Competition Rules

WESTCHESTER PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, INC.
RULES FOR COMPETITIONS
(Revised 6/08/07)

It is your responsibility to read and comply with these regulations. These rules apply to all competitions.

Competitions fulfill a six-fold purpose for the members:

• A means of showing and sharing our work with others.

• A means of obtaining knowledgeable criticism.

• The stimulus of competition for those of us who enjoy a good race.

• A meaningful numerical evaluation of each photo.

• The reward that comes from winning.

• The reward of seeing our progress and achievements over a period of time.

Competition provides the fulfillment of being able to work and share our thoughts and efforts with each other in a friendly, positive atmosphere. It also provides emotional satisfaction for all of us, which goes beyond description!

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1.0. ELIGIBILITY: Any member in good standing (current dues and fees paid) may enter a competition.

2.0. CATEGORIES: Competition is conducted in the following categories some with sublevels:

• The regular categories are for the broad spectrum of photography: pictorial, nature, portrait, still life, photojournalism, candid, etc. Judges are instructed to critique entries according to the type of photography they represent.
• Abstracts, collage, special effects, three-dimensional objects, and other imaginative creations that do not follow normal pictorial rules are usually entered in the Open-Mind categories.
• Some of the categories are further divided into the sublevels: B or Salon.

If you cannot decide whether a particular photograph belongs in a regular or Open-Mind category, seek advice from the Competition Committee; a miscategorized entry could result in your work receiving a low score from the judge.

Black-and-white toned images must be entered in the Black-and-White category. Hand-colored images must be entered in the Color category.

3.0 ASSIGNMENT OF LEVEL FOR DIGITAL PROJECTOR COLOR CATEGORY: The Digital Projector Color category has been divided into two sublevels: B and Salon. New competitors are required to show a representative sample of their work to 3 members of the review committee for assignment to their proper competition level, to be adjudged at least a week before Competition. A representative sample consists of 10 prints or digital images.

4.0.A. ASSIGNMENT OF LEVEL FOR COLOR PRINT CATEGORY: New color print competitors are required to show a representative sample of their work to 3 members of the review committee for assignment to their proper competition level, to be adjudged at least a week before Competition. A representative sample consists of 10 prints or digital images.

4.0.B. REASSIGNMENT: The Board of Directors will annually review the distribution of competitors at each competition level. In the event of a reassignment, the members involved will be informed by the committee of the changes prior to the first regular competition. Note: That it is possible for a member to be a"B" worker in one category and a "Salon" worker in another category.
A competitor must be in one of the top three places for 2 successive years before he or she can be moved to a different competition level (B to Salon). The competitor may have a one-time "right of refusal" to be moved up. At the recommendation of the Board of Directors, a photographer who has exhibited exceptional and consistent capability over the last two to three years may be requested to move up a category, even though they did not score 1st, 2nd or 3rd for two successive years.

5.0.ENTRIES: Each member may submit two works into each of the Regular categories per competition. B-level, and S-level workers compete separately in Color Prints and Digital Projector Color categories. No worker may compete in more than one competition level in any category. Each member may submit three works into each of the Open Mind categories per competition.

6.0.QUALIFYING IMAGES: All photographs must have been taken by the competitor. Several images may appear in a submitted entry, as in a diptych, triptych, or Open-Mind creation.

Digitally captured, manipulated, and enhanced images are allowed in all categories. However, all elements must be the creation of the competitor.

The following subjects are NOT acceptable:

A. Images submitted in one category cannot be submitted in another category (i.e., slide to print to digital projector, color to B&W to Open Mind) in the same competition year, but can only be submitted once per competition in subsequent years.

B. Photographic copies of artworks or sculptures. However, an exception may be made when the maker has significantly contributed his/her own originality to the photograph.

C Photographs of prints or slides or digital images created by other people.

D. Photographs of images from clip art and flat art, copyrighted or not copyrighted, in books, magazines and other printed material.

E. Images not made by the member.

F. Any image with artificial lighting not set up by the maker including workshop setups except for pictures taken at sessions designated as "competition acceptable." These "CA" sessions will be announced in In Focus and by the workshop leader.

G. Any image not produced by a camera or digital scanner except for photograms.

H. Slides, prints, digital projector images and near-duplicates of slides or prints or digital projector images that have been previously submitted in the same category.

I. Slides and prints that are manipulations or handcrafted distortions of the photographic material and do not contain a photographic image (e.g., picture scratched on emulsion coating, picture painted on printing with developer). (For exceptions, see Rule 23.)

J .Images from commercial CDs, the Internet or any other telecommunication medium.

Disqualification - If any member initiates a challenge of another maker's image, it must be done that evening after the competition and immediately brought to the attention of the Chair of Competition. The person challenged, must submit all previous entries for that year in that category to the Chair of Competition by the next official club meeting. If these images are not produced, the image(s) in question, will be automatically disqualified with no make-up allowed. In instances where the previous entries are presented to the Chair of Competition and the challenge is upheld the score will be removed with no make-up allowed.

7.0. PRINTING AND PROCESSING: Prints (black-and-white or color), slides and digital projector images may be edited, printed and processed by the photographer or by a commercial laboratory.

8.0. SIZE: Prints (excluding mat or mounting board) must be no smaller than 5"x 7". Prints and/or mount boards must be no larger than 20" vertically and 48" horizontally. Slides must not be too thick or too thin to be accepted by the projector. If the too thick/thin image is not accepted by the projector, it will be removed from competition and will not be scored. Black slides and any slide with tape on it, must have a white strip of sufficient size to record the score and placement. Please Note: Any slide without sufficient amount of white space for recording scores will not be accepted into competition. This slide may be resubmitted at subsequent competition(s) after the slide mount discrepancy has been rectified. Submissions to the Digital Projector category must comply with the pixel dimensions described in the Guidelines for Digital Projector Submissions found on the WPS website at http://wpsphoto.org/DigitalProjectorEntriesGuide1.htm .

9.0. PREPARATION: Slides must be marked and mounted in conformance with our "Slide-Marking and Mounting Guide." Prints must be mounted securely, (matting is optional) and marked for entry with WPS Competition labels, as described in our "Print-Marking Guide". They must not be framed. The maker's name must not be visible on the front of a print. (Two sheets of competition labels are issued per member; which should be used to make copies for the member's future use.)

10.0. TITLES: Competitors must assign the competition date, title, or a description to each print or slide, as prescribed in the marking guides, in order to help us keep track of all works. However, no titles or descriptions may be disclosed to the judge, either orally or visually during the competition. Titles, descriptions and the maker's name should be covered if they appear on the front of the print. Submissions to the Digital Projector category must comply with the filename format described in the Guidelines for Digital Projector Submissions.

11.0. SUBMISSION: Submissions must be made to the appropriate category. All entries must be received between 7:30 and 7:55 PM. on the competition night. No entries will be accepted after that time. Submissions to the Digital Projector category must comply with the deadlines (currently - by e-mail at least one week prior to the competition date) described in the Guidelines for Digital Projector Submissions.

Miscategorized Entries: It is the competitors responsibility to submit their entries into the correct categories and levels for competition. Any entry submitted into the wrong category or level will not be counted as having been submitted even if it is scored by the judge. The entry may be submitted into a future competition as a make-up if the competitor has any make-ups still available.

Exception: Automatic Make-up will only be allowed in the following instance:

A. Image was clearly labeled and accurately categorized by the maker and,

B. An inadvertent error had been made by a volunteer (runner/scribe) while the image(s) was compiled for competition. This automatic make-up will not be applied against the two allowable make-ups per year under the existing Rule 13.0.

Please refer to Rule 13.0 for submitting make-ups.

12.0. WITHDRAWAL: A member who withdraws an accepted entry will forfeit eligibility to compete or make-up that month's missed competition in that category. (See rule 13.0)

13.0. MISSED COMPETITIONS AND MAKE-UPS:
For the Regular Competitions, two images per category per year may be made up by a member. For the Open Mind Competitions, three images per category per year made be made up by a member. It is suggested that no more than one make-up may be submitted in any competition. In the event of an illegal make-up the maker's highest score will be dropped from that night's competition.

If a competition is canceled because of the weather or other adverse circumstances, the following competition will maintain its original number. This cancellation will not count toward make-up entries.

14.0. SECOND SUBMISSION: Regular competition images may be resubmitted in Special Competitions. Similarly, Special Competition images may be resubmitted in Regular Competitions.

15.0. JUDGING: Normally, there will be no run-through of the photographs unless the Competition Chair deems it necessary. A partial run-through is not allowed.

16.0. JUDGING SEQUENCE: The order of the competitions will be rotated throughout the season. See the Competitions page on our website for the scheduled order.

17.0. SCORING AND AWARDS: All submissions will be evaluated by the judge and given a point score ranging from 70 through 101. However, a score of 101 may be given only if a previous entry in the category has received a score of 100.

Monthly winners, determined by the highest point scores. There will be no bonus points. The judge will not resolve ties. Competition results will be reported on the WPS website after each competition. A scoresheet will also be available on competition nights for Members not having Internet access. Members should record their own scores at each competition. Any discrepancies with the published scores should be reported as soon as possible to the Competition Scorekeeper or the Competition Chair for resolution.

18.0. NUMBER OF AWARDS: The number of awards is based on the number of entries competing in a particular category:

A. If only three people are entered in a competition, the awards will be first, second, and third. Three (3) makers minimum per category are required for the competition to be judged. If a category is canceled, due to lack of submissions, the images may be resubmitted in future competition. If a category is canceled, there will be no make up in that category.

B. If four or more people are entered, the full complement of awards will be given.

19.0. DECORUM: During competition, members and visitors must refrain from making audible comments or identifying the maker of the work being evaluated, except to correct a problem. No smoking, food, or beverage is permitted in the competition room.

20.0. HANDLING AND RETURN OF PRINTS AND SLIDES: The Competition Committee will exercise care in handling the prints and slides entrusted to them; however, WPS assumes no responsibility for any damage to the submitted materials. Prints and slides will normally be returned promptly unless temporarily held with the maker's permission by WPS for duplicating, exhibition, or other competition needs.

21.0. HIGH-POINT-OF-YEAR (HPY) WINNERS: Monthly scores accumulate through the last competition in May. These points are totaled, and high scorers for the year are awarded first, second, third, and honorable mention prizes in each category. The winners are published with the newsletter and the awards are presented at the Annual Dinner.

22.0. END-OF-YEAR (EOY) COMPETITION: This competition is held in May or June, after completion of the monthly competitions. Entries are limited to prints or slides or digital projector entries that were submitted in any of the monthly competitions for that year. Entries must retain the original scored monthly competition label. These entries need not have been winners. Entries from Special Competitions are not eligible for the EOY competition.

To be eligible, a competitor must have submitted at least 8 entries into the Regular categories during the year in the category in which he or she is competing. For the Open Mind categories, a competitor must have submitted at least 3 entries into the Open Mind categories during the year in the category wi which he or she is competing.

Competitors may submit up to three prints and/or three slides and/or three digital projector images per category. No retouching or any other changes may be made in the images for the EOY competition.

The judge(s) will not critique the entries, but awards will be given for first, second, and third place, plus two honorable mentions in each category. These awards are given at the Annual Dinner.

23.0. SPECIAL COMPETITIONS: Rules for essay, sequence, assignment, hand-crafted, video, motion picture, audiovisual, and other Special Competitions will be announced prior to the competition.

Points from these Special Competitions will not be added to those from the monthly competitions.

24.0. ANNUAL DINNER: The Annual Dinner is usually held in November, at which time awards are presented for High Points of the Year and End-Of-Year Competitions. Special awards may also be presented.

25.0. ASSISTANCE: From time to time, competitors will be asked to help the committees. Therefore, competitors should try to observe and learn our procedures in order to make our competitions more enjoyable for all.

26.0. CLEANUP: We are required, by WCC, to clean up after ourselves and leave the room in a clean and orderly condition.

27.0. DECISIONS: In all disputes involving competition, the decision of the Competition Chair or his/her delegate is final.

28.0. HAVE FUN!

©Westchester Photographic Society 2007

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Revised on 06/08/06