Official Wayne Center for the Arts Photography Contest Rules

Sponsor

Sponsor is the Wayne Center for the Arts, 237 South Walnut Street, Wooster/OH 44691, Phone: 330-264-2787, Fax: 330-264-9314 , USA ("Sponsor" or "WCA").

Term

The Wayne Center for the Arts Photography Contest begins January 4, 2010, at midnight (12 a.m.) U.S. Eastern Time and ends April 30, 2010, 11:59:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time ("ET") (the "Contest"). Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules ("Official Rules"). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill-based contest, and chance plays no part in the determination of winners.

Who May Enter

The Contest is open only to legal residents of Wayne and Holmes Counties, Ohio, who fall within the following age groups as of January 4, 2010, at midnight (12 a.m.) U.S. Eastern Time ("ET"):

grades 3-5 (or 8-11 years of age)
grades 6-8 (or 11-14 years of age)
grades 9-12 (or 14-19 years of age).

Employees of the Wayne Center for the Arts, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as WCA board members, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related are not eligible. CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

How to Enter

Each Entry consists of an entry form and a single image. There are no entry fees associated with this contest. All entries received after 11:59:00 p.m. ET April 30, 2010 ("Final Deadline"), will be rejected at Sponsor's discretion. Sponsor's decision to reject an entry due to it being entered after the Final Deadline is final and cannot be appealed.

To enter, follow these steps:

Visit http://www.wcacontest.com/enter_photo.html and download the entry form.
Entries of contestants who have not reached their 18th birthday on or before January 4, 2010 MUST be signed by a legal representative (parent, custodial parent, legal guardian) in order to be considered valid. Entries of entrants under the age of 18 not signed by a legal representative are automatically void.
Photographs may be submitted by
1. emailing them as an attachment to wca_entries@wcaphotocontest.com.
2. mailing a CD via USPS containing the photograph to the following address:
3. mailing a photographic print via USPS to the following address:
Please name your photograph FIRSTNAME_LASTNAME_CATEGORY.jpg (example: jane_doe_nature.jpg). If your photographic file is not identified accordingly, we cannot guarantee it will be identified and entered into the contest correctly.
Sizing of Photographs: see requirements listed below.

The Categories for entries are for each age group (the "Categories"):

People
Nature & Landscapes
City, Architecture
Still Life
Abstract

Each entrant may submit one (1) entry in any Category he/she wishes during the Contest period. If an entrant exceeds this limit, Sponsor may at its absolute discretion either disqualify all the entrant's entries or select at its absolute discretion entries to go forward for judging and reject the remainder.

Each entry must comply with the following requirements (the "Photograph Requirements"):

Photographs submitted via email or on CD should be no bigger than two (2) MB in file size. Click here for tips on resizing photographs.

Photographs submitted as prints may be submitted as at least a four by six inch (4" x 6") or at the most a five by seven inch (5" x 7") print.

Photographs must have been taken within two (2) years before the date of entry and may not previously have won an award at any other photo contest, including country and State fairs, in the last three (3) years.

Minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable. Hand tinting is acceptable, as is cropping. Fish-eye lenses are acceptable. High dynamic range images (HDR) and stitched panoramas are acceptable only if the combined parts are all made around the same time. Extensive photo manipulation (collages, color substitution etc.) will not be accepted and will lead to disqualification at Sponsor's absolute discretion. Any changes to the original Photograph not itemized here are unacceptable and will render the Photograph ineligible for a prize.

Photographs that include sculptures, statues, paintings, and other works of art will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud; provided entrants must be prepared to provide a release form as described below in "Release." When photographing the work of others, it must be as an object in its environment and not a full-frame close-up of another person's art.

The photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph.

The photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content.

The entries in each Category will judged separately within the entrant's age group at the time of entering, in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below. All entries must be submitted and received by 11:59:00 p.m. ET April 30, 2010 ("Final Deadline"). Proof of submission is not proof of receipt. Photographs must be accompanied by a completed and signed entry form as set forth above ("How to Enter") and both must have been received by Sponsor on the Final Deadline in order to constitute a valid entry. Photo submissions via email must be made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, internet domain owner, or other person or organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Sponsor reserves the right to examine the original photograph/source material in order to confirm compliance with these rules.

Release

Sponsor recommends obtaining releases from any persons appearing in entrants' photographs. The same holds for property appearing in the photograph and/or other people's work (art). With your signature you declare that you have the right to the photograph, and the permission from any models, property owners etc. to use the picture. Upon Sponsor's request, entrants must be prepared to provide releases of persons or property owners. (Download the Model Release form, Artist Release form and/or the Property Release form. Acrobat Reader is required to view the download. Get the free plug-in here.)

For the purposes of these Official Rules, the entrant will be deemed to be in receipt of Sponsor's request or notification, (a) in the event that Sponsor sends the request by postal mail, five business days after the request was sent by Sponsor, or (b) in the event that Sponsor sends the request by email, on the day that the email was sent by Sponsor.

Contest Prizes

Prizes may vary from age group to age group at Sponsor's discretion. No substitutions may be made unless explicitly declared by Sponsor.

All finalists receive a free contest t-shirt. Finalists are the top ten (10) contestants in each age group.
Finalists will be recognized in the local media and on the WCA website, and their work exhibited at the Wayne Center for the Arts' premises on 237 South Walnut Street, Wooster/Ohio 44691.
Grand Prize Winner: independently of age groups and places 1 - 3 ("Winners") in each age group, Judges will select a Best of Show or Grand Prize entry. The Grand Prize consists of a digital camera and sponsored participation in the 2010 Ohio State Fair (see below).
The top three (3) contestants in each age group shall be deemed the Winners of their age group, regardless of what photographic category their entry was entered into.
Top three (3) ("Top 3 Winners" or "Winners"): The Winners will all receive sponsored participation in the 2010 Ohio State Fair in addition to the prizes listed below.
1. grades 3-5 (or 8-11 years of age)
2. grades 6-8 (or 11-14 years of age)
3. grades 9-12 (or 14-19 years of age)

Potential winners shall be required to sign and return within ten (10) days following an attempted notification, an Affidavit, Declaration or Certificate of Eligibility, Liability Release, and where legally permissible, a Publicity Release and Warranty of Ownership and License in which the entrant warrants that he/she is the owner of the photograph (and all the intellectual property rights in the photograph submitted) and grants to Sponsor and its licensees the irrevocable perpetual, nonexclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest without additional compensation. Failure to execute and deliver any required documents to Sponsor by the specified deadline may result in disqualification from the Contest, and selection of an alternate potential winner.

No prize transfer, assignment, or substitution by winners permitted. If a prize (or part of a prize) is unavailable, the Sponsor, in its discretion, reserves the right to substitute the original prize (or that part of the prize) with an alternative prize to the equal monetary value and/or specification, unless to do so would be prohibited by law. NONCOMPLIANCE OR RETURN OF PRIZE NOTIFICATION AS UNDELIVERABLE, WHETHER BY REGULAR MAIL OR BY EMAIL, MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF AN ALTERNATE POTENTIAL WINNER.

Judging

Contest consists of two (2) rounds of evaluation for each Category. In round one, each judge in a panel of photographic experts (at least one of whom will be independent of Sponsor) ("Judges") will select five (5) entries in each age group from among all eligible entries based on the following criteria ("Judging Criteria"): (1) Creativity 50%; (2) Photographic quality 50%. The entries selected in round one ("Finalists") will proceed to round two. In round two, the Judges will collectively select an overall Grand Prize Winner, and Top 3 Winners in each age group based on the judging criteria. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be resubmitted to the Judges for a rejudging between the tied entries alone. In the event that a tie remains after rejudging, the entry with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner. Judges may declare Honorable Mentions at their discretion, however, Honorable Mentions are not considered Winning Entries as defined above and are not eligible for any prizes. Finalists will be chosen and announced on or around May 15, 2010, and notified by email. Winners will be chosen on or around May 31, 2010, and notified by email. Decisions of the judges are final and binding.

License

By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable perpetual, nonexclusive license to Authorized Parties, to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: display at a potential exhibition of winners; publication of a book featuring select entries in the Contest; publication in National Geographic magazine or online highlighting entries or winners of the Contest. Entrants consent to the Sponsor doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant's "moral rights" in their entries. Display or publication of any entry on an Authorized Party's website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to Authorized Parties the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.

Limitation of Liability

By entering this Contest, all entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless the Wayne Center for the Arts, its board, and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in this Contest or any Contest-related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder.

The Wayne Center for the Arts assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Contest entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. NGS is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants' or any other persons' computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to in this Contest.

The preceding two clauses do not operate in respect of any implied condition or warranty the exclusion of which from these Official Rules would contravene any statute or cause any part of these Official Rules to be void.

Conditions

THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entrants agree that this Contest shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of Ohio and Wayne County, and the forum for any dispute shall be in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, United States of America. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or on connection with this Contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries void if the Sponsor determines the photograph to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.

By entering, entrants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Judges are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the Contest; and (c) if the entrant wins that Sponsor may use the winning photographs and each winner's name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to the Contest or future promotions without compensation or approval (except where prohibited by law). All federal, state/provincial/territorial, and local taxes, fees and surcharges and taxes (whether foreign or domestic, and including income, sales, and import taxes) on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners. In the event that the selected winner(s) of any prize is/are ineligible, cannot be traced or does/do not respond within ten (10) days to a winner notification as required by the "Contest Prizes" Rules above, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may choose whether to award the prize to another entrant.

The Sponsor reserves the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant's identity and address) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Official Rules or who tampers with the entry process. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

Right to Cancel or Suspend Contest

If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of WCA that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, WCA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If Sponsor elects to cancel or terminate the Contest, Sponsor will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs. No postage will be reimbursed.

Winners List

Entrants are responsible for complying with these Official Rules. Winners' names will be available online at www.wcahotocontest.com after May 31, 2010. Alternatively, for names of winners send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Wayne Center for the Arts, Attn.: 2010 WCA Photography Contest, 237 South Walnut Street, Wooster, Ohio 44691.

Data Privacy

Entrants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and any other purposes outlined in these Official Rules. The data may also be used by the Sponsor in order to verify the participant's identity, postal address, and telephone number or to otherwise verify the participant's eligibility to participate in the Contest. Participants have the right to access, review, rectify, or cancel any personal data held by Sponsor by writing to Sponsor at Wayne Center for the Arts, Attn.: 2010 WCA Photography Contest, 237 South Walnut Street, Wooster, Ohio 44691. Personal data will be used by Sponsor and its affiliates exclusively for the purposes stated herein.

NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS - REMOVAL FROM MAILING LIST

Any individual (or other duly authorized person) may elect to exclude the name and address of that individual from all lists used by WCA to mail skill contests or sweepstakes. To elect to have an individual's name excluded from all such lists, submit a removal request in writing to: Wayne Center for the Arts, Attn.: 2010 WCA Photography Contest, 237 South Walnut Street, Wooster, Ohio 44691.This notification system may be used to prohibit mailing of all skill contests or sweepstakes by WCA to such individual.