3: Competition Sections
3.1. Members shall be allocated a Competition Section prior to entering their first images in any Club Competition in a Competition Year in accordance with the following rules: -
A Member shall compete in the Advance Section if:
They competed in the Advanced (formerly General) Section in any previous Competition Year; or
They achieved promotion from the Intermediate Section in a previous Competition Year; or
They hold at the start of the Competition Year a recognised photographic distinction or qualification.
A Member shall compete in the Intermediate Section unless:
· They are required to compete in the Advanced Section; or
They are eligible to compete in the Beginner's Section and choose to do so.
A Member shall compete in the Beginner’s Section unless:
· They achieved promotion from the Beginner's Section in a previous Competition Year; or
They are required to compete in the Advanced Section.
3.2 Requesting to change sections.
3.2.1 Dropping down a section.
A Member may, prior to entering their first competition in a Competition Year, make a request to the Committee to compete in the next lower Section to that in which they competed in the previous Competition Year. The Committee will decide based on:
· Whether any of the members' entries have been placed or been Highly Commended over the course of recent seasons; and
The member should not be the holder of a recognised photographic distinction or qualification.
If a member is allowed to compete in the next lower Section, they will not be eligible for any 'Photographer of the Year' award in the season they were demoted.
However, they will once again accumulate points for any placed or Highly Commended image, and shall, once they reach the requisite points total set out in para 3.3, be promoted once more.
3.2.2 Moving up a section.
A member may, prior to entering their first competition in a Competition year, submit a panel of at least 7 images (print or digital) in support of a request to compete in a higher section.
· The panel must be presented to the Competition Secretary at least 2 weeks before entry into the first competition, to allow proper time for adjudication by a group of at least 3 experienced members as chosen by the Chairman.
· Images used in the panel shall be eligible for entry in Club Competitions during the season immediately following the panel submission.
3.3. Accumulating Points for Promotion
Separate points will be maintained for Prints and for Projected Images.
However, once a member has achieved the required points total for promotion in one discipline, they will automatically be promoted in both.
A Member shall be promoted from Beginners to Intermediate once they have accumulated 25 points and at least five placings (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) or two wins (1st) in club competitions.
A Member shall be promoted from Intermediate to Advanced once they have accumulated 50 points and at least five placings (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) or two wins (1st) in club competitions.
Points and placings gained in earlier Competition Years are carried forward for promotion purposes only. Points and placings are not carried forward when a Member transfers between Sections.
Once the necessary points and placings total has been achieved, promotion will take effect from the start of the next Competition Year unless the Member chooses to take it with immediate effect.
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