Official Championship Rules

Please read the Official Rules governing this competition before entering. By taking an eligible Exam, participants agree to be governed by Certiport's 2015 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship Official Rules.

 

Eligibility

Participation in Certiport's 2015 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship (hereafter referred to as "Championship") constitutes Contestant's full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules.

Contestants in the Championship must be students currently enrolled in an approved academic institution recognized by the state or country in which it operates. To compete in the final round of the Championship, students must be 13 to 22 years of age (as of June 15, 2015). Verification of student status and student identification is required.

Although the Championship is available worldwide, the rules of participation and dates vary slightly by country. Please visit www.ACAchampionship.com for a complete list of participating countries, worldwide rules, and Championship dates. The contest is not open to any resident of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. U.S. export regulations prohibit the export of goods and services to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Therefore residents of these countries/regions are not eligible to participate.

Employees of Adobe, Certiport, and the sponsoring Certiport Authorized Partner, their affiliates, subsidiaries, parents and related companies and agencies and those individuals living in the same household as employees are not eligible. All federal, state, local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. By taking an eligible Exam and entering this Championship, student, solution provider and distributor participants agree to abide by all terms of these Official Rules.

Timing

All dates for the Championship begin at 7:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time and end at 6:59 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time.

Certiport Authorized Partners must identify which languages they will have competitors participating in by April 30, 2015. Any languages not requested by this date will not be available at the World Championship Round.

The Championship Qualification round ends on June 15, 2015.

Regional Champions must be identified by a Certiport Authorized Partner and registered for the Championship Round by June 30, 2015.

Regional Champions sponsored by a Certiport Authorized Partner will be invited to participate in the 2015 World Championship Round which will take place in Dallas, Texas from August 9 – 12, 2015.

Certiport reserves the right to revise the Championship schedule without formal notice.

Entry

QUALIFICATION ROUND:

To participate, a student must pass one of the following exams by June 15, 2015:

• Adobe Certified Associate Visual Communication using Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Certified Associate in Print & Digital Media Publication using Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Certified Associate in Graphic Design & Illustration using Adobe Illustrator

(Hereafter, these certification exams will be collectively referred to as "Exam(s)"). All qualifying Exam(s) must be uploaded into the Certiport exam administration system by an approved Certiport Authorized Testing Center.

There is no limit to the number of times a student may take any particular eligible exam as long as he/she is not in violation of the Certiport exam retake policy. Students who fail to abide by the Certiport exam retake policy will be disqualified from the Championship. Each Exam score registered for the Championship during the official date range period (ends June 15, 2015) receives one entry into the Championship. Standard test–taking terms and conditions apply.

REGIONAL ROUND — REGIONAL CHAMPION SELECTION:

Regional Champions will be selected from among all eligible entries received in each country during the Qualification Round of the Championship.

Certiport Authorized Partners will implement a Regional Championship during which they will identify the Regional/Country Champions. Each partner/country may have additional published rules regarding their Regional Round. Please contact your specific partner or refer to your specific regional Championship rules for details. Odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible Exam entries received in each country.

Regional Champions must be identified by a Certiport Authorized Partner, and student packets submitted to Certiport by no later than June 30, 2015.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND — WORLD CHAMPION SELECTION:

In order to participate in the World Championship Round, competitors must be a qualified, designated Regional Champion, sponsored by a specific Certiport Authorized Partner. Competitors must be able to travel to Dallas, Texas, USA and compete in the World Championship Round, from August 9 – 12, 2015.

In order to sponsor competitors in the World Championship Round, an organization must be an approved reseller of Adobe Certified Associate exams with a Certiport Authorized Partner ID. Each Certiport Authorized Partner may bring a maximum of three (3) Regional Champions to compete in the World Championship Round.

All Regional Champions will be responsible for preparing themselves to compete at the World Championship Round. Certiport, Adobe, and/or Certiport's partners may provide Regional Champions with preparation materials and/or software to help facilitate each student's training.

During the World Championship Round, Competitors will be given instructions, project requirements, and assets to complete a real–world design challenge. Regardless of which ACA exam they passed to qualify, all students will use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign (or their chosen combination of the three) to complete the design challenge.. Contestant designs will be reviewed by a panel of judges. First, second and third place winners will be selected, and will be awarded with prizes.

All judging decisions are final. Certiport retains the right to disqualify students for appropriate cause. Certiport reserves the right to change these rules without formal notice.

General Rules

No substitution/transfer/assignment of prize by any winner is permitted. Reporting and payment of all federal/state/local or other taxes are responsibility of each winner. All federal/state/local laws apply.

All materials submitted become the sole property of Certiport and will not be returned. Any artwork or materials created or submitted during the 2015 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship may be used for any marketing or promotional purposes by Certiport, Adobe, or any Championship sponsor without limitation or compensation.

False and/or deceptive entries or similar acts shall render entrants ineligible to continue to participate or win the Championship.

Except where prohibited, and at the sole discretion of Certiport, student participation in the Championship constitutes entrant's consent to publication of his/her name, Exam score(s), city/state/country location, and artwork submissions on the Championship website and other Championship publicity without limitation or compensation. Potential winners may be required to sign and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form within 10 days of attempted notification. Noncompliance may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner. Acceptance of any prize constitutes permission for Certiport, Inc. and/or their agencies to use winner's name/likeness/visage, Exam score(s), and city/state/country location for purposes of advertising and promotion without further compensation, unless, but only to the extent, prohibited by law.

Winner may decline to accept a prize, in which case Certiport may select an alternate winner. If necessary due to unavailability, a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded at the discretion of Certiport. Return of any prize or prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and the naming of an alternate winner. Prizes sent to winners will only be available in the fashion selected by Certiport.

Regional Champions must be available to travel to and attend the 2015 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship August 9 – 12, 2015 in Dallas, Texas, USA. All travelers must execute a Release of Liability prior to ticketing and must possess required travel documents (e.g. valid photo I.D., passport, visa, etc.) prior to trip.

Certiport is not responsible for incomplete/lost/late/damaged/illegible/misdirected entries or incomplete telephone calls, faulty transmissions, recordings, malfunctions, for technical/hardware/software failures, lost/unavailable network connections, delivery failure or delay, or failed/incomplete/garbled/delayed/faulty computer transmission. Certiport reserves the right to cancel/modify the Championship or disqualify entrant if fraud/misconduct/technical failures destroy the integrity of Championship as determined solely by Certiport. Any attempt by an individual to deliberately damage the website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Championship is a violation of criminal/civil laws and should such attempt be made, Certiport reserves the right to seek damages from any such individual to the fullest extent of the law.

Winners agree to hold Certiport, Adobe, and its respective directors/officers/employees/assigns/agents/independent contractors/affiliates/subsidiaries, harmless against any and all claims/liability/demands/actions or causes of action/costs/expenses/attorneys' fees arising out of participation in the Championship and/or acceptance and use of prize. Winners assume all liability for any injury/damage/loss caused/claimed to be caused, by participation in or acceptance and use of prize. Certiport is not responsible for any typographical or other error in printing of offer/administration of Championship/announcement of prizes or for liability for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in accessing or downloading information in connection with this Championship. To obtain a list of winners, please visit the Championship website, or e–mail Certiport at ACAchampionship@pearson.com after Monday, August 17, 2015.