But WCPA scouts gets a cut?
By Steve Marshall
Talent from all over the world can attend a talent competition event that could cost solo contestants from Canada/USA anywhere from $2,100 CAD (Early bird rate) to $2,350 CAD (after May 1) just to register per single person plus travel, hotel, food and in the end there is no cash prize for any of the winners.
How can that be?
It had come to our attention that a local young boy named Ethan David is raising money in Vancouver, BC to go to Los Angeles, California to compete in a talent competition called the World Championships of Performing Arts presented by Worldstars. When we searched this contest online we found allegations that this competition is a scam. We didn’t find any evidence that it is a scam but we did have concerns about how this “Olympic-style competition” is set up.
It could cost an underage contestant such as Ethan David up to $9,000 CAD or more to attend with his parents and, to our surprise, there is absolutely no cash prize payout for any winners whatsoever.
According to Ethan’s website www.gofundme.com/ethandavid it will cost his family the equivalent of $8,463.59 Canadian to attend this competition. This trip will cost over $9,000 when they add in their food expenses for 9 or 10 days.
I have been in contact by email asking many questions with Ms Gwen Wilson, the President of Worldstars International, Inc. and World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA). Gwen stated they are expecting about 1,000 contestants this year from around the world. The starting fee for any solo artist from Canada/USA is a $1,695 USD registration fee just to enter the basics of the contest. In the case of Ethan, $595 more to add for guests or family. Plus you’ll need to add $600 more if you want to enter all other contests.
If Ethan gets everything, he will pay a total of $2,890 USD ($3,500 CAD). This does not include travel, hotel, food and other expenses. Add all these up with a thousand contestants and there could be a lot of money going somewhere… but none of it are going to the contestants.
Instead, WCOPA states “Like the Olympics, the important prize is also the “GOLD”, symbolizing excellence! However, the invaluable experiences, training and networking opportunities are the real “prizes” which every contestant receives!”
I asked Gwen why they did not give out any cash prizes and she told me “Cash prizes are not provided because this affects the Visa process and makes it more difficult for our participants to enter the country.” I forwarded to Gwen by email the following statement “…You should at absolute minimum repay the winners expenses for coming. That can be done with just having contestants get B-2 Visitor for Pleasure Visa. Furthermore if they obtained a B-1 Visitor for Business they would be able to receive a cash prize for the contest.” Gwen did not comment on this statement.
The WCOPA keeps comparing itself to the Olympics. The Olympics is a worldwide event that any country in the world can be involved in but they need to qualify their best athletes in their country and they have to be competitive within the standards around the world. Only a limited amount of the best from each category can qualify from each country.
The difference at WCOPA, there is no limit to how many people can attend from a country according to Belinda Reyes, the Canadian Director. Janice Lozano is the Western Canada scout. Instead of having competitions in a country to find out who is the BEST OF THE BEST it just takes anyone to pass an audition which can be done by video to get in and be considered invited.
I emailed the following statement to Gwen “I call this a conflict of interest that the judge and gatekeepers of the talent that will leave Canada gets a cut so the more that goes the more they make. You don’t think that is an issue?” Gwen did not respond to this statement.
Other than that, the event has been well received and as long as each participant feels the experience is worth the hefty cost it should work for most people. They do offer a lot of experiences during this 9 day event including meeting performers from over 50 countries, attending a 12 hour boot camp, possibly be seen by agents and managers looking for talent, educational scholarships totaling $350,000 (but only available in the USA at this point) joining a parade and meeting people at numerous VIP events. I’m waiting to hear how it went.
We wish Ethan the best in his trip to LA. You can donate to his dream to participate at the World Championships of Performing Arts at http://www.gofundme.com/ethandavid
