RYDE EASTWOOD LEAGUES CAMERA CLUB

Rev: 15/12/2019

Note: ALL entries must be the member’s own work.
There can be no exception to this basic rule.

Instruction sheet for sizing and labelling competition entries.

All A & B Grade SMALL PRINTS:
The maximum printed surface area is 310 square centimetres. All prints are to be mounted on a card mount to a maximum size of 500 square centimetres. Provided that these areas are not exceeded, there is no notional minimum or maximum size of any side of the print or mount (this criterion differs from what is required for all other print categories where the stated dimensions are the MAXIMUM permitted).

B GRADE LARGE COLOUR and MONOCHROME PRINTS:
The maximum printed dimension of entries is 21 centimetres by 30 centimetres (that is, the size of an A4 sheet of paper). All prints are to be mounted on a card mount up to a maximum dimension of 30 centimetres by 40 centimetres.

A GRADE LARGE COLOUR PRINTS PRINTS:
The maximum dimension of entries including mounting boards is 40 centimetres by 50 centimetres.

PROJECTED Colour and MONOCHROME IMAGES:(Both A & B Grade)
Must be submitted as 1920 pixels x 1200 pixels for landscape mode, and a maximum height of 1200 pixels for portrait mode . The maximum file size not to exceed 1mb. Must be in the JPEG format and sRGB colour profile.

Instructions for competition entry forms and entries

On the back of each print, mark ”Top” (with an arrow if considered appropriate) to indicate the correct way to view the print. Labels (or other notations) on the back of the mount must include the member’s club number, the grade in which the print is being entered (Grade A or Grade B or Monochrome as appropriate), the author’s name and the print’s title.

All entries for Projected Images categories are to be submitted to both Webmasters no later than 6pm on the night two weeks prior to the competition night, usually the second Monday of the month, by email. No late entries will be allowed.

All Small Prints and Large Colour Print entry titles must be submitted to all competition secretary no later than 6 p.m. on the Saturday prior to the competition night by email or verbally by phone (contact details can be found on the Camera Club Programme). For ease of handling, the actual prints are submitted on the night of the competition, by 7:30p.m.. No late entries will be allowed.

Ryde Eastwood Leagues Camera Club:
The (Patron's Trophy)

The Patron's Trophy, which used to be called the trophy for "The Most Improved" member, is now the "Patron's Trophy" (its original intent). Eligibility for the award is now open to all members, in all categories and is limited to being awarded to the same person only once.

A Patron's Trophy should be a prestigious award given in recognition of consistent hard work and devotion to one's craft in this case, photography regardless of the number of years one has been practising the art. It should therefore be open to competitors at all levels and, in this way, encourage all photographers to continue to try to develop and improve their photography skills and style.

In the interests of transparency, and to avoid the issue of individual personalities and preferences, the Committee believes it is important to have an impartial means of measuring competitors' performance and ascertaining the recipient of this award, even if this may, from some viewpoints, appear to be somewhat arbitrary.

A formula has been established which measures a member's competition performance in the first half of the year against their own performance in the latter half of the year in the same category. The measurements are determined by establishing a performance ratio per competition i.e. the number of points earned against the number of entries and then taking the average of the performance ratio over the first five competitions of the year and measuring this against the average performance ratio over the last five competitions. The difference in the two measurements will give an "Improvement Ratio" which will provide a winner. In the very highly unlikely event of a "tied score", the Committee may have to "break the deadlock", even if it means taking the result to four or more decimal places or using some other criteria. The decision of the Committee will, of necessity, need to be final.

In order for the formula to work successfully it is necessary for the member to enter a minimum of three competitions in each semester. The Committee believes that it is unlikely that any attempt would be made to consciously "rig" the results as to do so would disadvantage one's performance in the overall competition and it would be extremely difficult to achieve successfully. The Committee also considers that such activity would be contrary to the spirit of the Camera Club's aims and intentions and, for that matter, of the award.

While the nature of the formula will inevitably provide advantage to B Grade competitors and beginners, it is also a reality that the winner will not necessarily be the winner of that category, or even a place getter in the overall competition (and, after trialling the formula over several past years' results, it has been found that the notional award winner rarely was a winner of the overall competition).

It is the Committee's belief that opening the eligibility for the award up to all members of the Club, regardless of grade or experience, will provide encouragement to everyone to try a new medium and to continue to work hard to improve one's performance against oneself.

The Committee believes that the intent of a Patron's Trophy should be to reward outstanding endeavour, regardless of the length of service to the craft or the standard of the photographer. While the nature of the trophy should provide encouragement to all, it is not an encouragement award as such, nor is it an indication of less than average standard initially – someone who was initially of a high standard and who improves on that standard during the course of the competition year may be a recipient of the prize in that year.

The Patron's Trophy should be an award that anyone is proud to win.