"Discover a Career in Water" Video Contest

• Create a 10 minute or less video based on a water or wastewater career
  
• Find a working person in the Water and Wastewater Industry to interview
  
• Career Examples: Water or Wastewater Operators, Regional System Managers, Engineers, Water System Construction Employees, System Administrative Staff, City Clerks, IDNR staff, etc.
  
• Shoot the interview on video
  
• Shoot background video showing what this person does and where
  
• Submit the video in DVD format to Iowa Rural Water Association
  
  

How to find an interesting working professional to be your subject…

• There are several individuals in or around your community that work in the industry. Which of these people would make a memorable and informative interview?
  
• You surely know people or your parents do, who perform a city or water system job. They are all around you!
  
  

Who’s Eligible:

The contest is open to students in grades 9—12, individually or as a group entry of no more than four students. Entries must be sponsored by an individual teacher representing a specific department within your school. Your video will compete with other Iowa high school students for a first place award. However, a distinguished panel of IRWA judges will select and give recognition to the top three videos.

The Sponsoring Teacher:

The sponsor’s role is to encourage students’ participation, and provide general guidance in how to plan a video and enter the contest – not developing the creative concept or executing the video. Any teacher can serve as the sponsor, but this is ideal for those who work with Environmental Science, Media Technology, or Communications. If a science teacher wants to work with a media technologies teacher to co-sponsor, that’s great – they just need to split the award if their student(s) win the contest.

The Timeframe:

Videos must be submitted to the Iowa Rural Water Association no later than April 23rd, 2012. The winner(s) will be contacted on April 27th, 2012.

The Awards:

• First place - $300 paid directly to the school’s sponsoring teacher/department and $150 to the team members
  
  

The Fame:

Winning entries will be showcased online at www.youtube.com/user/4221irwa, at the IRWA Annual Conference and at the Children’s Water Festival, and may be used as a PSA.

Our Goal:

The “Discover a Career in Water” High School Video Contest is designed to help students like you better figure out what you want to do with your life after school. By conducting video interviews you may find the industry to be fascinating!

Judging criteria:

• Informative – How well does the interview help people understand what it’s really like to do a given job?

• Creative – Ask at most 15 questions and follow the basic parameters but also integrate your creativity to give it life and your own touch.

• Technically sound – Are your video images and sound clear? Is your lighting bright when it should be and dark if it makes sense?

• Be Creative!
  
• No longer than 10 minutes in length
  
• End with the Iowa Rural Water logo found at www.iowaruralwater.org
  
• Submit entry with a completed application entry form and video authorization forms for all persons involved in the video
  
• Additional contest details, rules, logos, and forms are available at www.iowaruralwater.org
  
• Each entry must be reviewed and approved by a teacher representing the school department that, if the entry is judged as a winner, will receive the award.
  
• Make a copy of the video. Once the video is submitted it is the property of IRWA.
  
• Submit your 10 minute or less video on a DVD, along with the completed entry form, to:
  

IRWA-Video Contest
4221 S 22nd Ave East
Newton, IA 50208

• Videos MUST be submitted in DVD format by the April 23rd, 2012 Deadline.
  
• If you choose to use music, use only royalty free music or music of your own creation. Any video submitted using copyrighted music will be disqualified.
  

Sponsor: The contest is sponsored by Iowa Rural Water Association ("Sponsor"), 4221 S 22nd Ave E, Newton, IA 50208.

Purpose: To provide an educational opportunity for students and young people interested in career information in the Water and Wastewater Industry.

Eligibility: The Contest is offered and open only to legal residents of the State of Iowa who are enrolled as a full-time high school student. The Contest is not open to: (1) employees, board members, and/or representatives of Sponsor, or (2) the immediate family members of, and persons living in the same household as, any of the foregoing persons.

How to Enter: Submit an entry form and the DVD you have created to IRWA (address above).

Transfer of Ownership: All Entries become the sole property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. No correspondence will be entered into, acknowledged or returned. Sponsor reserves the right to edit, publish, broadcast or otherwise use any Entry without further permission, consideration or payment to the entrant. By submitting an Entry, entrant warrants and represents that Entry is 100% original creation/work by entrant and that use of the Entry as described herein will not violate any law or infringe upon the rights of any third party. All Entries must be received by April 23rd, 2012.

Privacy Policy: Entrants names, email addresses, and addresses will not be shared with anyone other than the “contest” employees for keeping track of entries and corresponding about any question entrants may have.

“Winning Entries” Judging Criteria: Entries that include profanity, inappropriate or explicit language or demonstrate any lewd or sexually suggestive gestures or full or partial nudity will be disqualified. Entries that use copyrighted or otherwise protected images, brands, and/or music may result in disqualification. A total of three (3) "Winning Entries" will be selected from among all Entries received.

The Winning Entries will be selected based on the following judging criteria: Informative Value; Technical Presentation; and Creative Value. The judging of Entries will be conducted by a panel of judges selected by the Sponsor, whose decisions are final and binding in all respects relating to the selection of all "Winning Entries". In the event of a tie, the tied Entries will be re-judged as the tie-breaker using the same criteria as outlined herein.

All "Winning Entries" will be notified, on April 27th, 2012. In the event an insufficient number of qualified Entries is received (as determined by the judges) this Contest may be cancelled.

Featured Winning Entries: All of the "Winning Entries" selected may be featured on our website at http://www.iowaruralwater.org between April 27th, 2012 through March 1st, 2013 (the "Winning Entries Featured Period").

Participation: By submitting an Entry, each entrant agrees to abide by the terms of these Rules, the “Discover A Career in Water” High School Video Contest Terms and Conditions. These Rules will be posted at http://www.iowaruralwater.org between January 1st, 2012 and April 27th, 2012. Sponsor reserves the right to, in its sole discretion, cancel, modify or suspend the contest should any computer virus, bugs or other technical difficulty or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor or Released Parties corrupt the administration, security or proper execution of the contest.