant has written about why they chose the song and what it represents. Unlike many other contests, this segment is not an "exotic fashion show" or "body competition" but an exploration of our leather lifestyle and will be judged as such. Your stage presence and confidence are very important. Each contestant should realize judges are looking for how well you will represent the MR.NCTL at MAL and how well you present and carry yourself on stage.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THE WINNERS
The primary duty of each winner is to represent and promote the Mr NC Triangle Leather title at MAL in January and to serve as a traveling ambassador of the Mr.NCTL.

One of the foremost expectations the MrNCTL has of its winners is that during their title year, they conduct themselves as positive role models. Flagrant violation of this expectation may result in forfeiture of their title and possibly monies and prizes associated with that title.

In addition to raising funds to cover their own travels, winners are encouraged to help with fund-raising projects for worthy causes.

A specific expectation of the winner is to return the following June to to serve as Head Judge and to pass on the title and sash to the contest winner.

During the 12 months of the title year, the titleholder is expected to attend at least 6 leather events in the South East Area (as designated by the MrNCTL . The producer of the contest reserves the right to strip the title from the title holder for not fulfilling the duties of the title

The winner may not compete in any other "leather" or "fantasy" contests during their MRNCTL title year, other than MAL or IML.