±«Óãtv Northern Ireland's Two Minute Tales Competition Rules
Competition Rules
***Terms updated 03-November 2023 due to entry window extension.***
Eligibility
1. 1. The competition is open to persons who will be aged between 5 and 16 years (inclusive) on the 7th November 2023 who are residents of Northern Ireland. Children and close family members of ±«Óãtv or ±«Óãtv Group company employees, or those of anyone connected with the competition cannot enter the competition. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be required.
2. 2. The competition will open on Tuesday 10th October 2023 at 12:00 noon. ***All entries will need to have been submitted by NEW DATE: 20:00 on Friday 10th November 2023.*** Entries outside of the period will not count so please do not wait until the last minute to send your entry. *** Postal entries postmarked after Friday 10th November 2023 will not be accepted.***
How to enter
3. Entry categories:
- English language age group 5 - 8
- English language age group 9 – 12
- English language age group 13 - 16
- Irish language age group 5 - 11
4. Entrants must write a fictional short story on the theme of ‘What Happened this Winter…’ (no more than 300 words in length). Entry is via bbc.co.uk/twominutetales through the online webform or through the downloadable form which can be completed and emailed to twominutetales@bbc.co.uk.
5. Entries must be submitted by the parent, guardian, or teacher of the entrant (the ‘responsible adult’). They must enter the story in the text box provided for submission.
6. A responsible adult wishing to email entries MUST include a completed entry form with all the required fields filled in.
7. Emailed entry forms must be submitted in .pdf or .docx format.
8. All stories should be submitted in English or Irish. Irish entries will be entered into the Irish language category for ages 5-11. We can only accept stories which are 300 words or under.
9. Teachers may submit stories in bulk using the Multiple Entry Form and posting to Two Minute Tales, ±«Óãtv Broadcasting House, 25 Ormeau Ave, Belfast BT2 8HQ. Permission from the parent or guardian of the entrant and their agreement to these Terms and Conditions must be sought prior to submission.
10. Only one entry per child is permitted and the story must be wholly written by the entrant only; stories cannot be written by more than one person. If more than one entry is submitted by the same writer, only the first submission will be considered. Entrants cannot submit stories to more than one language category.
11. As the stories will be broadcast it is important that entrants do not include any personal details about themselves. The entrant must not include their name in the title or body of the story; entries which do contain this information may be removed from the competition.
12. Entries cannot be returned so please remember to retain a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will be contacted in respect of their entry but no feedback on any entry will be provided.
13. The responsible adult will be required to approve the entry and agree to these Terms and Conditions (including the ±«Óãtv’s use of the story submitted and the fictional nature of the story) on behalf of the entrant, by way of a check-box in the entry form. If the responsible adult is a teacher, permission from the parent or guardian of the entrant and their agreement to these Terms and Conditions must be sought prior to submission. The ±«Óãtv will contact the teacher and ask for confirmation of permission from the parent or guardian of 40 shortlisted entrants. The responsible adult must provide their own contact and personal details (not the child’s).
Judging Criteria
14. ±«Óãtv NI Learning Team will select a shortlist of 30 entries and the Irish Language team will select a shortlist of 10 entries (40 in total) using the following criteria:
- Characterisation
- Originality
- Plot
- Language (descriptive language not fluency)
- Enjoyment
15. Shortlisted entries will progress to the second round of judging which will be completed by two panels of judges, one English language panel for the English language categories and one Irish language panel for the Irish language category. The panels will use the same criteria, as detailed above, to select 3 finalists, including one winner, for each of the four categories.
16. The 12 finalists will be contacted and their entries verified. The finalists will be contacted by Tuesday 28th November 2023. If the ±«Óãtv is unable to make contact with an entrant after reasonable attempts, the ±«Óãtv reserves the right to disregard that entry and select the next best entry as a finalist.
17. The 12 finalists will have their short stories read out by actors on ±«Óãtv Radio Ulster. The winner in each category will have their story animated and shared on ±«Óãtv NI social media platforms and programme pages. All 12 finalists will receive an illustrated book featuring their story.
18. The prize is as stated above. There is no cash alternative and the prize cannot be sold or transferred in any circumstances.
19. The ±«Óãtv's decision as to entrants taking part and winner is final. No correspondence relating to the competition will be entered into.
20. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The ±«Óãtv accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree to indemnify the ±«Óãtv against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.
21. Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material. Entries must be suitable to be broadcast, published or used online by the ±«Óãtv for audiences of all ages. Please see the for further information. If the story has troubling content the ±«Óãtv may if required take advice from the NSPCC, and may refer the troubling content to the relevant authorities in accordance with the .
General
22. Entrants retain the copyright in their original submissions and grant to the ±«Óãtv a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to broadcast their entry across all media, use it on any online platform as part of any ±«Óãtv programme or service and in exploitation of such programme or service. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by the ±«Óãtv to fulfil the prize and to complete the administration of this competition. For the avoidance of doubt, no fees or expenses will be paid for the creation of any part of the entry.
23. By submitting a story, the entrant’s parent or guardian agrees that the ±«Óãtv may, at its sole discretion, edit or change entries in any way it may consider necessary for the purposes of use in the competition and the purposes listed in clause 22 above.
24. This competition is conducted in line with the ±«Óãtv's Code of Conduct for Competitions and Votes, which can be found on .
25. The ±«Óãtv reserves the right to: (i) amend these terms and conditions and vary the competition rules including but not limited to the opening and closing times; (ii) disqualify any entrant who breaches the rules, displays rude, insulting or inappropriate behaviour at any point (including prize fulfilment) or has acted fraudulently in any way or; (iii) cancel the competition, at any stage, if in its opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise outside its control (iv) or to withhold a prize if, in its opinion, entries do not reach the required standard.
26. The ±«Óãtv, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any delays in the postal system, technical failure, loss of data via use of a third party email platform or malfunction or any other problem which may result in any loss of data before it is received by the ±«Óãtv, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies, or any entry being lost or not properly registered before it is received by the ±«Óãtv, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
27. Entry via the online form is also subject to the ±«Óãtv’s Terms of Use.
28. Entrants (including parents, guardians and teachers) will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when registering.
29. If any of these clauses should be determined to be illegal, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable then it shall be severed and deleted from these rules and the remaining clauses shall survive, remain in full force and effect.
30. The competition is run by the ±«Óãtv. The applicable law is that of England and Wales.