Canadian Grand Masters
[5] According to the CGMFA rules, the recognized styles include: country, old time, Cape Breton, Swing, Métis, Bluegrass, and French-Canadian.
[6] The Canadian Grand Masters competition weekend in recent years consists of a dance/concert on Friday night, and the preliminaries, finals, a junior showcase, and Hall of Honour Inductees ceremony on Saturday.
The latter features a small selection of young fiddlers from across Canada, chosen by the CGMFA, who play their own tunes of choice in a non-competitive environment.
[2] Canadian Fiddler Matthew Johnson also recognized the difference in atmosphere between the Canadian Grand Masters and other fiddle contests, noting the Grand Masters is more professional, with former president of CGMFA Bruce Cummings saying that the atmosphere is different largely due to its invitational nature, theatre venue, and structure.
Several regional competitions and associations help sponsor their provincial representatives to ensure their best fiddlers are sent, including the Grand North American Old Time Fiddle Championship who award funds to their top three Albertan contestants.
"[11] Besides the competition, the CGMFA also organizes workshops throughout the year, promotes National Fiddling Day events, and also launched The Canadian Fiddler newsletter in 1993.
Examining the culture of fiddling contests in Ontario in the early 2000s (which includes the Canadian Grand Masters, as it was held in Ottawa annually until 2013), Sherry Ann Johnson interviewed women fiddlers to understand if gender impacted competitions.
Although Johnson notes that most did not experience any limitations based on gender, fiddler and judge Karen Reid said that there was a "definite old boy's school attitude" when it came to contests, with several comments made to her about being "good for a girl.
"[15] Johnson notes that since the 1970s, women fiddlers are often discouraged from competition in championships and open groups due to perceptions of gendered skill differences and a lack of role models.
The results of the Canadian Grand Masters show some changes in the statistics and gender divide that support Johnson’s statement.
Besides gender, the Canadian Grand Masters has made steps to ensure cultural diversity and support a variety of fiddlers and styles from across Canada.
Their contests recognize and accept a range of traditional fiddling, including Indigenous/Métis styles, and several top fiddlers and judges are Métis/Indigenous.
[6][22] The movement of the event each year across Canada between different cities also enables and attracts a wider range of fiddlers, and provides better access to the competition for those that would otherwise be unable to travel cross-country.
[24] The 2024 Canadian Grand Masters in Whitehorse included a legacy project to help promote and preserve fiddling traditions in the North.
This project highlighted and documented the history of Old Crow, Yukon, where fiddling and dances are common and led to their own distinct sound due to the community's isolated location.
