FAQ
When is the next competition?
For a number of years, SaberComp has operated on a fairly fixed schedule. We announce the new theme, rules, and sometimes a promo on May the 4th (Star Wars Day). The contest runs through the end of January the following year, with judging and winner announcements in February. So our off-season is basically March and April.
Where can I find the bumper for this year?
The SaberComp bumper is a unique animated logo that is crafted for each year. As such, we don't always have it available at the beginning of the competition season. We aim to make it available by fall, and it will always be at the top of the Resources page. If you don't see it there, we haven't released it yet. But worry not, it's always available in a timely manner before we open up the submission form. You can subscribe to our RSS feed or email updates to make sure you don't miss it when it drops.
Do I need lightsaber effects in my entry?
No! Lightsaber effects are a time-consuming process, especially for those who haven't done them before. We don't require VFX for you to enter your fight, and you can still absolutely compete in the choreography category, or any other filmmaking categories you can excel at.
Why must entries be set to Unlisted? Do they remain that way?
SaberComp has a long history of keeping entries unreleased prior to debuting the entire lineup at a specified date. In the era of YouTube, we rely on the Unlisted visibility setting. This allows anyone with a direct link to view the video, while not notifying subscribers or allowing it to be found through search.
This works out perfectly since you provide a direct link to your YouTube entry in our form. Unlisted videos can also be added to playlists, so we're able to build the Official Playlist and release that playlist to the world, regardless of whether individual entries have been made public or not. So it's the most frictionless method we have at the moment.
And no, they need not remain Unlisted. Once the day of the playlist premiere arrives, you can switch your entry over to Public, setup a live premiere on your channel, or share it with the world in whatever way makes you proud!
Why must entries be set to "not for kids"? My entry is family friendly!
We have no doubt that it is! However, YouTube's Audience policy dictates that videos marked "for kids" cannot exist alongside videos "not for kids" within a single playlist. As such, this audience setting needs to be set correctly so we can properly display your video in the Official Playlist.
Failure to do this results in annoying back-and-forth emailing that I'm sure we'd all love to avoid.
What's deal with the Archive?
The LCC|SaberComp Archive is an on-going project that the team has always had in mind over many years. A TFN user known as Phi documented the first 9 years on her website, which is still active.
Scattered efforts over the years has preserved the original entry lists and winners, but they have been in the form of forum posts, spreadsheets, emails, and Facebook albums.
In recent years, web master Nathaniel Caauwe has been gathering this information into a centralized Notion database for the Council to reference, and get a birds eye view of what sort of information we still need to track down.
Meanwhile, work is also being conducted to build an interactive and searchable database that serves as a robust and permanent home for over 20 years of LCC and SaberComp. This system is being built from scratch with the Django web framework, and is a side-venture of Mr. Caauwe. So any support that can be thrown his way is greatly appreciated.
What's the Showcase on this website?
From 2021 through 2025, the previous incarnation of the SaberComp website was consistently building pages to show off the winners, list links to the top 10, official playlists, and live judging.
When rebuilding the site on Ghost, we decided to utilize the tagging system of the blog engine to highlight entries over the years in a similar fashion. The difference between the Showcase and the Archive is that the Showcase does not feature every entry, but instead only those who earned accolades.
The tagging system here, however, allows you to view all 1st place winners, Best Choreography, or Best Editing, for instance.
As with the Archive, the Showcase is not fully fleshed out as of the time of the website launch. There are a lot of competitions to sift through.