For those wondering below are the official rules - it does say that only Visa / MC are accepted. It sounds as though a mistake was made by the office personnel taking the entry fee. Given that one had to call in their entry fee the office personnel should have immediately said something rather than accepting the AmEx card and giving the appearance of a complete entry. Obviously they were poorly trained for the job at hand. In addition, collecting a fee separate from the entry is just asking for screw ups like what is being played out here.
So because an entry fee was not paid it does give the promoter the ability to deny the prize. The rules are clear but the promoter failed in their due diligence before announcing the prizes and should have immediately notified the contestant of the problem. So while the promoter may be right their handling of the matter can only be considered to be a dismal failure and has probably caused more harm than good. Especially because this does not appear to be a one time incident but from the sounds of it a habitual problem. Which IMHO is no way to run a business nor a business that I would want to do business with. Especically, in the day in age where word of mouth spreads at the speed of light over the internet.
Case in point, I will be in the Bay Area next week and thought about stopping by the Bay Area Dive Show which is run by none other than Dive Chronicles. I think I will just head down to Monterey and knock back a few cold ones and perhaps stop in at Backscatter and mention this thread as they were one of the other contest promoters.
Click on the link on the right side -
http://www.divechronicles.com/fl/Florida Dive Show Photo/Video Contest
COMPETITION CATEGORIES:
U/W PHOTO:
Digital Still Categories (DSLR & a Snap Shot Cameras Category)
MACRO (DLSR & a Snap Shot Cameras Category)
(underwater images which have a picture area of 7x5 inches or smaller)
WIDE ANGLE (DSLR & a Snap Shot Cameras Category)
(underwater images which have a picture area larger than 7x5 inches)
All photo entries will be submitted by email. Entrants must be from the State of Florida. Non Florida Residents may enter but must be present at theFlorida Dive Show in order to be considered. Entry fee for the Photo Contest/ Video is $ 10.00 per catagory. Maximun of 2 submission per categories per person. Winners will be announced the morning of November 15th at the Florida Dive Show.
The Digital Still Categories are open to all skill levels.
Video cameras in "photo" mode qualify as long as the resolution is greater than 1 megapixel.
U/W VIDEO:
Two Categories- Best Music Mix & Funny U/W Video
2 Minute Story (Over 2 minutes will be disqualified, must be uploaded to youtube and sumitted by email.).
Video entrants may be of any skill level. At least 75% of the entry must be underwater. Your camera skills as well as editing creativity will be judged. Show your editing system and methods.
Call 888-557-2822 to pay for your submissions, Visa and Master Card Only
Entries must be 5 by 7 at 300 DPI
Email submission to pvcontest@floridadiveshow.com
CONSERVATION RULES:
Applicable to all entrants and entries: Conservation Rules established by EPIC®. Marine life should never be stressed or endangered for the sake of a photo. Entries exhibiting the following behavior will be disqualified:
Divers visibly damaging the environment (e.g. gear dragging or kicking up sand)
Animals with signs of stress (e.g. puffed puffers, inking octopus)
Animals moved to an unnatural environment or risky location
Animals being fed (especially artificial food from divers)
Marine life being touched (e.g. coral polyps, seahorse tails)
Divers exhibiting poor buoyancy control
Conservation rules will apply and the judges' decision will be final.
Photographers and videographers retain all copyrights to their images and/or video.
Entries must be emailed to pvcontest@floridadiveshow.com Dive Chronicles/Florida Dive Show have rights to use any submitted images for a period of two years for purpose of promoting future U/W Competitions. Photographer credits will be given.
You can email question to judges@floridadiveshow.com.
Entrants must be from the State of Florida. Non Florida Residents may enter but must be present at theFlorida Dive Show in order to be considered. Entry fee for the Photo Contest is $ 10.00 per catagory . Maximun of 2 submission per categories per person. Winners will be announced the morning of November 15th at the Florida Dive Show.
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Stills: Overall Esthetic Appeal, Technical Image Quality, Composition, Degree of Difficulty
Video: Camera Handling &Technique, Composition, Lighting-Natural/Artificial, Degree of Difficulty
PRIZES:
First and second place will be awarded in each category. Prizes will be posted during the Florida Dive Show show.
Snap Shot DSLR Video
Wide 1st
5 day/4 night Divi Resort 5 Days/ 4 nights Divi Resorts N/A
Wide 2nd
$ 150.00 Gift Certificate from U/ Photo Tech $ 150.00 Gift Certificate from U/ Photo Tech N/A
Macro 1st
TBA Trip on Nautilus Explorer N/A
Macro 2nd
$150.00 Gift Certifcate to Backscatter $150.00 Gift Certifcate to Backscatter N/A
Video Music
N/A N/A Nekton Liveaboard Trip for one
Video Funny
N/A N/A Trip to Wakatobi for one
* Prizes are subject to change without notice. Each vendors has some restrictions that may apply.
Subject to change without notice.
Edited by allen, 08 April 2009 - 03:56 PM.