Legal stuff
No purchase is necessary. The contest is open to residents of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec) who are over the age of majority and are full-time students enrolled in an undergraduate program at McMaster University. The contest opens on January 18, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. EST, and closes on February 12, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EST. To enter, follow the instructions listed on this page. There is a limit of one entry per person.
Full Rules
This writing contest (the “Contest”) is conducted by McMaster University (the “Sponsor”) and is intended for current McMaster University undergraduate students who are residents of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec) and will be interpreted according to Canadian law. By participating in the Contest, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and by the interpretation of these Rules by the Sponsor. Entrants acknowledge that the Contest is in no way sponsored or administered by, or associated with Facebook or Twitter. Facebook and Twitter are completely released by each entrant of all liability arising out of or related to the Contest. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Contest must be directed to the Sponsor and not Facebook or Twitter
Eligibility: The Contest is open to residents of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec) who are over the age of majority in their province or territory and are full-time students enrolled in an undergraduate program at McMaster University at the time of entry, except employees (and persons with whom they are domiciled) of the Sponsor, its affiliated institutions and service providers.
How to enter: The Contest opens on January 18, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. EST, and closes on February 12, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EST (“Contest Period”). To enter, during the Contest Period, entries must be sent via email to skills@mcmaster.ca with the entrant’s full name and the subject line, “2021 Writing Contest.” There is a limit of one entry per person.
Submission guidelines: By participating in the Contest, each entrant warrants and represents that their submission:
- is original and that the entrant has all necessary rights in and to the entry submission used to enter the Contest;
- does not violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation;
- does not contain any reference to any identifiable third parties, unless consent has been obtained from all such individuals and their parent/legal guardian if they are under the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence;
- will not give rise to any claims of infringement, invasion of privacy or publicity, or infringe on any rights and/or interests of any third party, or give rise to any claims for payment; and
- is not defamatory or trade libellous, and will not contain, depict, include, discuss or involve without limitation, any of the following:
- explicit, graphic or excessive sexual activity;
- crude, vulgar or offensive language and/or symbols;
- derogatory characterizations of any ethnic, racial, sexual or religious groups;
- content that endorses, condones or discusses any illegal, inappropriate or risky activity, behaviour or conduct;
- personal information of individuals, including, without limitation, names and addresses;
- commercial messages, comparisons or solicitations for products or services of third parties;
- any identifiable third party products and/or trade-marks or brands;
- any other content that is or could be considered inappropriate, unsuitable or offensive, all as determined by the Sponsor and/or the Contest Parties in their sole discretion.
The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to edit or modify any entry submission, or to request an entrant to modify or edit their entry submission, in order to ensure that the entry submission complies with these Official Rules, or for any other reason.
Grand prize selection: The prize(s) (“Prize(s)”) will be awarded by a panel of judges consisting of Student Success Centre writing advisors as well as staff members. The jury will award the Prize(s) based on creativity, writing style, language, grammar and content. The relative weight for the criteria to be used for judging will be as follows:
- 25% creativity/originality
- 25% writing/mechanics (grammar, structure, readability)
- 25% text structure (rhythm, sequence, flow)
- 25% descriptive language (writer’s voice and description).
A copy of the scoring rubric can be obtained by emailing skills@mcmaster.ca. The Prize winner(s) will be chosen at the end of February 2021.
Prizes: There are three (3) Prizes available to be won. Prizes must be accepted as awarded and are not transferrable. The Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a Prize or Prize component for one of equal or greater value.
Prize award: Potential winners will be notified by email. Winners or their parents or legal guardians, for winners under the age of majority may be required to sign and return a declaration of eligibility and a liability/publicity release within ten business days of notification. If a selected entrant cannot be contacted, or fails to return the contest documents within the specified time if required, he or she will forfeit their Prize, and an alternate winner will be selected.
General: The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations. By entering the Contest, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor, which shall be final on all matters relating to the Contest. All entries become the property of the Sponsor and none will be returned. The personal information provided by entrants will only be used for the purpose of administration of the Contest, unless the entrant otherwise agrees in accordance with the Sponsor’s privacy policy.
The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, incomplete or misdirected entries, or for typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of this Contest, including but not limited to errors in promotional materials and these Official Rules. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. All entries are subject to verification. No correspondence will be entered into except with potential winners.
The Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems or servers, computer software problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, and assumes no liability for damage to entrant’s or any person’s computer resulting from participating in the Contest. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner based on an e-mail address, the winning entry will be deemed to have been made by the authorized account holder of the email address at time of entry. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person who is assigned an email address by an Internet service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the email address in question.
If this Contest is not capable of being completed as planned because of any cause beyond the control of the Sponsor, Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend or modify the Contest.
