BEST SCHOOL YEAR EVER OFFICIAL RULES

The Best School Year Ever® Competition (the “Contest”) is a skill contest designed to encourage eligible students attending school in Canada or the United States of America (“Entrant(s)” or “You”) to enter for a chance to win full boarding tuition at St. Michaels University School (“SMUS”) in Victoria, British Columbia for the 2025-2026 school year. There will be one (1) Grand Prizes and two (2) Finalist Prizes (defined in Section 12) available to be won. All Finalists will also receive a trip to Victoria, British Columbia, pending any government-imposed travel restrictions (including those related to COVID-19, see Sections 9, 10 and 12). Prizes will be awarded in accordance with these Official Rules (the “Rules”).

1. BINDING AGREEMENT: To enter the Contest, you must agree to the Rules. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entry to ensure you understand them. You agree that submission of an entry in the Contest constitutes agreement to these Rules. You may not submit an entry to the Contest and are not eligible to receive the prizes described in these Rules unless you agree to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and SMUS with respect to the Contest.
2. ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible to enter the Contest, an entrant must: (a) be a Canadian citizen (excluding Quebec) or a citizen of the 50 United States (excluding territories); (b) be entering a grade between 9 and 12 in September 2025; (c) be at least 13 years old at the time of entering the contest; d) be younger than 19 years old at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 school year (i.e. have a date of birth no earlier than July 1, 2007); and (e) have obtained a parent’s or legal guardian’s prior permission. Minors who enter must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to receive any prizes, as described in Section 12 of these Rules. In addition, if an Entrant is under the age of majority in his or her state or province of residence, his or her parent or legal guardian must act in all respects on his or her behalf, including, if selected as a potential winner, in regard to completing any declaration and release form, completing the skill testing question and accepting the prize. Students currently registered at SMUS are ineligible to participate in this Contest.
3. SPONSOR: The Contest is sponsored by SMUS (also referred to as the “Sponsor”), an independent boarding and day school located at 3400 Richmond Road, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8P 4P5.
4. CONTEST PERIOD: The Contest begins on September 1, 2024, 12:00 am Pacific Time (PT) and ends on March 28, 2025, 11:59 pm Pacific Time (PT) (“Contest Period”). There are five phases to the Contest.
   
   In the first phase, Entrants must submit a written entry between September 1, 2024 at 12:00 am Pacific Time (PT) and December 1, 2024 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time (PT) (the “Entry Period”) in accordance with these Rules (see Sections 5 and 6).
   
   In the second phase, a selection of eligible Entrants will be determined based on the Criteria (defined in Section 8) by employee(s) at SMUS and/or guest judges (collectively the “Jury”) as described in Section 8. The Jury will select Semi-Finalists (defined in Section 8) from the pool of eligible Entrants.
   
   In the third phase, the Semi-Finalists must submit a video entry and complete the SMUS online application for admission between December 16, 2024 at 12:00 am Pacific Time (PT) and January 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time (PT) (the “Video Period”) in accordance with these Rules (see Sections 5 and 7).
   
   In the fourth phase, the Jury will narrow the Semi-Finalists down to the Finalists (defined in Section 8) based on the Criteria.
   
   In the fifth phase, the Finalists will be interviewed, and one potential Grand Prize winner will be selected. Interviews will preferentially be conducted in person in Victoria, British Columbia, however, if any of the Finalists are prevented from travelling to Victoria, British Columbia based on government-imposed travel restriction (as described in Section 10), interviews for all Finalists will be conducted remotely via internet video conferencing.
5. HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Contest, visit the Contest website located at www.BestSchoolYearEver.ca (“Contest Site”) during the Entry Period and follow the instructions that appear on the web-based entry form (“Entry Form”) for: (a) submitting a written essay that meets the Essay Requirements (defined in Section 6) (the “Essay”); (b) completing all information on the Entry Form before submitting; and (c) submitting a copy of Entrant’s most recent report card plus Entrant’s last full end of school year report card.
   
   To submit an entry via the digital upload tool on the Contest Site, please follow the instructions on the Contest Site. Please note that this is the only form of entry to the Contest available. SMUS is not responsible for illegible or incorrectly submitted entries made via the digital upload tool.
   
   Entries received without a completed Entry Form will be disqualified.
   
   LIMIT ONE (1) ENTRY PER ENTRANT. Subsequent entries will be disqualified. To be considered for the Contest, entries must be: (i) complete (as determined by SMUS); (ii) received by December 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time (PT); and (iii) in English. Any submission not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. SMUS accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All entries will be deemed made by the Entrant submitted at the time of entry.
   
   Semi-Finalists will be asked to submit a video to the School in accordance with these Rules that reflect the Entrant’s creative presentation of why Entrant would have the best school year ever at SMUS (“Video”). Semi-Finalists, along with their parents/guardians, must also complete the SMUS online application for admission (“Application”), but will not be required to pay the usual $250 application fee.
   
   LIMIT ONE (1) VIDEO AND APPLICATION PER SEMI-FINALIST. Subsequent videos and applications will be disqualified. To be considered for the prizes, the Video and Application must be: (i) complete (as determined by SMUS); (ii) received by January 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time (PT); and (iii) in English. Any submissions not meeting the aforementioned criteria will be disqualified. SMUS accepts no responsibility for submissions lost, delayed, damaged, defaced, or mislaid, howsoever caused. All submissions will be deemed made by the Semi-Finalist at the time of submission.
6. ESSAY REQUIREMENTS: The Essay must meet the following criteria (“Essay Requirements”), all to be determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor:
   
   (a) It must answer all the following three (3) questions within 1500 characters:
   (i) What is ONE thing you are most passionate about and why?
   (ii) What specific aspects of SMUS would you get involved in?
   (iii) Describe a time you demonstrated leadership skills, and how those skills would help you live away from your parents at boarding school?*
   
   (b) It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
   
   (c) It must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, provincial, territorial, state or local laws and regulations including the laws or regulations in any province or territory or state where the Essay is created.
   
   (d) It must not contain any content, material or element that displays any advertising, slogan, logo, and trademark or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by any commercial entity (other than Sponsor) or that is not within the spirit of the Contest.
   
   (e) It must be original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity or that has been submitted as part of another promotion or contest.
   
   (f) It cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.
   
   (g) It must not have been previously submitted for any other promotion or contest, and must not be subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim.
   
   During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Jury will be evaluating the Essays to ensure that they meet the Essay Requirements. The Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who submits an Essay that does not meet the Essay Requirements. Incomplete entries or entries not complying with these Rules are subject to disqualification.
7. VIDEO REQUIREMENTS: The Video must meet the following criteria (“Video Requirements”), all to be determined in the sole discretion of the Sponsor:
   
   (a) It must not be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, libelous or contain any content that is inappropriate, indecent, sexual, profane, tortuous, slanderous, discriminatory in any way, or that promotes hatred or harm against any group or person, or otherwise does not comply with the theme and spirit of the Contest.
   
   (b) It must not contain content, material or any element that is unlawful, or otherwise in violation of or contrary to all applicable federal, provincial, territorial, state or local laws and regulations including the laws or regulations in any province or territory or state where the Video is created.
   
   (c) It must not contain any content, material or element that displays any advertising, slogan, logo, and trademark or otherwise indicates a sponsorship or endorsement by any commercial entity (other than Sponsor) or that is not within the spirit of the Contest. Any clothing worn in the video should not contain any visible logos, trademarks, cartoons, phrases, or third-party materials. Entrants may wear clothing with the Sponsor’s name and/or trademarks.
   
   (d) It must be original, unpublished work that does not contain, incorporate or otherwise use any content, music, material or element that is owned by a third party or entity or that has been submitted as part of another promotion or contest.
   
   (e) It cannot contain any content, element, or material that violates a third party’s publicity, privacy or intellectual property rights.
   
   (f) It must not have been previously submitted for any other promotion or contest, and must not be subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim.
   
   During the Contest Period, the Sponsor, its agents and/or the Jury will be evaluating the Videos to ensure that they meet the Video Requirements. The Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who submits a video that does not meet the Video Requirements. Incomplete entries or entries not complying with these Rules are subject to disqualification.
8. JUDGING: Each Essay, Video, Entry Form and Application will be evaluated and scored based on the following “Criteria”:
   
   (a) Appropriateness of answers to questions posed, creativity and originality considering the representation of the Contest theme of what makes you unique; show us your passions and how you will make the most of the opportunity to live and study at SMUS
   
   (b) Suitability of the Entrant for the SMUS boarding program based on report cards submitted with the Entry Form;
   
   (c) Adherence to the Essay Requirements, Video Requirements and these Rules.
   
   The odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
   
   The Jury will choose twenty-five (25) semi-finalists (“Semi-Finalists”) from all eligible submissions received during the Contest Period. If there are fewer than twenty-five (25) eligible entries, all eligible entries will be considered Semi-Finalists.
   
   Using the Criteria, the Jury will choose from the Semi-Finalists who have submitted a Video and completed an Application three (3) finalists (“Finalists”) who will advance to the last phase of the Contest. Finalists will be notified in accordance with Section 9.
   
   FOR CANADIAN RESIDENTS: Prior to being awarded any of the prizes, if a Finalist is a Canadian resident, he or she must answer correctly, without assistance of any kind, whether mechanical or otherwise, a mathematical skill-testing question posed by mail, email or telephone.
9. TRAVEL FOR FINALISTS: The Finalists will receive a trip to Victoria, British Columbia as described here, unless Section 10 applies, in which case this Section 9 has no force and effect.
   
   Finalists must be available with their parents/guardians to travel to Victoria, British Columbia, for two days during the period from (dates to be announced) (or as otherwise arranged with the Finalists) for an in-person interview with the majority of the Jury.
   
   To be considered to win a Grand Prize or a Finalist Prize, each Finalist must travel to British Columbia during the dates stated above for the interviews. Finalists who do not travel to British Columbia as required by the Rules may be disqualified and not eligible to receive any prize in the discretion of the Jury.
   
   Each Finalist and his/her parent or legal guardian must sign a declaration and release prior to travelling. Among other things, the release will (a) confirm compliance with these Rules; (b) acknowledge acceptance of the prize awarded; (c) release the Sponsor and its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, the Releasees ) from any and all liability in connection with this Contest, a selected entrant’s participation therein and/or the awarding and use/misuse of a prize or any portion thereof; (d) represent and warrant that the entrant obtained consents and publicity releases from all persons besides the entrant appearing in the video; and (e) agree to the publication, reproduction and/or other use of a selected entrant’s name, address, voice, statements about the Contest and/or photograph or other likeness without further notice or compensation, in any publicity or advertisement carried out by the Sponsor in any manner whatsoever, including print, broadcast or the internet.
   
   Each Finalist and his/her parent/guardian must travel together at the same time on the same itinerary. All travel arrangements must be made through the Sponsor. The trip portion of the prizes will consist of economy class airfare for the Entrant and up to two (2) of his or her parents or legal guardians from a major airport that is the closest to the Entrant’s residence to a Victoria, British Columbia area airport during the period from (dates to be announced) (or as otherwise arranged with the Finalists); hotel accommodation for two nights in Victoria, British Columbia at a hotel to be chosen by the Sponsor; transport to and from the airport in Victoria, British Columbia and the hotel; and transport to and from the hotel and the location of the interview. The approximate retail value of this portion of the prize is $3000 (CAN), based on departure from Toronto, Ontario or New York, New York, and may vary depending on the city of departure. Airfare, hotel accommodations, and transport will be arranged by SMUS. Certain travel restrictions may apply. Finalists and parents/guardians are responsible for transport from their homes to and from the airport and any and all other incidentals or expenses, including baggage fees, not specifically mentioned as being included. Finalists and parents/guardians are responsible for all taxes associated with the trip. Once trip dates have been booked, no change, extension or substitution of trip dates is permitted, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. No extension or change of trip dates permitted. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen tickets, travel vouchers, certificates or similar items once they are in winner’s possession, or in the possession of winner’s guest. If the winner lives within 100 miles of Victoria, B.C., the air transportation portion of the prize will not be awarded and ground transportation will be substituted and no additional compensation will be provided. Winner and parents/guardians must possess valid ID and are solely responsible for obtaining all necessary and required travel documents (passport, etc.) in order to travel. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any cancellations, delays, diversions or substitution or any act or omissions whatsoever by the air carriers, hotels or other transportation companies or any other persons providing any of these services and accommodations to passengers including any results thereof such as changes in services or accommodations necessitated by same. Sponsor shall not be liable for any loss or damage to baggage. No frequent flyer points will be awarded.
10. TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: If any government-imposed travel restrictions (including but not limited to restrictions due to COVID-19) would prevent any Finalist from attending SMUS for the interview in phase 5 of the Contest, to be determined as of February 1, 2025, then this Section 10 will apply, and Section 9 will have no force and effect. If no such travel restrictions exist on February 1, 2025, then Section 9 applies, and this Section 10 only applies insofar as necessary for Finalists who are unable to attend at SMUS between (dates to be announced) due to a change in travel restrictions between February 1, 2025 and the expected date of travel.
    
    Finalists must be available with their parents/guardians during the period from (dates to be announced) (or as otherwise arranged with the Finalists) for an interview via online video conference with the majority of the Jury.
    
    To be considered to win a Grand Prize or a Finalist Prize, each Finalist must participate in an interview during the dates stated above. Finalists who do not participate in an interview as required by the Rules may be disqualified and not eligible to receive any prize in the discretion of the Jury.
    
    Each Finalist and his/her parent or legal guardian must sign a declaration and release prior to the interview. Among other things, the release will (a) confirm compliance with these Rules; (b) acknowledge acceptance of the prize awarded; (c) release the Sponsor and its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (collectively, the Releases ) from any and all liability in connection with this Contest, a selected entrant’s participation therein and/or the awarding and use/misuse of a prize or any portion thereof; (d) represent and warrant that the entrant obtained consents and publicity releases from all persons besides the entrant appearing in the video; and (e) agree to the publication, reproduction and/or other use of a selected entrant’s name, address, voice, statements about the Contest and/or photograph or other likeness without further notice or compensation, in any publicity or advertisement carried out by the Sponsor in any manner whatsoever, including print, broadcast or the internet.
11. NOTIFICATION OF SEMI-FINALISTS, FINALISTS AND WINNERS:
    Notification: Semi-Finalists will be notified on or before December 16, 2024, by email and/or telephone. Finalists will be notified on or before February 1, 2025 by email and/or telephone. The potential winners for the Grand Prizes and the Finalist Prizes will be notified on or before March 28, 2025 by email and/or telephone.
    
    Tie-breaker: In the event of a tie at any stage of judging, the Jury will re-evaluate the Entrants according to the Criteria until the tie is broken.
    
    Decisions of the Jury are final and binding. In the event that there are not enough eligible entries, not all prizes will be awarded. If a potential winner is unable for whatever reason to accept his or her prize, then SMUS reserves the right to award the prize to another Entrant.
    
    Becoming a Semi-Finalist, Finalist or winner is subject to validation and verification of eligibility and compliance with all the terms and conditions set forth in these Rules. If a potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist or winner is disqualified for any reason, the Video that received the next highest total score will be chosen as the potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist or winner. The Semi-Finalists, Finalists and winners will be notified by email and/or telephone. With respect to notification by telephone, such notification will be deemed given when the potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner, or their parent or guardian, engages in a live conversation with Sponsor or when a message is left on the potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner’s voicemail service or answering machine by the Sponsor, whichever occurs first. Each potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner and parent/legal guardian may be required to sign and return a declaration and release from and provide any additional information that may be required by Sponsor. If required, potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner must return all such required documents via email (or as otherwise instructed) within 3 days following attempted notification or such potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner will be deemed to have forfeited the opportunity to win a prize and another potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner may be selected based on the judging Criteria described herein. In the event the potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner is a minor, his or her parent or legal guardian must sign the documents and return them as described herein. All notification requirements, as well as other requirements within these Rules, will be strictly enforced. If a potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner does not respond to the notification attempt within three (3) days from the first notification attempt, then such potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner may be disqualified and an alternate potential Semi-Finalist, Finalist, winner may be selected from among all eligible entries received based on the judging Criteria described herein.
12. PRIZES: The following prizes are available to be won:
    
    one (1) Grand Prize, consisting of full boarding and tuition scholarship to SMUS with a total retail value of approximately $80,000 (CAN), with travel to Victoria (pending travel restrictions as set out in Section 10)
    
    two (2) “Finalist”/Winner Prizes, consisting of partial boarding and tuition scholarship to SMUS with a total retail value of approximately $60,000 (CAN), with travel to Victoria (pending travel restrictions as set out in Section 10)
    
    The SMUS school year is from September 4, 2025 to June 20, 2026. No transfer, substitution or cash equivalent for prizes is allowed, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize, in whole or in part, of equal or greater monetary value if a prize cannot be awarded, in whole or in part, as described for any reason.
13. GENERAL CONDITIONS: All federal, provincial, territorial, state, and local laws and regulations apply. SMUS reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if it reasonably believes that the Entrant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices or annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants, SMUS, or the Jury.
14. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Entrants represent and warrant that their Essays and Videos are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Essay and Video and that they have the right to submit the Essay and Video in the Contest and grant all required licenses. In addition to the requirements set out in Section 6, each Entrant agrees not to submit any Essay or Video that: (a) infringes any third-party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable provincial, state, territorial federal, or local law. As between SMUS and the Entrant, the Entrant retains ownership of all intellectual and industrial property rights (including moral rights) in and to the Essay and Video (excluding SMUS’s rights in the SMUS logo/trademark). The Essays and Videos may also be used for press and media purposes and Entrant agrees to waive any rights and not assert any intellectual property rights that Entrant has or may have in the Essay and Video. SMUS reserves the right to publish the name and likeness of the Semi-Finalists, Finalists and winners on the Contest Site or through other media for publicity purposes. As a condition of entry, Entrant grants SMUS a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display the Essay and Video for any purpose, including display on the SMUS website, without any attribution or compensation to Entrant. Entries will not be returned. Entrants understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor may use the Essays and Videos for promotional purposes.
15. PRIVACY: Entrants agree that personal data submitted with an entry, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Sponsor and its affiliates for the purposes of conducting and administering the Contest. By entering the Contest, Entrants agree to the transmission, processing, disclosing and storage of this personal data for three years by Sponsor and its affiliates. All personal information that is collected from the Entrant is subject to SMUS’ Privacy Policy, located at: www.smus.ca/discover/privacy. Entrants have the right to access, review, rectify or cancel any personal data held by Sponsor in connection with the Contest by writing to SMUS at the following address: Privacy Officer, St. Michaels University School, 3400 Richmond Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 4P5. If an Entrant does not provide the data required at entry, that Entrant’s entry may be ineligible.
16. PUBLICITY: By entering the Contest, Entrants agree to participate in any media or promotional activity resulting from the Contest as reasonably requested by SMUS and agree and consent to use of their name and/or likeness by SMUS. SMUS will contact Entrants in advance of any SMUS sponsored media request for interviews.
17. ELIMINATION: In addition to any other events provided in these Rules which can lead to immediate elimination or disqualification of Entrant by Sponsor, any false information provided within the context of the Contest by Entrant concerning identity, mailing address, telephone number, email address, ownership of right or non compliance with these Rules or the like may result in the immediate elimination of the entrant from the Contest.
18. INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER: SMUS is not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Contest Site or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Videos or Entry Forms due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Contest Site, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit Entrant’s/consumer’s ability to participate/vote respectively. SMUS is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inaction of others, which might prevent Entrant from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Contest. Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules will not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify Entrants who violate the rules or interfere with this Contest in any manner. If an Entrant is disqualified, Sponsor reserves the right to terminate that Entrant’s eligibility to participate in the Contest.
19. RIGHT TO CANCEL, MODIFY OR DISQUALIFY: If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, government orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest, SMUS reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. SMUS further reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with the submission process or any other part of the Contest or Contest Site. Any attempt by an Entrant to deliberately damage any web site, including the Contest Site, or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, SMUS reserves the right to seek damages from any such Entrant to the fullest extent of the applicable law.
20. FORUM AND RECOURSE TO JUDICIAL PROCEDURES: These Rules shall be governed by, subject to, and construed in accordance with the laws of British Columbia and Canada, excluding all conflict of law rules. If any provision(s) of these Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, seek injunctive relief or make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Contest are hereby excluded, and Entrants expressly waive any and all such rights.
21. LIST OF WINNERS: For a complete list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope (residents of VT, USA may omit return postage) to The Best School Year Ever, St. Michaels University School, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8P 4P5. All requests must be received not later than March 29, 2025.