All S4C competitions consist of digital entries only. S4C conducts competitions within three Divisions: Pictorial, Nature, and Photojournalism. Six competition a year are held between October and April, inclusive (see Meetings & Schedules)
Within each Division there are one or more Sections. A Competition is held within each Section, each with its own rules and requirements. See Definitions. Except for the Interclub Color Section of the Pictorial Division, all Section Competitions are entered by individuals
Each Section is headed by a Section Chair who is responsible for communication with entrants regarding eligibility of submissions and regarding results.
Each submission by an entrant into a single S4C Section Competition in a given month is termed an Entry. Each digital entry consists of up to 2 images.
General Requirements below apply to all Divisions and Sections. Each Division/Section has specific requirements (see Definitions). Entries must conform to these Requirements and Definitions ; entries that do not conform may be disqualified by the Division Chair, the Competition Chair, or the Judges.
Entrants are assigned Skill Levels Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Masters. A section does not necessarily support all 4 skill levels. Although judging in a competition occurs without regard to skill levels, Awards and Honorable Mentions are assigned separately to the higher scoring images within each skill level. Normally new entrants are assigned the evaluative skill level, Beginner, , for their first year entered into a particular competition. The S4C Board decides in June of each year which entrant skill levels should be changed for the following competition year.
Catalogs of the monthly competitions are posted several days after each judging.
(apply to all Divisions/Sections)
Each section of each Division has specific requirements that must be followed by entrants.
Discontinued
Images that do not conform to any of the above requirements are subject to being disqualified (DQed) from competition. If this occurs after the judging of that Competition, the term Revoke is used.