• To enter the contest, photographers must agree to the Rules.
• The contest is open to professional photographers who can confirm and prove that they have regularly published pictures and been paid for their work.
• There is no entry fee.
• Photographs may be submitted by photographers from any country in the world. 

• Photographers can submit only one photograph.
• The photos submitted must have been taken between October 9, 2023 and October 13, 2024.
• The photos must be submitted until October 13, 2024 at 23:59 PM (CEST / UTC+2).
• The votes by the international jury will be based on the following criteria:
  • Emotion (general impression and feeling about each picture)
  • Technical difficulty
  • Originality
• The photographs must not be embedded. The photographer’s names, websites etc… must not appear on the photo. We recommend that they be included in the photograph’s iptc.
• The subject of the contest is boat racing in all its forms, from classic yachts to top-end racers, including multihulls, dinghies, foilers, windsurf and kitesurfing. 
• The pictures submitted must reflect the spirit of yacht racing. They may have been taken at any time, before, during and after regattas.
• Only photos that have not yet been submitted for the Yacht Racing Image Award will be accepted.
• Photos that do not relate with racing will not be accepted.
• The photographs must be submitted in high resolution, jpg format.
• Photos may be stacked, digitally or otherwise enhanced but it is forbidden to add / remove elements from the photographs.
• Photos taken from a helicopter, a drone or selfie stick are accepted.
• Pictures extracted from a video are not accepted.
• If doubts occur regarding the authenticity of the image, the original RAW file can be requested for analysis. The final choice is at the sole discretion of the jury.
• If the subject of a photograph is a minor (under the age of 18), the photographer can be asked to provide a written authorisation from the parent or legal guardian of the minor.

• The photographers must own all rights on their photograph to enter the contest, or have the authorization from the rights holder to do so.
• MaxComm and the event’s partners have the right to use the photographs submitted for internal communication as well as on their websites, social and print media in the context of the contest’s promotion. 
• The photographers accept that their photographs could be used in a book / printed document published by MaxComm or its partners (strictly under MaxComm's supervision and management) in connection with the contest.
• The name of the photographers and copyright will always be associated to their photographs. In case of publication in a media, the publishers will always be asked to associate the name of the contest and the name of the photographer to his (her) picture.
• The pictures submitted for the Yacht Racing Image Award will not be used for commercial purposes by the event partners. 
• The photographs can be published copyright free by media reporting about the contest in a size not exceeding 12×18 cm. Any media willing to use the photographs in a larger resolution will be asked to make specific arrangement with the photographers.
• MaxComm and the event partners are not responsible for the media's compliance with these rules.
• The photographs can be exhibited by the events partners as well as organisations selected or accepted by MaxComm.
• Publication of the pictures competing for the Yacht Racing Image Award in media other than the official event website and social networks will only be allowed after the publication of the results or specific approval by MaxComm.
• No alteration can be made to the images, and it isn't allowed to include a logo to the pictures.

Preselection :

• A preselection of the best 80 photographs will be made by the international jury between October 14-16, 2024. The photographers involved in the preselection as members of the jury are not allowed to participate in the contest.

• Only the top 80 photographs preselected by the international jury will be published on the event’s website, on October 17, 2024.

Main prize: Yacht Racing Image Award :

• One main prize will be awarded: The Yacht Racing Image Award.

• The Yacht Racing Image Award winner will be selected by the international jury out of the 80 pictures pre-selected.

Public Award: 

The Public Award helps promote the contest through Internet and the social networks but is not as important as the main award. The selection will be based on the public votes on Internet between October 17, 2024 and November 12, 2024.

The photographers have the right to and they are encouraged to promote their pictures through the social networks as this is considered as a global promotion for the contest and all the participants.

Delegates Award: 

The Delegates Award is based on the cumulative votes of delegates from the Yacht Racing Forum and METSTRADE visitors voting until November 20. 

Special Award 

• A Special Award may be awarded to a photographer / an image by the event organisers or the international jury at their discretion, if a photo justifies it or if exceptional circumstances allow or require it. This image does not necessarily need to have been submitted for the competition by its author. It will however only be published with his / her approval.

• An international and independent Jury comprising five to seven members will be named before the opening of the votes. 
• The names of the members of the Jury will be made public. The details of the votes will remain secret.
• Vote by the international Jury will take place between October 14 - 16, 2024.
• All decisions by the Jury are final.

The winners of the Yacht Racing Image Award will be celebrated during the Yacht Racing Forum on November 21, 2024, at 1:30 pm, in front of the sports' leading personalities from all over the world. All yacht racing photographers are kindly invited to the event.

Yacht Racing photographers are invited to attend the prize giving ceremony during the Yacht Racing Forum, held alongside METSTRADE Amsterdam. 

The organisers of METSTRADE will extend complimentary delegate passes to the photographers who have submitted photos for the contest.

These rules are subject to Swiss law and to the exclusive place of jurisdiction in Geneva (with reservation of the right of appeal to the Federal Court in Lausanne).