Relay Iowa 2026 Photo Contest Rules & Guidelines

Eligibility

• Only officially registered participants of Relay Iowa 2026 are eligible to submit photos to the contest.

• All photos submitted must be taken during Relay Iowa 2026. Photos from previous years or other events are not eligible.

• Only the individual who personally took the photograph may submit it. Submitting photos taken by another person is prohibited.

Submission Requirements

• All entries must be submitted through the official Relay Iowa Photo Contest website at www.relayia.org/photo in order to be eligible.

• Entries must be submitted no later than 6:00 AM on June 14, 2026. Late submissions will not be considered. Participants are encouraged to upload photos throughout the duration of the relay rather than waiting until shortly before the submission deadline.

• Photos must be submitted in high-quality digital format. Image clarity, sharpness, composition, and resolution will all be considered during judging.

• Low-resolution, blurry, heavily compressed, distorted, or otherwise poor-quality images may be disqualified at the discretion of the committee.

• Submitted photos should retain original metadata (EXIF data) whenever possible. Relay Iowa reserves the right to request original image files for verification purposes, including confirmation of date, time, authorship, and authenticity.

• Failure to provide original image files upon request may result in disqualification.

• Screenshots, downloaded social media images, or heavily compressed files may not be accepted. Original high-resolution image files are strongly encouraged.

Editing & Authenticity

• Photos must accurately represent the Relay Iowa event experience.

• Basic editing is permitted, including reasonable adjustments to:

  • Brightness

  • Contrast

  • Cropping

  • Color correction

• Photos created, enhanced, manipulated, or significantly altered using artificial intelligence (AI) tools are not permitted.

• Composite images, digitally added or removed subjects, or misleading edits may result in disqualification.

Ownership & Usage Rights

• By submitting a photo, the participant grants Relay Iowa full, perpetual, royalty-free rights to use, reproduce, publish, distribute, and display submitted images for promotional, marketing, social media, website, print, and future Relay Iowa purposes.

• Submitted photos become the property of Relay Iowa and may be used without additional permission, compensation, or notification.

• Participants affirm that they own the rights to all submitted images and have permission to submit any recognizable individuals appearing in the photographs.

Judging & Awards

• Judging will be conducted by the Relay Iowa Photo Contest Committee.

• Judging photography is inherently subjective. Criteria may include:

  • Creativity

  • Storytelling

  • Composition

  • Emotional impact

  • Originality

  • Technical quality

  • Representation of the Relay Iowa experience

• The decisions of the Relay Iowa Photo Contest Committee are final. No appeals, disputes, or reconsiderations will be accepted.

• Relay Iowa reserves the right not to declare a winner in any category if submitted photos do not meet the expectations or standards of the committee.

• Relay Iowa reserves the right to disqualify any submission that violates these rules or is deemed inappropriate, offensive, unsafe, misleading, or inconsistent with the spirit of the event.

Additional Terms

• By entering the contest, participants agree to all rules and decisions outlined above.

• Relay Iowa reserves the right to modify contest rules, deadlines, categories, or prize details if necessary.

• Submission of an entry constitutes acceptance of all contest rules and terms.