• All entrants should observe the Marine Conservation Society's Underwater Photographers Code of Conduct, as published by BSoUP (here). 
• All entries must be taken underwater save that “split” shots or “over unders” are permitted.
• All entries must be taken on the competition date (but to improve safety on night dives, the competition will begin at 22:00hr on the night before the competition day). The competition will end at 17:00hr on the competition day, which is the cut-off time for photographs to be handed in to the Torbay BSAC reception marquee on Beacon Quay, Torquay.
• Photographs taken during shore dives and boat dives are permitted. Snorkelling or rock pool pictures are also allowed, but they must be taken in nature (no aquarium shots!). 
• All entries must normally be taken during the course of dives within the geographic area of Torbay - this is broadly defined as the area between Babbacombe in Torquay and Cod Rock near Brixham. Offshore dive sites that can be reached by day-boat from Torquay or Teignmouth, such as the Bretagne wreck, are acceptable. 
• If bad weather is forecast for Saturday that precludes safe diving in Torbay (e.g. strong easterly winds), the rules will be changed to allow photos to be taken in any location, provided they are taken on the Saturday (night dives after 10pm on Friday are permitted) and are handed in at our booth on Beacon Quay Torquay by 5pm. 
• There shall be four “competition categories", with first and second prizes awarded in each category: - 

• • Wide-angle image.
  • Macro or close up image.
  • Compact camera image. ("Compact" is defined as any camera with a fixed lens, i.e. you cannot change the camera lens. Wet housing lenses however are acceptable). NOTE: this definition is under consideration and may change at some point.
  • Beginner defined as a competitor who has not received payment for a published underwater photograph, or has not won a prize in any category in an open or national/international underwater photography competition. (For clarification, Torbay Splash-in is "open", but the internal branch annual photo competition is not). In Splash-in, a prize winner is defined as coming first or second (runner-up), but does not include "Highly Commended". 
  • In addition, there will be a single Popular Vote prize, which will be won by the image receiving the most votes from attendees at the evening presentation. In the event of a tie, the competition judge will be asked to cast the deciding vote. If the evening event is cancelled for any reason, the Popular Vote will be cancelled. NOTE: the Popular Vote may be changed in future years (e.g. short videos to encourage the use of action cameras). 

• The entrant must be the person who took the image entered into the competition.
• No image entered should have been entered in any other photography competition whatever it is and irrespective of who organised it. (Not possible anyway if taken on the day).
• The competition is judged anonymously. Please make sure that the photo file metadata does not contain any Tags that identify you. 
• The judging of the competition will take place on the evening of the competition and the winning entries announced at the evening presentation (unless we are forced to go to online judging, e.g. due to Coronavirus restrictions).
• All contestants shall be personally liable for their own safety during and after diving. They are responsible for their own diving practices. They are responsible for ensuring that they are suitably qualified and experienced to complete the diving they plan to conduct, with a relevant diving certification and current medical in place. They are responsible for planning their dives, the timing of dives, for providing safety cover on-shore – if that is considered necessary - and for determining whether and if so, where and when it is safe to dive, taking into account wind, weather conditions, prevailing tides,navigation and all other hazards. Divers should follow safe diving practices as laid down in the BSAC Safe Diving guide. The submission of a competition entry form implies that these conditions are accepted.
• No responsibility for the personal safety of contestants shall attach to or remain with Torbay BSAC, with BSAC or with any member or official of either organisation.

Image Format and Size

• Entries must be digital and in JPG format. No other format will be accepted. Metadata should not identify the name of the contestant. 
• All entries should be submitted on a USB flash drive, not a camera card.
• The winner may be asked to produce the original JPG, RAW or TIFF image for examination by the Judge and agrees to do so if asked.
• While cropping is permitted, images should be submitted in the largest size jpg possible, please do not resize your image. 
• Filename should be in the format “Contestant Number_category_image number.jpg”. For example, contestant number 12 would use: “12_wideangle_1.jpg”, “12_wideangle_2.jpg”, “12_closeup_1.jpg” and “12_compact_1.jpg” and so on.
• Only 2 images per contestant are permitted in each of the competition categories. You can submit images to all the categories that you and your camera are eligible for, but each image can only be entered into one category (e.g. Beginner or Wide-angle, but not both).
• Remote control photography (e.g. pole cams) is permitted.
• There is no limit (other than those imposed by sensible diving practices) to the number of dives a competitor may make within the window set out above, provided they are submitted prior to the deadline mentioned below.
• All automatic and manual in-camera processing is allowed but must remain within the spirit of the competition. Double exposure images are permitted, if done in-camera. 
• Still screen captures from video footage are acceptable, but they should be submitted in the appropriate camera category (e.g.stills from GoPro or iPhone video footage would qualify for the Compact Camera category, but stills from a DSLR or mirrorless camera video would not). 
• Out-of-camera processing is permitted as follows: -
  • Cropping to improve composition.
  • Global adjustments intended to restore colour and contrast are allowed. Similarly, changes to colour balance, exposure, contrast, tone, highlights and shadows, clarity, noise, vibrancy, saturation and lens distortion corrections are permitted by global adjustment conducted through software packages (including Backscatter XTerminator for Photoshop). However, use of AI software to fundamentally alter the image or create a different image is not permitted. 
  • Localised changes to specific parts of an image are NOT permitted. This includes cloning for back-scatter removal, partial image blurring or the inclusion of artificial vignettes.

Competition Entries

• All images must be submitted to the designated location no later than the cut-off time on the competition day.

Copyright

• Torbay BSAC reserves the right to publish prize-winning images (and the names of winning photographers) in the diving press, on its social media outlets, and on its website www.torbay-bsac.co.uk.
• Images may also be used royalty free in media coverage of the event, in the local newspaper, and as future promotional material for this and future competitions, but copyright will always remain with the photographer, who will be consulted for any other use of images not declared here.
• If an image wins one of the sponsored prizes, the photographer consents to the use of their image and name in any advertising material published by the sponsor, as it relates to the Splash-In competition. However, the copyright will always remain with the photographer, who will be consulted for any further use of their image.