OFFICIAL RULES & REGULATIONS
for the FOURTH ANNUAL TURKS & CAICOS
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

Site - All photographs must be taken in the territorial waters of the Turks & Caicos Islands during the Competition Period - June 1st through September 30th, 2008;

Artistic Freedom - To assure freedom of artistic expression, participants are not restricted to film or digital technology; make of cameras; lenses; lighting or other equipment, nor are there any restrictions on the number of photographs taken by participants while competing;

Grand Prizes - The winning photographs will be published by the Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands as a set of Commemorative postage stamps in various denominations each bearing the numerical value of the stamp; the royal cipher; the name of the Competition; the words "Turks & Caicos Islands"; the subject of the photograph; the name of the photographer and - at the Government's option - his or her country of origin;

Format - While photographs may be submitted in either the horizontal or perpendicular format, winning photographs not in the format essential to their publication as postage stamps may be cropped and this might diminish the original creative composition intended by the photographer;

Design and Layout - While every reasonable effort will be made to maintain the artistic integrity of each photograph; the design and layout of the stamps will be determined solely by the Philatelic Office of the Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands in co-operation with the publisher of the stamps;

Cash Prizes – Cash Prizes include Six Thousand Dollars ($6,000.00) divided between the top three photographers ($3,000.00 First Prize, $2,000.00 Second Prize and $1,000.00 Third Prize).

Official ID Card - Photographers wishing to participate in the Competition must apply for an Official Competitor's ID Card so they are recognized as a Competitor. To obtain these cards, competitors must fill out and submit an Official Participation Form available on the web site below or from participating Dive Operators in the Islands.

Official Entries - Upon completion of their photography, competitors may submit up to five (5) photographs on a CD in the highest resolution possible as their Official Entry provided the photographs are accompanied by an Official Entry Form (also available from the web site) and must include a description of the subject of each photograph; the dive site where the photograph was taken; the Island nearest to the photo site; technical information about each photograph (camera, lens, exposure etc.); the full address and contact information for the photographer for the delivery of prizes and their name - in block letters - as they wish it to appear on their postage stamp should they be one of the winners;

Deadlines - Official Entries must be delivered to one of the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board offices listed on the Official Entry Form by November 1st, 2008. Any entries received after that date will be disqualified;

Return of Photographs - All Official Entrants will be contacted by the Competition to advise the winners they have won. However, CD’s submitted become the property of the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board and are not normally returned.

Entry Fee - An Entry Fee of $30.00 U.S. to cover the costs of processing entries, the judging process, communicating with winners etc. must be paid in the Islands at the time of filling out or presenting the Official Participation Form. Payments can be made by cash or cheque made out to the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board.

Presentation of Major Prizes - Cash and other major subsidiary prizes will be awarded at the same time as the formal public presentation of the winning photographs as a set of postage stamps. The presentation date is subject to the time required to design and print the stamps but all winners will be appropriately advised;

Delivery of Subsidiary Prizes - Subsidiary prizes will be sent directly to the address provided by the winners at the sponsor/suppliers' earliest convenience after the winners have been announced;

Rights - The sole right to use the winning photographs as postage stamps or as any other component of the Competition shall lie with the Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands that may publish the photographs for promotional purposes in any media and in a promotional calendar used to promote and advertise the Competition. Otherwise, the copyright to the photographs will remain with the photographers;

Credit - Whenever a photograph is used or displayed by the Government of the Turks & Caicos, every effort will be made to give proper credit to the photographer;

Multiple Winners - It is the policy of the Competition that if any photographer has two (2) or more photographs among the winners, only one postage stamp per photographer will be awarded and published. However, in exceptional circumstances this rule may be waived;

Honourable Mentions - At the discretion of the Judges, photographs considered noteworthy but not included among the winning entries may be awarded "Honourable Mention" status with appropriate recognition;

Calendar - The twelve (12) most exceptional photographs submitted to the Competition will be published by the Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands as a Calendar promoting the underwater world of the Turks & Caicos with full credit given to the event and the competitors who took the photographs. Since a year elapses between competitions, the calendar deriving from the 2008 Event will be published for the year 2010;

Harm to Environment or Marine Life - From the evidence of photographs submitted, any photographer who has consciously damaged the marine environment or intentionally harmed a marine life form to take a picture will be disqualified;

"Faked" Photographs - On the evidence of software analysis, any winning photograph that is discovered to have been falsified or substantially altered will also be disqualified;

Changes - Due to the many variables affecting the Competition, its Rules and Regulations are subject to change at the discretion of the Government of the Turks & Caicos Islands. Any such changes will be announced on the web site: www.underwaterphoto.tc