IPC 2014 is [almost] over, now what?

Whew! Was that a roller-coaster ride, or what? IPC 2014 exploded on the scene with a bang and will not be soon forgotten. The excitement of being able to view the judging live online added a whole new dimension to the competition this year! I’m happy, you’re happy, we’re all happy!

So… yes, I know there’s still one more day to go, but some folks’ judging has been completed and they’re wondering what the next step is – so here are some things you’ll want to know about.

1. Results – you should receive your results as the competition is ongoing. Texts are being sent to alert competitors that their image is in line to be judged as well as the results afterwards. If you didn’t get signed up for the texts, you can still check how your images are doing by going to the live stream link (http://stream.theipc.org/) , logging in and checking the area that says “View My Images.”

The final, official results will be available within several days of the end of IPC 2014 at the PPA website. In 2013, they were available about 1 day later and were posted at: IPC Results

EDITED 8/8/2014: The 2014 IPC Results are HERE.

The official results will list your name, the title of your image and the judging results. Results are noted as G, GB or L. G means that your image was accepted into the general collection and will receive 1 merit. GB means that your image was accepted into the general collection AND although it was judged for loan and did not receive a loan designation, a judge felt it was worthy of special recognition and it will be placed in the Showcase Book. More about that later. An L means that your image was judged as worthy of inclusion into the PPA Loan Collection and will receive an extra merit, for a total of 2 merits and will also be published in the Loan Book. More about that later, as well.

2. Bling – Did your name appear in the results four times? Well, happy, happy, joy, joy, you are pretty special! That means that all four of your entries received at least a merit and you are a medalist. You will receive a 4/4 pin suitable for framing… er… suitable for pinning onto your lapel, ID badge ribbon, or if you are degreed, placed upon your medallion ribbon to forever clank when you walk.

There are 5 different 4/4 pins depending on the number of merits & loans that you received:

^ If all four of your images received merits, but no loans, you are a bronze medalist.

^ If all four of your images received merits, plus 1 loan, you are a silver medalist.

^ If all four of your images received merits, plus 2 loans, you are a gold medalist.

^ If all four of your images received merits, plus 3 loans, you are a platinum medalist.

^ If all four of your images received merits, plus 4 loans, you are a Diamond Photographer of the Year and I bow to you :).

3. Press Release – If you were a medalist, within the next few weeks you will receive a package from the PPA with a certificate, pin and general press-release with fill-in-the-blanks for you to customize for your own purposes. Rewrite that baby and send it into your local newspaper with a headshot, PRONTO!

If you were not a medalist, never fear! The PPA puts the press release online for folks to use – here is a link to last year’s so you can see what it looks like – prep one for this year and send it in to your peeps at the media outlets. Be proud of your entries and merits 🙂

EDITED 08/08/2014: 2014 IPC Press Release is HERE.

4. IUSA Honors – In the past, all IPC medalists have been honored by appearing onstage during IUSA. In 2013, this took place just prior to the World Cup results on Monday evening.

5. Merit Report – In a few weeks to a few months your 2014 exhibition merits will appear on your PPA merit report. YAY! Give the fine folks at PPA a bit of time to get this done – there’s generally 5000+ images entered each year, so getting this part done is a bit time consuming.

6. Relax, but not for long – Chances are, there’s another competition coming up soon. Check your local and state affiliates for their competitions and associated deadlines and put them on your calendar. Before you know it, we will be deep into the 2015 competition season 🙂

7. Loan and Showcase Books – Ahhhhhh! If any of your images received a “General Book” or “Loan” designation,  it will appear in one of two books, published annually by Marathon Press. You will receive a proof via email (or a phone call from Marathon Press) reviewing your image, image title and spelling of your name. The books will be published and shipped somewhere in the Christmas/New Year’s time period. You will be able to purchase copies of these books if you wish at a small discount if your image appears in them or at full price if it doesn’t.

While you’re waiting for the absolutely final results – take a gander at the 2013 results.