$10K prize for first-time barbershop singers

139th Street Legacy Prize

$10,000 for Varsity Quartets bringing new singers into barbershop

2025 139th Street Legacy Prize Winner: Nostalgia

Prize Rules & Eligibility

What is the prize?

The 139th Street Legacy Prize is a $10,000 award presented to the highest-scoring eligible quartet competing in the Next Generation Barbershop Varsity Quartet Contest at the International Convention.

The quartet does not need to win the overall contest to receive the prize.

Why "The 139th Street Legacy Prize" ?

The 139th Street Quartet was instrumental in founding the Collegiate Barbershop Quartet Contest, now known as the Varsity Quartet Contest, in 1992. At the time, the contest was designed as a membership recruitment tool, requiring quartets to include at least two singers who were not members of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

While eligibility rules for the contest have evolved, that original spirit of recruitment remains central. In 2022, Dr. Jim Kline, bass of the legendary BHS Hall of Fame quartet, established the 139th Street Legacy Prize to continue that intent—encouraging and incentivizing the recruitment of new singers into barbershop.

What qualifies someone as “new to barbershop”?

Eligibility Guidelines:

1. Definition: “New to Barbershop”: A member is considered “new to barbershop” if they meet one of the following criteria:

1. The individual has never been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society, any of its global alliance organizations, or any other Barbershop organization including SAI, HI, WBQA, etc.; or

2. The individual’s active membership with the Barbershop Harmony Society, any of its global alliance organizations, or any other Barbershop organization including SAI, HI, WBQA, began no more than 1 year prior to the International Convention at which they are competing.

1. Prior Participation: Prior participation in quartet or chorus contests is permissible, provided that such participation occurred after the most recent International Convention.

2. Term of Eligibility

   1. A quartet that meets the eligibility requirements may remain eligible for the 139th Street Legacy Prize for a second consecutive year.

   2. Eligibility is established based on the quartet’s initial year of qualification and may continue into the following year provided that:

      1. The quartet membership remains unchanged; or

      2. Any membership changes result in a quartet that continues to meet all eligibility requirements, including the requirement for at least two members who qualify as “new to barbershop.”

   3. Eligibility does not reset or extend beyond this two-year period based on personnel changes.

Are there any exceptions to these guidelines?

Exceptions may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis when a quartet’s situation aligns with the original intent of the prize: encouraging and recognizing new participants in barbershop.

For example, this may include a situation where a singer’s membership start date falls just outside the stated timeframe, but they had not yet meaningfully participated in barbershop activity until a later point consistent with the intent of the prize.