Competitions

Objective: Students will demonstrate their ability to cleanly communicate information in a standard Feature Story surrounding the UWA Homecoming.

Assignment: Students must create a one-page Feature Story from an angle of their choice utilizing provided material about the UWA Homecoming, utilizing an inverted pyramid style within the time limit.

Provided Materials: A feature story example. Content about UWA Homecoming. A ‘rules’ sheet with expectations of the feature story. A Dropbox link to submit final work.

Judging Criteria: Writers will be evaluated on grammar, punctuation, and ability to synthesize information to create an accurate and creative feature story adhering to the correct style.

Objective: Bring your creativity to life by designing a graphic that’s striking, inventive, and full of personality. The assignment will only be revealed once the competition begins.

Provided Materials: Access to computer lab, Adobe software (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Canva), assets for the design (photographs and credit titles), and guidance from UWA faculty and students.

Judging Criteria: Designs will be judged on creativity, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.

Objective: Utilize personal style and design skills to plan a design assigned on the day of the competition. Participants will be provided with a 2D layout of a room or dwelling and be tasked with designing a functional space.

Provided Materials: Blueprint of space to be measured and designed in hard copy form. Students will also create a mood board with examples of furniture and design elements chosen for the space they are given. Computers will be available to create mood boards.

Judging Criteria: Designers will be judged on design concepts, style use, and use of space.

Objective: Develop and submit two commercial-quality photographs featuring one or more retro-inspired products. Participants will have one hour to photograph anywhere on campus using available lighting. Each participant must submit one product shot and one lifestyle shot.

Provided Materials: Participants competing in person will be provided with access to a digital camera, editing software, a UWA student guide, variety of themed products will be available to choose from

Judging Criteria: Submitted photos will be judged on creativity, commercial quality, and overall theme representation

Objective: The goal of this contest is to creatively showcase the features and benefits of a provided item and persuade a panel of judges that they should buy it. Each contestant will prepare a dynamic sales pitch that lasts no more than 3 minutes. Contestants will be judged based on creativity, clarity, engagement, and overall effectiveness of the pitch.

Provided Materials: Each contestant will receive information about an item they are to showcase during their pitch. The item can be utilized to demonstrate its versatility, features, and be used in persuasive scenarios.

Judging Criteria: Students will be evaluated on their ability to implement best practices of public speaking, implementation of creativity, clarity, and persuasiveness. They will be expected to engage the judges with a pitch that lasts no longer than 3 minutes. 

Objective: Utilize social media skills, creativity, and marketing principles to generate a social media video for a provided client. Students will pair a trending topic with the client’s needs and be asked to create the ultimate social media package: a finished video/reel concept plus the perfect caption to match. Participants will present their video/reel and explain exactly why their approach will capture attention and drive engagement. 

Provided Materials: Wireless Internet, Expertise from students, faculty, and community experts. Specific client/account/content needed to be created. 

Personal Equipment needed: Participants will need to bring a personal phone or tablet with access to Instagram to complete the assignment. 

Judging Criteria: Creativity, Social media marketing principles, adherence to assignment guidelines, overall fit for the assigned target audience, and caption writing.

Objective: Participants will interview with a predetermined UWA athletics representative about their athletic career on campus. Participants will create their own questions to ask the athlete based on the provided background information and statistics.  The interview should last between 2 and 3 minutes. The interview will be filmed, mimicking real sports reporting.

Provided Materials: A list of information about the interview subject, filming equipment and videographer, and a UWA Athletics representative to interview.

Judging Criteria: Entries will be judged on overall on-camera presence, reporting skill, and storytelling effectiveness. Judges will evaluate delivery, clarity, confidence, vocal tone, and body language, as well as the reporter’s ability to engage the audience and convey information accurately and naturally. Professional appearance, command of facts, adherence to journalistic standards, and smooth use of transitions or stand-ups will also be key factors in determining the top on-camera reporter.

Objective: Perform a 60-90 second memorized monologue on the day of the competition. Students will gather in an acting performance space, participate in warm-up games, and then individually introduce themselves and perform their monologues. Monologues may be from published plays, films, or original material. 

Provided Materials: Students will be given an acting performance space and audience.  

Judging Criteria: Actors will be evaluated on memorization, clear communication, believability, and use of physical and vocal expressiveness.

Objective:  Come showcase your vocal talents! Currently enrolled high school students can perform and compete in the solo vocal competition, then receive critiques from the UWA choir director, Dr. Chris Shelt.

Required Materials: Songs should be prepared by participant in advance. Songs performed must meet the following criteria: 1) Any musical style. 2) Length must be no longer than 2 minutes. 3) song must be age appropriate – no profanity or crude language. 4) Song can be performed acapella or with a backing track brought by participant that can be played on a Bluetooth device or via a computer with a link or flash drive.  

Provided Materials: Performance space with audience.

Judging Criteria: Follows best practices of vocal solo. Clarity of voice, breath control, tone, and showmanship that matches style of song.

Special Scholarship Opportunity: Senior competitors who place will automatically be considered for UWA Choir Scholarships in addition to the IMC3 scholarship. 

This competition will be facilitated online during the week prior to the event. Participating students must attend the in-person IMC3 event. Materials will be sent to chaperone representatives upon registration submission.

Assignment: Participants will submit a branding kit that includes a full-color and black-and-white logo, as well as an original slogan. Design software isn’t restricted; any program may be used.

Provided Materials: Branding guidebook examples. A Dropbox link to submit final work. 

Judging Criteria: Designs will be judged on creativity, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. Work must be received by the deadline and in the correct format in a PDF Brand book. 

Eligibility: Students must participate in person on the day of the IMC3 competition to be eligible for scholarship awards.

Deadline: Kits must be submitted by November 15th in a PDF brand book.

This competition will be open online only. All students submitting are required to participate in person on the day of IMC3. Rules guidelines will be provided down below upon registration.

Assignment: Filmmakers must submit a short film that tells a complete story based on the assigned theme/prompt. The film should demonstrate creativity in storytelling, editing, and visuals. Anything inappropriate will result in an automatic disqualification.

Requirements for submission:

• Length: 2-5 minutes long maximum
• Format: MP4 or MOV, horizontal 1080p minimum
• MUST be original work created by student(s)
• No nudity, sexual content, drug content, or profanity will be accepted.
• We prefer individual submissions; however, should a team of up to 3 students submit a film that places, film scholarships will be divided proportionally. 
• Films must include credits (names, school, year) at the end of the film

Provided Material: 1) Link for final submission. 2) Access to example short films or basic filmmaking guides

Judging Criteria: creativity and originality (no premade work), storytelling/message, technical execution (camera work, editing, sound), relevance to theme, follows requirements given. 

Eligibility: Students must participate in person on the day of the IMC3 competition to be eligible for scholarship awards.

Submission Due Date: November 12th, 2025 (11:59 PM)

SUBMIT HERE: https://forms.gle/x2DLhQDPtmTLDQSJ7