ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
1. The AIPS Sport Media Awards 2024 are open to professional journalists, whether directly employed or freelancers.
2. Applications may come from AIPS cardholders as well as those who are not members of the association but must come from one of the countries represented by the 161 member national associations. (Please refer to the full list on www.aipsmedia.com).
3. All entrants must be persons who were at least 18 years of age on November 5, 2023.
PRIZES
Each eligible award consists of an original trophy and prize money of USD 8.000 for the winner; second placed will receive USD 3.000 and third placed USD 2.000 in the Photography ("Sport Action" and "Portfolio"), Writing ("Best Column" and "Best Colour Piece"), “Audio” and Video ("Athlete Profile", “Documentary" and “Short feature”) categories. Winners of each of the “Young Reporters” categories (Photography, Writing and Broadcasting) will receive a career-boost opportunity: a scholarship in a major international sports event. “Young Reporters” categories do not include second and third place. “Special Awards” are not open to submissions. Winners will be awarded with a trophy, without prize money. The “Special Awards” categories do not include second and third place.
SUBMISSIONS
The AIPS Sport Media Awards are open to professional journalists, whether directly employed or freelancers. Applications may come from AIPS cardholders as well as those who are not members of the association but must come from one of the countries represented by the 161 member national associations. Only entries published between November 5, 2023, and November 4, 2024 will be accepted. Entries can be made in any language.
English translation (for written and audio submissions) and English subtitles (for videos) is welcome and recommended as additional material with submissions and could also be required in the future.
Submissions can be made only via the Awards website until November 4, 2024, 22:00 Central European Time. Supporting documents and proof of publication are also to be submitted only via the website. A maximum of 2 separate submissions per entrant are allowed across all categories of the awards.
All entrants must be persons who were at least 18 years of age on November 5, 2023.
JUDGING
The Awards will be assessed by a Jury of 12 respected professionals, including the President of the Jury, drawn from leading sports media organisations and backgrounds ranging across the sports media spectrum and the Awards categories. The jurors are chosen by the president of the jury, AIPS president Gianni Merlo.
The Jury will base its deliberations on nominations put forward by the AIPS Executive Committee. The AIPS Executive Committee is charged with shortlisting ten potential candidates for each award category for consideration by the Jury. The Jury will select from the nominations three finalists who will be invited to the final ceremony in 2025.
The Jury will meet to determine the winners the day before the ceremony. The Jury is charged with the responsibility and authority to accept, substitute or reject nominations put forward by the 24 AIPS Executive Committee members, and may in extraordinary circumstances offer its own suggestions. The AIPS Awards board also issues certificates of achievement and special commendations for entrants that did not reach the final but whose work was highly regarded in the judging process and represents the core values of AIPS.
These values include defending Human Rights & gender equality, fighting against racism and all forms of discrimination, promoting a clean sports environment, offering hope towards sports, promoting sports as an answer to violence in conflict zones, reporting with independence and freedom, defending the importance of access to sources for interviews, contributing to the development of women’s sport, acknowledging the future of sports, detecting and featuring original sports stories, raising awareness about mental health, and presenting innovative ways of sports reporting, among others.
To celebrate sport media excellence on a regional level, after the final ceremony the Awards will also publish the continental rankings based on each participant’s nationality.
OFFICIAL RULES
By submitting your entry, you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms below (“Rules”).
1.
1. The AIPS Sport Media Awards 2024 are open to professional journalists, whether directly employed or freelancers. Applications may come from AIPS cardholders as well as those who are not members of the association but must come from one of the countries represented by the 161 member national associations. (Please refer to the full list on www.aipsmedia.com).
2. All decisions of the AIPS Awards’ organisers and judges are final. After entrants have submitted their work the Awards’ judges will not enter into any correspondence with entrants on the subject of entries and Awards. Organisers can contact entrants to require additional details on their submissions.
3. All entrants must be persons who are 18 years of age or older on or before November 5, 2024.
4. No entry fee is payable.
5. Each entry must have had its first publication or broadcast between November 5, 2023 and November 4, 2024. Proof of publication must be submitted with the entry.
6. Applicants can submit entries in any language. It is advisable, but not compulsory, to submit an English translation. All entries that are not in English and do not have English translation will be screened by a native speaker from the respective member association of AIPS in the first phase. If judged as valuable, the entry will be translated into English via a professional service.
7. Applicants are strictly limited to a maximum of two entries across all categories of the Awards. A separate online entry form and supporting materials will be required for each entry. For submissions in the same category, only the highest rated of the two can qualify for the shortlists.
8. Entrants are responsible for ensuring that their entry meets all eligibility requirements and selecting the most appropriate category for their entry. The AIPS Awards organisers reserve the right to move an entry into another category when it would be more appropriate there.
9. Entries should be made only via the website and in accordance with the instructions given on the entry form and must be submitted on, or before, 10 pm CET on November 4, 2024. Entries arriving after this date will not be accepted except in extraordinary circumstances. Acceptance after the deadline will be at the AIPS Awards’ organisers sole discretion.
10. It is the responsibility of the entrant to provide complete and accurate information about the entry (including supporting documents). The AIPS Awards’ organisers will not be liable for errors or omissions in the entry forms.
11. Entries and information contained within any entry (including supporting documents) must have been obtained legally, must not infringe any copyright or other intellectual property rights, must not be defamatory or breach any privacy law, and must not breach any other law or regulation.
12. Photo entries must be provided from professional photographers only Photo entries must be provided from professional photographers only and must have been taken in the period of validity of each edition. Photographers may be asked to provide proof of their professional status. The photographs entered in the contest must be made by the photographer who owns and retains the copyright for the photo. A photograph may not be entered more than once i.e. a photo entered into the Action category cannot be entered into the Portfolio category and vice versa. No team entries will be accepted. All entries must carry complete English captions. Photographs may not be manipulated to block out distracting elements or to make significant changes in color and contrast. Only cropping or removing dust and scratches are allowed. Pictures from professional photographers that were published in their own websites or social media accounts are considered valid if they comply with these Rules.
13. Each online entry form is valid for one submission only. All categories require only one submission file except for Photography Portfolio, that requires from 3 up to 5 files. If two or more different articles, audio files, photographs or videos are found in the same submission form, they will not be considered. Entrants wishing to submit written, audio or video files that were published as a series, must submit only one article, audio chapter or video episode that best reflects the content of the entire series.
14. Supporting documents for online entries are to be submitted only via the Awards’ online entry website, www.aipsawards.com.
15. If an entrant is found to have breached these Rules or acts in any way that brings or would be likely to bring the reputation of the AIPS Awards into disrepute, the Awards’ organisers reserve the right to disqualify an entrant or to remove or withdraw an Award.
16. All entries are the property of the AIPS Awards’ organisers. No entries will be returned to entrants.
17. The entrant grants the AIPS Awards’ organisers unrestricted, unfettered and irrevocable non-exclusive rights in all works submitted for entry into the Awards (or where such rights are owned by a third party, the entrant shall procure that such third party grants such rights) for the AIPS Awards’ organisers to use such works only in conjunction with objectives of the Awards including for the purposes of promoting the Awards, presenting the nominations, having the panel of judges determine the Awards, conducting the presentation ceremony and making the finalist and winners entries available to the public. The entrant also grants the AIPS Awards’ organisers the exclusive right to record and use the sounds and images of any acceptance speech relating to the entry or any other participation of the entrant in the AIPS Awards ceremony in any television broadcast, any website or other distribution medium or publication in connection with the Awards including for publicity and promotional purposes.
18. Finalists of the eight senior categories selected by the Jury will be invited to and must participate or be represented in the final ceremony in 2025. Only those that have confirmed their presence in the ceremony will become eligible candidates for the podium ahead of the last Jury voting. The AIPS Awards organisers shall pay for and arrange all flights, transportation accommodation and certain scheduled meals and will provide visa assistance for the entrant (“Travel Arrangements”). Travel Arrangements will be confirmed with the selected entrant closer to the travel date but will be on the basis of one adult in Economy ticket, return flights and hotel accommodation in a single room. Travel Arrangements are not transferable, exchangeable nor redeemable for cash.
19. The AIPS Awards organiser shall not be liable in any way for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered (including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss) or for any loss or damage or personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with the Awards except any liability that cannot be excluded by law. All entrants indemnify AIPS Awards organisers, AIPS and their related parties against any loss or damage (either direct, indirect, consequential or otherwise) arising from the entrant’s participation in the Awards.
20. Participation in the AIPS Sport Media Awards is open to all professional journalists and photographers, except of AIPS Media staff, AIPS Sport Media Awards staff, current members of the Jury and AIPS Executive Committee members (as shown in http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.html?page=executive). No submissions published in the AIPS magazine or www.aipsmedia.com will be accepted.
21. Participants for the Young Reporters category must be born on or after January 1, 1995. It is not possible to make two different submissions in the Young Reporters category. Each category allows to submit one file only (one picture for Photography, one article for Writing, one video or audio file for Broadcasting). “Young Reporters” categories do not include second and third place: the three subcategories will have a direct winner. Each winner wins a scholarship in an international sports event including airplane tickets, accommodation and expenses covered by AIPS. Out of the two submissions per person, only one can be used for the Young Reporters category, but it is still possible to compete in one of the other main categories.