DRAFT: not legal advice. Martin to finalize with a lawyer before any prize is offered. Items in [brackets] are placeholders.
Official Rules: “Best Storm Video of Isaias” Contest
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
1. Sponsor
The contest is run by [legal name of sponsor / business entity], [mailing address] (“Sponsor”), operator of stormporn.pages.dev (the “Site”).
2. Eligibility
Open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older (or the age of majority in their state of residence, if higher) at the time of entry. Employees, officers and contractors of Sponsor and their immediate family and household members are not eligible. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
3. Contest period
The contest begins when the entry form goes live on the Site and ends at [11:59 PM Central Time on DATE] (the “Contest Period”). Sponsor’s server clock is the official timekeeper. Entries received after the Contest Period will not be considered.
4. How to enter
Submit one original video or photo of Hurricane Isaias using the upload form on the Site, together with your name, email address, location, the time it was filmed, and an optional caption. Files must be MP4, MOV, WebM, JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC and no larger than 100 MB. Limit [number] entries per person. Entries made by automated means, by anyone other than the person who captured the footage, or that are incomplete are void.
5. Safety requirement
Never film in danger. No clip is worth it. Entries must be captured safely and lawfully: not while trespassing, not in any area under an evacuation order at the time of filming, not from flooded roads, beaches, piers or surf, and not in violation of any instruction from officials. Sponsor will disqualify any entry that appears to have been captured unsafely or unlawfully. Sponsor does not ask, encourage or reward anyone to put themselves or others at risk.
6. Content rules
Entries must be your own original work, must not infringe anyone’s rights, and must not contain nudity, sexual content, graphic injury or death, content that mocks people affected by the storm, hate speech, or identifiable people who have not agreed to appear. Sponsor may reject any entry at its sole discretion. Every entry is reviewed by a person before anything is published.
7. License to Sponsor
You keep ownership of your entry. By entering, you grant Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, review, display, reproduce and share your entry, with credit to you, on the Site and Sponsor’s social media accounts in connection with this contest and its promotion, for [duration]. You confirm you have all rights needed to grant this license.
8. Judging
Entries will be judged by a panel selected by Sponsor using the following criteria: visual impact and how well it captures the storm (40%); originality and creativity (30%); storytelling and caption (20%); technical quality (10%). Entries that fail the safety requirement in Section 5 are not eligible regardless of score. Judges’ decisions are final. In the event of a tie, the entry with the higher “visual impact” score wins.
9. Prize
Prize announced soon. [Description of prize(s), number of winners, approximate retail value (ARV), and any conditions]. No substitution or transfer of prize except by Sponsor, which may substitute a prize of equal or greater value. Winners are responsible for all taxes; Sponsor may require a W-9 and will issue tax forms where required by law.
10. Winner notification
Potential winners will be notified by email at the address submitted with the entry within [number] days after the Contest Period ends. A potential winner must respond within [number] days and may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility, liability release and (where lawful) publicity release. If a potential winner cannot be reached, does not respond in time, or is found ineligible, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner selected from the remaining eligible entries.
11. Privacy
Your name, email and location are used only to run the contest and contact you. Uploads and contact details are stored privately and are not shown publicly. Only the entry itself and your name (as credit) may be published, and only after review. [Link to privacy policy]
12. General conditions
Sponsor may cancel, suspend or modify the contest if fraud, technical failure or any other factor beyond its reasonable control impairs its integrity, or if required by law. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete or corrupted uploads. By entering, you agree to these rules and to release Sponsor from liability arising from participation or acceptance of a prize, to the extent permitted by law. This contest is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, YouTube, X, Reddit, NOAA or the National Weather Service.
13. Governing law
These rules are governed by the laws of [state]. [Dispute resolution clause]
14. Winners list
For the name of the winner(s), send a request to [email or mailing address] within [number] days after the Contest Period ends.
DRAFT: not legal advice. Martin to finalize. Some states have registration or bonding rules for prize promotions, especially games of chance; confirm the rules for a judged contest before announcing a prize.