1. Objective

1.1.1
In order that members may improve their ability and the quality of the images that they produce a number of internal competition evenings shall be held throughout the Club season. This will enable members to receive constructive comments from an external judge and also, by the judge awarding marks, allow the member to understand how other people value the quality of his/her work when compared to other members of the Club.

1.1.2
The marks awarded at these competition evenings shall be used to establish an overall winner for the season.

2. General

2.1.1
Two joint Competition Secretaries shall be appointed at the AGM to administer the running of the Club competitions.
2.1.2
The number and format of internal Club competition evenings shall be decided by the committee and shall be published in the programme for the following Club season.
2.1.3
Each competition evening shall consist of two separate competitions.
•A Photographic Print Competition (Category 1)
•A Projected Image Competition (hereafter referred to as PI) (Category 2).

3. Role of the Competition Secretaries

3.1.1
The Competition Secretaries shall be responsible for the appointment of suitably experienced external judges and agree the total number of images that the judge can accept.
3.1.2
The Competition Secretaries shall be responsible for administering and periodically presenting modified competition rules to the committee for approval. The rule modifications shall commence from the start of the next Club season and shall be communicated to the members at the Club AGM and via the Website.
3.1.3
The Competition Secretaries shall receive all entries to competitions from members in the agreed format (as detailed below). Any entries that do not meet the agreed format will be withheld from the competition and returned to the member.
3.1.4
The Competition Secretaries shall present the agreed number of eligible images, in a random order, to the judge. If too many images are submitted then the Competition Secretaries will adjust the total number of images presented as indicated in Clause 5.1.3 below.
3.1.5
The Competition Secretaries shall record the marks allocated to each entry and administer a league table. The overall winners of category 1, category 2 and combined category 1 and 2 (Clubman) will be announced at the end of the season.
3.1.6
The Competition Secretaries may retain some of the images present at Internal Club competitions for inclusion in the Clubs submissions to External competitions. e.g. “Battles”.
3.1.7
The Competition Secretaries shall receive any Comments Forms (obtainable from the Competition Secretaries or website) regarding the eligibility of entries and submit these, together with the entry in question to the committee for consideration.
3.1.8
The Competition Secretaries shall select and present the Club images at External competitions.

4. Role of the Member

4.1.1
Any fully paid up member of the Club may submit entries for inclusion in either or both of the categories at any Club competition.
4.1.2
Entries shall be submitted to the Competition Secretaries 2 weeks before the appropriate competition date as published in the Club Programme (late entries will not be accepted).
4.1.3
Members shall comply with the competition rules when submitting entries. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that their entries meet all of the necessary criteria.
4.1.4
Any member who believes that an entry to the Club competition did not comply with the Club rules shall report this entry to the Competition Secretaries on a Comment Form for consideration by the Committee.

5. Entries to Competitions

5.1.1
All images presented (including any computer or dark room adjustments) shall be solely the work of the member. The only exception to this is where printed images have been printed, without modification, by a third party.
5.1.2
The Club competitions will in general be open with regard to content. The committee may however periodically decide to have themed competitions. Any such competitions will be announced at the AGM and included in the Club Programme.
5.1.3
Each member may submit a maximum of three Prints and three PI’s in each competition in prioritised order i.e. 1, 2 and 3 on the Competition Entry Forms provided on the Website. (Anyone without access to the Website can obtain one from the Competition Secretaries). Both Entry Forms and the Flash/Pen Drive/CD should be placed in the bag provided by the Competition Secretaries. However, the Competition Secretaries reserve the right to reduce the number of entries down in either or both of the categories, if the total number of all entries needs to be limited to a level that the chosen judge can comment on during the evening. Therefore, in the event of entries being over subscribed, the Competition Secretaries will submit the higher prioritised entries from the members. The omitted prints/PIs will still be eligible for re-entry into any later competition.
5.1.4
Prints scoring 17 or more marks may not be resubmitted as either prints or PIs even if subsequently modified.  PIs scoring 17 or more marks may not be resubmitted as either PIs or prints, even if subsequently modified.
5.1.5
The entries shall, in general, represent the current work of the member since one of the objectives is to receive comment on the members work and improve skills.
5.1.6
A member may resubmit an image that received 16 marks or less with or without modification. The image shall only be resubmitted only once and into the category into which it was originally entered. A maximum of one image in each Category, per Competition, may be a resubmission. Any resubmitted image should be clearly marked as such on the competition entry form.
5.1.7
Any image used in a Club Competition one season shall not be used in any way in a Club Competition in a subsequent season. However, images from previous Club Seasons may be selected by the Competition Secretaries for External Competitions.

5.2. Printed images

5.2.1
All prints must be presented on mounting board suitable for exhibition or entry to outside competitions entered by the Club.
5.2.2
Maximum size of the print/mount shall not exceed 50cm x 40cm and one side must measure either 40cm or 50cm. to avoid damage to other prints.
5.2.3
Minimum print size shall not be less than 25.4cm (10”) on the largest side.
5.2.4
Every print must be titled. This may be on the front, or the back of the mount in pencil only according to individual preference.
5.2.5
The Author’s Club Membership Number must be shown on the back of the mount in pencil only. The Authors name should not be included. There should be no sticky tape or label on the back of the mount to avoid damage to other prints.
5.2.6 
A digital file of the image must also be must be saved in a JPEG format, resized to 1400 x 1050 pixels, and named in the following format :-

Sequence no (i.e. 01, 02 or 03), space, image title (e.g. 01 My best image) and submitted on the Flash Drive/ CD in a folder named with the Members Name inside a folder named “Prints”.

5.3. Projected Images

5.3.1
PIs must be in a 1400 x 1050 pixel format.
5.3.2
The colour space must be sRGB.
5.3.3
Files must be saved in a JPEG format, named in the following format :-

Sequence no (i.e. 01, 02 or 03), space, image title (e.g. 01 My best image) in a folder named with the Members Name inside a folder named “PI’s”.

5.3.4
Entries must be submitted on a CD or Flash/Pen Drive, marked with the Author’s name and Club Membership Number.

For instructions on how to resize and save your images for PI competitions, please follow the “Cropping Images for Club Projection” on the Nantwich Camera Club website. If you have not got Internet access, please ask the Competition Secretaries for a printout.

6. Competition

6.1. Judging

6.1.1
The judge will provide comments and scores during the competition evening, on entries accepted by the Competition Secretaries.

6.2. Marking

6.2.1
The entries in each category will be assessed and will be marked out of a maximum of 20 points by the judge.
6.2.2
All accepted entries of each member’s submitted entries will count and be totalled in each competition. The points gained by each member in each of the competitions for each category will be totalled to establish the overall winners for the season.

In the event of two or more members attaining the same number of aggregate points in either category, the winner will be decided on a count-back basis, scored as follows:-

Print/PI.

7. Ownership of Entries

7.1.1
All entries to competitions remain the ownership and copyright of the member.
7.1.2
By entering a club competition the member implicitly gives the club permission to copy the image as may be required to present in Internal and, External competitions and on the Club Website.  The Club cannot use the image for any other purpose without written permission of the owner. 

Amendments and Issue dates:
Rules re-written and issued September 2011