-
STC Competitions
- Competitions Main Page
- Competitions Rules
- Judges’ Information
- Application Form
- Competitions News
General
Entries in all categories must:
- Contain sufficient technical, scientific, medical, or similar content to qualify as technical communication.
- Have been produced or substantially revised within 24 months preceding September 1 of the current year.
- Have been originally prepared for and accepted for publication by a client, employer, or publisher.
The competition organizers reserve the right to reject any entry for any reason and refund the entry fee.
Entries must be suitable for public display. Entries that contain classified or proprietary information or that violate copyright laws are not acceptable. It is the responsibility of the submitter, and not of STC, to determine that entries do not contain classified or proprietary information and that the holder of all copyrights has granted permission for submission of the entry. Neither STC nor anyone associated with the competitions can be held responsible for loss of or damage to an entry.
Materials prepared for STC purposes are not eligible for entry in the competition. Examples include STC publications, articles for Intercom, Tieline, and Technical Communication; and chapter and Special Interest Group (SIG) Web sites, brochures, and newsletters. Enter Chapter and SIG publicity materials in the STC Public Relations Competition. Enter Chapter and SIG newsletters in the STC Newsletter
Competition.
An entry must not have been entered in a previous STC competition and may be entered only in the competition(s) sponsored by a single chapter/region.
Entries can be made only within a single local or regional competition. For example, if an entry is made to the Boston/Northern New England regional competition, it cannot be entered in the South Carolina
competition. However, within a local or regional competition an entry can be entered in more than one competition. For example, a manual can be entered in the publications competition and the cover for the same manual can be entered in the art competition. If this is done, the entrant must submit an entry fee, three copies of the entry, and forms for each category entered. (Using the example above, the entrant would submit the entry separately in each competition, pay two entry fees, and supply a total of six copies of the entry—three with each of the two entries.) A single entry may be entered in only one category within a competition. For example, a piece of technical art could not be entered into both the “packaging design” and the “promotional materials design” categories of the technical art competition.
Note: Duplicate entries (i.e. entries sent to multiple local regional competitions) are disqualified.
Within a single category, only one entry from the same contributors and from the same parent organization may be submitted, except when the entries are on significantly different topics. Entries that substantially duplicate other entries are not eligible. This rule does not necessarily eliminate online communication entries about the same product or topic on different hardware platforms.
The submitter (often a manager in the contributors’ organization) must certify that the entry represents the actual work of the contributors named on the entry form and that the entry has been cleared for submission. The submitter must also certify that the copyright holder permits the submission of the entry.
Note: The submitter receives all official correspondence relating to the entry. The submitter is responsible for all communication with the contributors about the entry and for distributing any awards.)
Technical Publications Competition
The technical publications competition accepts only physical media (hardcopy) entries. Entries that depend on a computer or other electronic media for delivery cannot be submitted to this competition. These entries may be submitted to the Online Communication or Technical Art competitions.
Note: If an entry is submitted as a publication that is distributed in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf file) format, it should not be submitted in electronic format — it will not be accepted. Three printed and bound copies of the publication are required. The binding should be simple, but sturdy, such as a three ring binder or report folder. If the publication includes color that impacts how it is used, then color copies should be submitted so the judges can evaluate it appropriately
Online Communication Competition
Entries for the online communication competition include forms of communication that depend on an electronic medium for delivery. The entries must be primarily intended for viewing on a computer or similar device, not on paper. These forms of communication include computer based training, online documentation, help systems, online demonstration programs, simple text retrieval systems, multimedia information systems, and Web pages. The competition is not limited to online documents that support computer products. Entries can include online encyclopedias, road maps, foreign language instruction, medical handbooks, and more. Several years ago, the online competition eliminated the Books category. Entries in this category were “flat” Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files that were hardcopy documents distributed electronically as a cost-saving measure and were meant to be printed by users.
Adobe Acrobat files of this type may be entered in the International Technical Publications Competition. (See the “Technical Publications Competition” section for details.)
However, if an entry is an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file that is primarily intended to be viewed online (for example, a company handbook) or has interactive features, such as linked tutorials, supporting Web sites, interactive forms, etc., it is appropriate to submit this entry in the online Reference category. Review the description of the Reference category to determine whether the entry fits in it. An entry on the Web is judged as it exists on the day of judging and as it appears on available equipment.
Demonstrations of the entry by the entrants are not permitted.
Technical Art Competition
The technical art competition accepts physical media and online entries. Physical media include products that are mounted for viewing or included in a book, brochure, or other paper-based publication. Online includes art in products that depend on an electronic medium for
delivery.
For physical media, entries should be quality reproductions. Original artwork will not be accepted. Entries in categories requiring mounting should be on standard-sized foam core or mat board. Entries in any format larger than 40″ x 30″ will not be accepted. Entries that do not follow requirements will not be accepted or returned.
Online Communication Competition and Online Entries to the Technical Art Competition
On the separate entry description, include installation instructions, purpose, audience, tools used to develop the entry, and any other information relevant to evaluating the entry.
Entries must install correctly, be virus free, and must not take an unreasonable amount of time to install.
You must also submit three copies of any software required to use the entry other than the following standard software:
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
- Firefox 2.0
- Windows Media Player 6.4
For More Information
The full rules and regulations for STC technical documentation competitions is available for download from the STC corporate web site:
Download General Information and Competition Rules (PDF format).
