HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS MARCHING BAND CONTEST - OFFICIAL RULES

1.         NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING.  SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS.  VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

2.         Eligibility.  Subject to the additional restrictions below, the High School Sports Marching Band Contest (the “Contest”) is open to legal U.S. residents (excluding Puerto Rico) who are 13 years or older at the time of entry. Employees and contractors of the Lansing State Journal (“Sponsor”), Gannett Co., Inc., and each of its respective affiliated companies, and advertising and promotional agencies, and the immediate family members of, and any persons domiciled with, any such employees or contractors, are not eligible to enter or to win. 

3.         How To Enter and Vote. Anyone age 13 and older may register and vote. The Contest will begin at 12:00 a.m. (E.T.) on October 1, 2015 and end at 11:59 p.m. (E.T.) on November 22, 2015 (the “Contest Period”).  To enter a submission, you must first complete an Official Registration Form, available at http://facebook.com/LSJNews and provide the required information. Once you have registered, you may enter submissions online by visiting http://facebook.com/LSJNews and clicking on the Submission link, completing all required information and following all posted instructions, including an original marching band photo. Entrants may only submit their band to the contest. All photos must be the sole, original work of the entrant. Limit one (1) submission per person. All submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. (E.T.) on October 17, 2015. Multiple submissions by means of software generated or other automated processes will be disregarded.

Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address. Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or illegible submissions, Submissions that do not comply with the provisions of these Official Rules will be disqualified. All submissions become property of Sponsor and none will be returned.  Contestants acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, create a sound recording of, broadcast, or otherwise display or use entries in any way it sees fit without limitation or compensation to entrants.  Sponsor further reserves the right to disqualify any submission that is alleged to infringe on any third-party’s intellectual property rights, or that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, deems obscene, offensive or otherwise inappropriate for viewing by a general audience. By registering, you agree to receive e-mails from Sponsor or those directed by Sponsor.  You can opt-out of the receipt of such e-mails by following the directions on the Contest website or in any email received from Sponsor.

Submissions will be approved by Sponsor. Sponsor has the right to reject submissions based on missing information, inappropriate content, duplicate submissions, or any other reason deemed necessary.

You may vote on approved submissions online by visiting http://facebook.com/LSJNews and clicking on the Vote link, registering, completing all required information, and following all posted instructions.  Voting will begin at 12:00 a.m. (E.T.) on October 21, 2015 and end when the Contest Period ends at 11:59 p.m. (E.T.) on November 22, 2015. Limit one (1) vote per person, per day.

4.         Winner Selection. Voting of the approved submissions will be open to the public. Voting will take place within the Contest Period and the 10 submissions with the highest cumulative votes will be designated the “Finalists”. If less than 10 submissions are made, Sponsor reserves the right to reduce the number of eligible Finalists. In the event of a tie, tied submissions will be re-judged by Sponsor on the same criteria. Sponsor reserves the right to make final decision on Finalists and all decisions shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor will reach out to the schools of the Finalists and leave a call back number or email address for student(s), their legal guardians, or their principal to contact regarding next steps. Students who are not able to be reached within 5 business days of Sponsor contacting their school may be eliminated and another winning submission may be chosen at the discretion of the Sponsor. The “Winner” will be announced at the Greater Lansing High School Sports Awards Banquet. In most cases, the student with the highest cumulative votes will be designated the “Winner”. However, Sponsor reserves the right to make final decision on Winner and all decisions shall be final and binding in all respects.

5.         Prizes and Odds.  The submissions (students) with the highest cumulative votes will be invited to their Greater Lansing High School Sports Awards Banquet, during which the “Winner” will be announced and presented with an award. All Finalists and their families must purchase tickets to the High School Sports Awards Banquet in order to attend. Only the Finalists who attend the banquet will be eligible to be named the Winner and receive the award.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible submissions and votes received.

6.         Finalist and Winner Notification and Acceptance.  Finalists will be notified on or about May 1, 2016 by means of the High School Phone Number provided on their Registration Form. Sponsor will call the appropriate school during regular business hours and provide the school’s office with a phone number and an email address the student(s), his/her legal guardians, or the school principal may respond to. Failure to receive notification from student within 5 business days of Sponsor contacting the school may result in disqualification of finalist, forfeiture of his or her interest in all prizes or awards, and selection of a substitute Finalist from among all remaining eligible entries. Finalists may waive their right to be eligible as a Winner and presented with an award. Finalists may be required to complete an affidavit of eligibility/liability certifying that they have complied with the Official Rules of the Contest, and a liability and publicity release (except where prohibited by law) which must be returned as directed by Sponsor.  Failure to sign and return the affidavit or release, or to comply with any term or condition of these Official Rules, may result in a Finalist’s disqualification, the forfeiture of his or her interest in the award of the prize to a substitute Finalist. Except where prohibited, acceptance of being a Finalist constitutes Finalist’s consent to the publication of his or her name, biographical information and likeness in any media for any commercial or promotional purpose, without limitation the Internet, or further compensation.

7.         Participation.  By participating, Entrants, Finalists and Winner agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor.  Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify persons found tampering with or otherwise abusing any aspect of this Contest as solely determined by Sponsor.  In the event the Contest is compromised by a virus, non-authorized human intervention, tampering or other causes beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor which corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness or proper operation of the Contest, Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest.  Should the Contest be terminated prior to the stated expiration date, Sponsor reserves the right to award a Winner based on the votes received before the termination date.  Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, postage-due, misdirected or illegible entries (either photos or ballots), poor quality photos, or for failure to receive entries or votes or other electronic communications due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor. The authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry will be considered the entrant. An “authorized account holder” shall mean the natural person assigned to such e-mail account by the Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with such e-mail account. A potential winner may be requested to provide proof that In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent.  For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account.  Any questions regarding the number of entries, or votes submitted or the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries or votes by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest. By participating in this Contest, each participant agrees to fully release, forever discharge and hold harmless Sponsor and Facebook from and against all claims, costs, liabilities, losses, injuries and damages arising out of the promotion, including but not limited to, any claims for personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property or any other harm arising out of participant’s participation in the promotion, the receipt, use or misuse of any prize, or any travel or activity that is related to the promotion or any prize.  This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

8.         Copyright.  By entering the Contest, each entrant grants to Sponsor an exclusive, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to publish, print, edit or otherwise use the contestant’s submitted entry, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner or media (including, without limitation, the Internet) throughout the world in perpetuity, and to license others to do so, all without limitation or further compensation.  Each entrant further agrees that if his/her entry is selected by Sponsor as the winning entry, he/she will sign any additional license or release that Sponsor may require, and will not publicly perform or display his or her submission without the express permission of Sponsor.

9.         Construction. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision.  In the event that any such provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, these rules shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or unenforceable provision was not contained therein.

10.        Sponsor.  The High School Sports Marching Band Contest is sponsored by  the Lansing State Journal.  The decisions of Sponsor and the Contest judges regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the Contest shall be final and binding in all respects.  Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the Contest. For a list of Finalists  (available after November 1, 2016) or a copy of these Official Rules, visit http://facebook.com/LSJNews or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Keith Rouse, RE: The High School Sports Marching Band Contest, 120 E Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919.  If you have any questions regarding this Contest, please contact Keith Rouse at krouse@michigan.com.