RCC Competition Rules

RUTHIN CAMERA CLUB INTERNAL COMPETITION RULES

Amended June 2023 

Purpose of Club Competitions

  -  to give each member opportunities to compare their photographic work with that of other          members

  -  to learn from constructive comments from judges, and

  -  to seek to improve their own standards of work.

Type of Competitions

There will be a number of Major Competitions each club year, with a variety of open and set subjects.  The subjects will be decided by the Committee and published in the Programme.  To be eligible for the Club Championship, competitors must enter at least 50% of the Major Competitions during the Championship year. Informal mini competitions, and non-competitive reviews of members’ work, may be included in the programme.  These will not count towards the Club Championship.

Categories

Major Competitions will be for the following categories
      - Prints (colour and monochrome).  

      - Projected Digital images

Please note that up to 3 colour prints and up to 3 mono prints can each be entered in a major competition, but they will be judged together in a single print category this season.
 

Entry to Competitions
Members may enter up to a maximum of 6 images in total for major competitions.  The entries must be handed in at least two weeks prior to the judging date.  Entries should be accompanied by a completed entry form (downloadable from this site under the "competitions" tab of the home page).  Late entries will not be accepted unless agreed with the Competition Secretary.  Any image which has been placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a Major Competition cannot be re-entered in any Major Competition.

The Images of the Year Competition is held near the end of the Club winter programme and is open to entries on any subject, only two images previously entered in a Club competition, one digital and one colour print may be submitted.  Entries are restricted to photos taken since 1st January of the year prior to the date of the Competition.  Categories for which prizes are awarded are Colour Prints and Projected Digital Image (NB. Projected Digital Image may be colour or monochrome).  Members may enter up to 3 images per category.

The Gordon Roberts competition is for monochrome prints only,  members may enter up to 3 images each.

For the Bernard Woolford Trophy members may enter up to 3 panels of 3-6 prints.

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Judging of Competitions

The judge for each competition will award first, second and third place with joint positions being allowed. In addition, highly commended and commended images will be requested, but these will be up to the judge’s discretion. Points will be allocated to the images, for Major Competitions only, in the following order; 1st 10 points, 2nd 8, 3rd 6, HC 4 and C 2 points.  A record will be kept of the marks gained for each image of each competitor during the Championship year.  The two highest marks gained by each member in each category from each Major Competition will count towards the Club Championship for that particular category.

Club Championship

The two highest marks gained by each member in each category in each Major Competition are added together and a trophy will be awarded at the end of the club year to the member gaining the highest aggregate scores in each category. In event of a tie for first place, there will be a ‘count back’ of the number of ‘Firsts’ gained by each person, if a tie still persists then there will be a count back of Seconds, Thirds, Highly Commended and Commended. If there is still a tie then the title shall be shared. A certificate will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of each Major Competition during the year.

Membership Eligibility

No member can enter a Club competition until their subscription has been paid, when a membership number or numbers are allocated for use during the club season to enable identification of entries.

Eligibility of Entries

Work entered into any competition must be the author’s original photographic work for which the author owns the copyright. If an entry is submitted for a Set Subject, which appears to be not relevant to that subject, the Competition Secretary will invite the member either to withdraw the entry or else give assurance that the entry is intentional and relevant.  If the member is not available, the Competition Secretary may withdraw an entry after consultation with another Committee Member. 

Images submitted by members for competitions and exhibitions of the Club’s work should comply with currently accepted standards of decency and social behaviour.  Acceptance of any image is at the discretion of the Competition Secretary, who will consult other Committee Members before making the decision.  Such judgement may cover all occasions, or be specific to particular circumstances. 

Processing of images

Entries into competitions may be home or commercially processed, digital or chemical.  Montages, special effects, and composites are eligible.

Labelling of entries

Print Competition entries must be correctly labelled to show the following:

  -  Ruthin Camera Club

  -  Member Number

  -  Colour, or Monochrome (add the suffix C or M to the member number)

  -  Title

Digital Image files for Projection shall be named in the format “Title_xxx”, where “xxx” is the member number.
 

Mounting and Size of Prints and digital image files
Prints must be mounted on card and must be correctly labelled on the reverse of the mount. Please do not use ball point pen for labelling as the ink can transfer to other print surfaces in transit. Titles may also be on the front of the entry if desired. A maximum print size (including mounting board) of 50cm x 40cm is allowed, and a minimum print size of 17cm x 12cm (or 200 sq cm) is required.

Digital Images for projection shall be JPG. Pixel dimensions must not exceed 1600 horizontal and 1200 vertical. Digital images for projection shall be supplied preferably by WeTransfer to the competition secretary email (there is a link under the competitions menu tab on this website, pressing the "PDI upload" button will take you directly to the file transfer site), or USB flash memory (which will be returned after copying files).  The media shall contain no files other than those for the competition. Image files as email attachments may be accepted if this is agreed with the Competition Secretary in advance.

Definition of Monochrome

Monochrome is defined as a work in black, shades of grey, and white, and may be toned entirely in a single colour. A work with only partial toning, or addition of a single colour to black and white, is not monochrome.

Non-acceptance of entries

If any entry is found to be incorrectly or inadequately labelled or incorrect filename or format in the case of digital entries, the entry may not be accepted for the competition and will be returned to the author.

Liability for damage

Photographic material, digital images, and digital storage media are entered for club competitions at the sole risk of the competitor and are deemed to have no monetary value.  No responsibility can be accepted by Ruthin Camera Club, its officers or committee, or members, or judges, for any damage, howsoever caused, to any print, image, or digital storage media entered into club competitions.

Copyright

Copyright of images entered for club competitions remains with the author of the image at all times.

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EXTERNAL COMPETITION RULES

For external competitions, the rules are set by the organisation running the competition.