BATTER UP!
AAGPBL Writers' Contest Rules

Welcome to the official rules for the BATTER UP! AAGPBL Writers' Contest, sponsored by the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) Players Association, Inc. We invite all eligible students in grades 6, 7, and 8 to learn more about our pioneering league and its players and then step up to the plate and enter the contest. We hope you hit a home run!

The BATTER UP! Contest began with an official announcement on October 22, 2011. All entries are due no later than March 18, 2012. Winners will be named on or about May 30, 2012. These contest rules are subject to modification by the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc. This promotion is void where prohibited.

Eligibility & Entry Guidelines

• Entrants must be in Grades 6, 7, or 8. Children and grandchildren of members of the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., or of the contest judges are not eligible.
• To be eligible, an entrant must be a legal resident of the United States or Canada. The sponsor reserves the right to disqualify ineligible entries; such entries will not be returned.
• Only one entry per person will be accepted.
• Only single author entries qualify (no co-authored entries).
• Students entering must write an essay answering one of the following questions:
  1. Why was the AAGPBL important to the history of girls and women in the United States and Canada?
  2. Why do you think it’s important that people remember the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League years from now?
  3. Which All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player (living or dead) do you wish you could meet, and why?
• Any failure to adhere to these Contest Rules may result in disqualification from the contest.
• No purchase is necessary.

Word Count

• Essays must have a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 750 words.
• The word count includes "a," "an," and "the," but does not include any words that are not part of the essay itself, such as the title, student's name, or sources used.
• Text must be typed onto the Entry Form (see below).
• Children who cannot type may dictate their story to be typed.
• Non-English text must be typed onto the Entry Form, along with a translation. The translation must adhere to the word count.

Official Entry Form and Website

• Each entry must be typed onto the official BATTER UP! AAGPBL Writers' Contest Entry Form, available on the AAGPBL Website at www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/contest.
• Students should fill out the Entry Form online, type or paste their essays in the box on the form, and submit the entry by clicking on the "Submit" button.
• All entries must be submitted no later than March 18, 2012.
• Parent/Guardian: Each student must have a parent or guardian confirm on the Entry Form that the essay is original and was written by the student alone, and grant certain rights to the entry materials. That confirmation includes a statement typed by the parent or guardian, followed by his/her full name and direct e-mail address. Contest personnel may e-mail the parent or guardian to verify the authenticity of this statement.
• All fields and questions on the Entry Form must be completed.

National Judging, Awards, & Notification

Essays will be judged on content (originality, historical accuracy, creativity, and adherence to theme) and style (grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity, and neatness). The sources of any direct quotes used in the essay must be included:

• for books, give the title, author, publication year, and page number;
• for articles, the title, author, name of publication, and date;
• for Internet resources the title, author (if available), web address, and the date it was accessed.

Our team of judges will read all entries and send their top choices on to the final rounds. All decisions by the judges are final and not subject to appeal or review. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. A Grand Prize Winner, four Runners-Up, and any Honorable Mentions will be notified by June 1, 2012. The essays of the Grand Prize Winner and the four Runners-Up will be posted on the AAGPBL Website at www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/contest by fall 2012, and the winning essay also will be published in an issue of TOUCHING BASES, the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., newsletter.

Prizes are:

• Grand Prize Winner (1): An all-expenses-paid trip, including transportation, hotel, and entry to all reunion events, for the winner and one parent or guardian to the 2012 AAGPBL reunion in Syracuse, New York, September 19-23, 2012 (value ~ $3,000);
• Runners-Up (4): An AAGPBL prize pack including a collectible baseball and baseball bat autographed by women who played in the AAGPBL and other league memorabilia to be determined (value ~ $150);
• Honorable Mentions (up to 5): Up to five entrants will receive honorable mention certificates signed by an AAGPBL player, with the Players Association seal affixed.
• If the Grand Prize Winner and/or any of the Runners-Up name a Sponsoring Teacher on their entry forms, the teacher will receive one or more age-appropriate books about the AAGPBL and a DVD copy of the film A League of their Own for his or her classroom (value ~ $50).

Prizes are non-transferable and there are no substitutions. Those receiving runners-up prizes, honorable mentions, and teacher prizes must allow 4 to 6 weeks from notification to delivery.

Return of Entries

Entries cannot be returned. The AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., is not responsible for late, lost, stolen, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, or illegible entries.

Rights Associated with Contest

Submission of the Entry Form constitutes permission for the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., to use the participant’s name, likeness, biographical information, information and materials contained in the Entry Form, photographs, and any statements or remarks made about the Contest in advertising and promotion without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law. All entries, and any copyrights therein, become the sole property of the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc. By entering, entrants agree to abide by the above stated rules, and warrant that their entry is their original work and does not infringe upon or violate rights of any third party, and grant to the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., the right to edit, publish, promote, and otherwise use their entry materials without permission, notice, or compensation. No royalties will be paid at this or any time.

By submitting an entry and Entry Form, each participant (and parent or guardian) assigns all right, title, and interest in and to the entry and Entry Form to the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., and warrants that the participant (and parent or guardian) have the authority to assign such right, title, and interest. In the event that any applicable law requires certain formalities to be fulfilled to effectuate such grant of rights, each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to cooperate with the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., to achieve fulfillment of such formalities.

By submitting an entry, each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to be bound by these Contest Rules. Each participant (and parent or guardian) agrees to release and hold the AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., and its members, directors, agents, and representatives harmless from any and all damages, losses, claims and liabilities arising out of participation in the Contest or resulting from acceptance or claiming of any prize hereunder. The AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, suspend or otherwise cancel the Contest at any time. Income and all other taxes are the responsibility of the prize recipient. The AAGPBL Players Association, Inc., is not responsible for any expenses incurred in connection with participation in the Contest.

Sponsor: AAGPBL Players Association, Inc. (aagpbl.org), 7800 Spring Point Ct. NE, Rockford, MI 49341.