CdCC Competition Rules

These rules were last updated on January 13^th, 2021

Procedure

1. The Competition Committee Chair is responsible for conducting the CdCC Club Competitions and for recruiting members to assist with the tasks required to run competitions, or to act as his or her delegate in situations where the Chair can not be available.
2. The deadline for uploading images to the website for competitions is when the respective competition uploading is disabled on the website. This may occur at any time after 11:59 PM on the Sunday immediately prior to the competition. Instructions for uploading are available by clicking here.
3. Images for competitions may be deleted or substituted at any time prior to the submission deadline (see above).
4. At the beginning of the competition the Chair describes the competition theme for the judge and the audience. Images are grouped by competition level (see Competition Level below) and placed before the judge for his or her evaluation. Before the images within each level are displayed, the Chair announces the
   
   
   1. Competition level
   2. Number of entries in the level
   3. Number of awards to be given
5. Photo titles are required. The title of each photo shall be announced as it is placed before the judge for critique.
6. The judge shall critique each of the images and assign a score of 3 to 9, where 3 is unsatisfactory and 9 represents the best. After all the images with a level have been reviewed, the judge shall then make awards beginning with the images scoring a 9. If there are more awards to give, the judge shall choose from the images scoring an 8, and so forth, until all of the awards to be given out at that level have been designated.
7. The Chairperson shall announce the award winning entries. Ribbons shall be presented by the Competition Chair as soon as possible after the awards are announced.
8. Failure to follow the competition rules as stated herein may result in the mandatory removal and disqualification of an entry from the competition by the Competition Committee Chairperson. Disqualified photographs may be critiqued by the judge but are not eligible to win any prizes.

Eligibility

1. Only active members whose annual dues have been paid, and who are in good standing, may compete in CdCC competitions.
2. A member need not be present at a competition to compete.
3. All entries must be the original work of the competitor.
4. Photographs submitted to CdCC competitions should represent recent work of the maker. It is preferred that images are not more than three years old.

Competition Levels

1. Members compete at one of 4 levels. A short description of each level is included below to aid in understanding the differences. Please note that the descriptions are intended to show typical experience and capabilities to enter at the various levels. It is assumed that individuals who put in the effort will grow within their levels over time and eventually move to higher levels:
   
   
   1. Level 1 — Apprentice: Individuals who enter at this level are familiar with basic camera operation. They may use point and shoot cameras, or higher end cameras set to automatic. Typically, these photographers are novices who seek to learn more about photography and about the software for image manipulation. While friends and relatives compliment their work, they have yet to garner accolades from higher level photographers.
   2. Level 2 — Journeyman: Individuals who enter at this level have demonstrated the use of basic photography skills and are often, but not consistently capable of producing photographs of high quality. They have knowledge of various photographic techniques (including, but not limited to lighting, exposure, sharpness and blur, coloring, graphical elements and composition). Photographers at this level are familiar with the use of software to globally enhance their images but may not have mastered the skills to adjust local areas within an image. Their works are often admired by their peers, friends and the general public.
   3. Level 3 — Artisan: Individuals who enter at this level are accomplished in the art of photography. They have consistently demonstrated the ability for the viewers to "get the message" or "see what the photographer intended" through the use of various photographic and software techniques. Photographers at this level are adept at using software to enhance and manipulate local and global regions of their images. Their works are often admired by other highly skilled photographers.
   4. Level 4 — Master: Individuals at this level meet the description given to level 3 photographers and typically do superior work.
2. When a member who has been competing at level 1 or 2 earns 65 points in a competition year, that member must move to the next higher level at the start of the following competition year. Points shall not be prorated for members who have entered less than 20 images during the competition year. Under extraordinary circumstances, members may be moved to a higher level at the discretion of the Competition Committee.
3. Members may only be promoted to level 4 from level 3 if they have earned at least 76 points during the competition year. Points shall not be prorated for members who have entered less than 20 images during the competition year.
4. Members who begin a year competing at a given level, or enter a given level during the course of the year, may not move to a lower level until the end of the competition year. Under extraordinary circumstances, members may be moved to a lower level at the discretion of the Competition Committee.
5. Members who have not won any award (e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd or HM) at their existing level and have submitted at least 10 images during the competition year may petition the Competition Chair to move to a lower level. The Competition Chair may approve or deny the petition at his or her sole discretion. The Competition Chair's decision is final and may not be appealed.
6. Youth members automatically begin in level 1. Youth members are not eligible to be moved a higher level unless by exception. The Competition Chair may direct the move to level 2 or 3 only in extraordinary circumstances.

Assigned Themes

Typically, the CdCC competitions shall have an assigned theme. Descriptions of the themes shall be posted on the CdCC website 4 to 5 months before the beginning of the competition year in which the themes apply.

Good Taste

Any image that is in "Good Taste" may be entered. The Competition Chair shall determine what constitutes "Good Taste" and may bar entries that, in his or her opinion, may be offensive or inappropriate for display. Children under the age of 18 may be in attendance at club meetings, therefore, members should ensure that their entries are appropriate for this type of audience. If in doubt, members should consult with the Competition Chair prior to the start of the competition.

Format of Entries

1. Images must be scaled to a size so that the number of horizontal and vertical pixels does not exceed the dimensions specified for the particular competition listed on the club's website. Further, at least one dimension must exactly match. For example, if the website specifies 1050 px horizontal and 1050 px vertical, then an image of size 1050 px horizontal by 800 px vertical is acceptable, but an image of size 1050 px horizontal by 1200 vertical is not acceptable and neither is an image of size 800 px horizontal by 800 px vertical acceptable.
2. All images must be saved in sRGB color space.
3. All images must be saved in JPEG format with a .jpg extension

Information relating to sizing and saving images is available by clicking here.

Number of Entries

Members may submit from one up to the maximum number of images allowed for the specific competition as listed on the club's website.

Re-submission of images

1. Entries that have previously placed (1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention) in any CdCC competition are not eligible for re-submission. Similar photographs to those that have placed in any CdCC competitors (e.g., slight position change, slight exposure change, slight cropping, etc) are not permitted. A non-placing entry, including prior year entries, may be resubmitted only once.
2. Any image appearing in a competition that is ineligible because of rule 1 shall be disqualified.
3. If an image is discovered to be ineligible within one month after the competition has taken place
   
   
   1. The Competition Chairperson shall send an email notification to that image's maker and give him or her an opportunity to rebut the claim within one week. The Competition Chairperson's decision shall be final.
   2. If the Competition Chairperson's decision is that the image is ineligible and therefore disqualified, he or she shall revise the website and remove the award, including Best of Show, if applicable. This would remove the image from the gallery and would remove the points earned by the member.
   3. If the ineligible image is a 1st or 2nd place award, lower placing 2nd or 3rd award winning images shall be promoted to one higher award. Example, if an image receiving a 2nd place award is declared ineligible, then the 3rd place image would be upgraded to a 2nd place. No honorable mention awards shall be promoted. The Competition Chairperson shall revise the website to reflect the promoted awards, which would revise the gallery's award notations and increase the points earned by the makers.
   4. If the ineligible image won Best of Show, then no Best of Show shall be awarded to any other image.
   5. The club will not ask for any ribbon to be returned nor will they prepare new ribbons for promoted images.
   If a resubmittal is discovered after one month, awards shall stand as given.

Placing awards

Level 1 Competition Award modification:

When there are 5 or less entries for a monthly CdCC Level 1 competition the following modifications apply for Level 1 (Beginners).

1. For 1-3 entries:
   1. The winner of the Level 1 competition if it scores a 9 will be eligible for the Best of Show competition and will receive a 1st Place ribbon (10pts).
   2. If more than one 9 is awarded, then one will be judged the winner (1st place) and all the other 9s and 8s will be awarded HM ribbons (4pts).
   3. If there are no 9s, then the winner and any other 8s will be awarded HM ribbons (4pts), but the winner will not be eligible to compete for Best of Show.
   4. If there are no 8s or 9s awarded then the winner of the Level 1 competition will be the sole recipient of a HM ribbon (4pts) but will not be eligible to compete for the Best of Show competition.
2. For 4-5 entries:
   1. The winner of the Level 1 competition (regardless of score will be eligible for the Best of Show competition and will receive 1st Place ribbon (10pts).
   2. Other than the winner of the Level 1 competition that score 9s or 8s will be awarded HMs (4pts).
3. For competitions with 6 or more entries, the Chart below rules apply and are not modified.

Note: Judges are not required to award 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention if the entries are not deemed worthy and may award additional Honorable Mention awards on a case by case basis due to the level of a particular competition. Honorable Mention awards are not given in any particular order.

Point awards

Judging

1. All entries shall be anonymous to the Judges.
2. No comments from the audience are permitted during the judging.
3. Judges are required to briefly critique each entry to identify what they like and dislike about the photo, what makes it a good photo, and how it could be improved. If an image is not disqualified, a score of between 3 and 9, with 9 being the best, shall be given.
4. The judge's decision is final and may not be appealed.
5. Judges (at their discretion) may award special recognition to a photograph that does not come in 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention. No points or award shall be given for this recognition.

Best-in-Show — Monthly competition

When all of the levels have been judged, the 1st place winners from each level shall be displayed and the judge shall choose one to receive a Best-in-Show award.

Best-of-Year — Yearly competition

At the first regular meeting in January of the year following each competition year, an additional competition shall be held amongst all the Monthly Best-in-Show winners to determine the Best-of-Year award. Members present at that meeting shall vote by secret paper ballot.

Recording and publication of competition results

The Competition Committee Chairperson shall record the award winning images on the club's website. Software on the website automatically computes the award points and display a gallery of the award winning images.

Dispute Resolution

Any dispute concerning the conduct of a CdCC competition, the eligibility of entries or any other aspect of the competition shall be decided by the Competition Committee Chair or, in his/her absence, by a majority of the members of the Competition Committee who are present.

Rule changes for competitions

1. Members may recommend changes to the rules governing CdCC competitions either through the Competition Chairperson, or a Competition Committee Member, who shall then submit the proposed change to the committee as a whole.
2. Any rule changes must be approved by the Competition Committee and submitted to the Membership for final acceptance.