For those of you whose passion is the Environment, now you have the time for this!

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2016 Bow Seat
Ocean Awareness
Student Contest
Information Packet
Artwork by Kristy Lee, 2015 Contest Participant

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Important Dates and Deadlines
CONTEST OPENS: November 19th, 2015
CONTEST DEADLINE: Monday June 13th, 2016 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time.
Any entries received after the deadline will be considered ineligible for a prize.
WINNERS’ ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Middle School Winners Revealed: September 2016
High School Winners Revealed: October 2016

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About the 2016 Contest: Making Meaning of Ocean Pollution
We invite middle and high school students from around the world to participate in the 2016
Ocean Awareness Student Contest! The theme is Making Meaning out of Ocean Pollution, and it
challenges you to research, explore, interpret, and say something meaningful about the
connections between human activities and the health of our oceans.
Making Meaning is rooted in our belief that when you are asked to create something yourself,
rather than just memorize facts and spit them back out, not only does learning become fun but it
also becomes permanent.
We define Ocean Pollution as human-created physical, chemical, or biological waste that is
released into rivers, lakes, or the ocean that causes harm to the ocean environment. There are
many significant ways that human actions and waste negatively impact the environment,
including:
• marine debris/plastic pollution
• oil spills
• nuclear waste
• sewage and runoff
• acidification
• invasive species
• sound pollution
This year, we challenge you to focus on ONE type of ocean pollution and “make meaning” of it
through art, poetry, prose, or film. We would encourage you to connect it with your own life,
your own local community, or something else that is personally meaningful to you, but what’s
most important is to pick a topic that inspires and motivates you.
This is an interdisciplinary contest that weaves together ocean awareness, creativity, and
advocacy. Advocacy means taking a stand for something you believe in. It requires problem-
solving skills, assertiveness, and most of all, knowing when to call the world to action.
While learning from science, history, and personal experience will inform your entry, there is no
“right” way to do meaningful advocacy. Use your creativity to make art, poetry, prose, or films
that inspire and empower a new generation of ocean stewardship!
Contest entries are due by Monday, June 13th, 2016 at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time

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Instructions
1. Research. Look deeper into the ocean pollution issues that interest you, ask questions, think
about the way science and society helps you interpret the theme, and start building a case
for protecting the ocean.
2. Create. Interpret what you’ve learned and create your own work of art, writing, poetry, or
film that communicates the issue and advocates for ocean stewardship. Make sure you've
met all the requirements for your category (see ‘Categories’).
3. Submit. To enter the contest, submit both your work and reflection using the submission
upload form on our website at www.fromthebowseat.org. Entries are due by Monday June
13, 2016, at 11:59pm EST.
Divisions
Age: Middle School (6th – 8th grade, or International or Homeschool Equivalent) or High School
(9th – 12th grade, or International or Homeschool Equivalent)
Categories: Art, Poetry, Prose or Film
You can submit as an: Individual (meaning that you are the sole creator of your submission) or a
Group (groups can be of unlimited size, but we have to have the names of each group
member. There will be 1 group leader who will be the contact person for the group, and prizes
will be awarded to the group as a whole)
Prizes
Prizes will be awarded in each of the four categories in both the Middle and High School
divisions.
High School Middle School
Gold Awards $1,500 $1,000
Gold Award Winner’s School $1,500 $1,000
Silver Awards $1,000 $750
Bronze Awards $500 $250
Honorable Mention Awards $250 $100
Sponsor Recognition Awards $750 $750
Additional Prizes Available in 2016 over the course of the contest, other prizes may become
available such as random drawings for scholarships, ability to display pieces in public spaces
such as museums or aquariums. Additional prizes will be listed here as they become available,
but the winners of these prizes will be chosen and announced at the same time as the category
prizes.

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Categories
Art - All visual interpretations of the prompt are welcome in this category — painting, drawing,
prints, sculpture, textile, photography, and much more are all welcome. You need to submit:
1. YOUR ART - Up to 3 high quality photos or scans of your artwork as JPGs, PNGs, or PDFS.
Please make sure they are good resolution, not crooked, and can easily be viewed. Do
not send .zip files. Need help getting a good photo or a scan? Read these helpful
articles!
2. YOUR REFLECTION - A Word or PDF document with the title of your work, a Reflection of
up to 250 words and a bibliography (any style) of any ideas, facts, and quotes that are
not your own.
Poetry - All pieces of written and spoken poetry which interpret the prompt are acceptable in
this category, whether just a single poem or a collection. You need to submit:
1. YOUR POEM - One Word or PDF document of your written poem.
o Middle School – no more than 2 page
o High School – no more than 5 pages
o Please include the Title of your work in this document
o Please include a bibliography (any style) of any ideas, facts, and quotes that are
not your own. Your bibliography does not count towards your page or word
count.
2. YOUR REFLECTION - A Word or PDF document with the title of your work and a Reflection
of up to 250 words.
3. OPTIONAL VIDEO - a video of you performing your poem, if you like. If you choose to
submit a video, please note that it should be in the following format:
o No more than 3 minutes in length
o Uploaded to YouTube, with the title “2016 Ocean Awareness Student Contest
(Poetry) – Poem Title – by Your Name” and your reflection and bibliography
pasted into the video description.
o When you submit, there will be a place for you to paste in the link to your
YouTube Video.
Prose - All forms of written interpretations of the prompt except poetry are acceptable in this
category. Feel free to write fiction, non-fiction, personal memoirs, analytical essays, nature
writing, political advocacy, op-eds or news articles, or any other form of prose. You need to
submit:
1. YOUR PROSE - One Word or PDF document of your written prose.
o Middle School – 3-5 pages
o High School – 5-8 pages
o Please include the Title of your work in this document.
o Document should be in 12pt font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1 inch
margins.
o Please use in-text citations (parenthetical or footnotes, in any style) and a
bibliography (any style) of any ideas, facts, and quotes that are not your own.
Your bibliography does not count towards your page count.
2. YOUR REFLECTION - A Word or PDF document with the title of your work and a Reflection
of up to 250 words.

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Film - All types of cinematic interpretations of the prompt are acceptable in this category, from
advocacy films to PSAs to short films to newscasts to educational videos and much more. You
need to submit:
1. YOUR FILM - A YouTube link to your film (you will paste it into the online form, please do
not submit a Word or PDF document with a link to the video)
o Length for Middle AND High School 2-5 minutes
o Please include a title and credits in the film itself for any information, sound, or
video clips that are not your own.
o Please name your name your YouTube Film as “2016 Ocean Awareness Student
Contest (Film) – Film Title – by Your Name,” and please paste your reflection and
bibliography into the video description.
2. YOUR REFLECTION - A Word or PDF document with the title of your work, and a Reflection
of up to 250 words.
The Reflection
The Reflection helps your audience and the judges understand more about you, your work, and
the issue you address. It is like the introduction to a book, or an artists’ statement in a museum.
The judges will not lower your score for a poorly written reflection, but writing a good reflection
will certainly help the judges understand you and your work better and you will likely do better in
the contest!
But why do I have to write about my work, instead of let the work speak for itself?
It’s important to practice talking about your work because it’s one of the hardest but most
fundamental skills of being an advocate. People who see your work will likely want to ask
questions that only you can answer — the reflection is kind of like an FAQ. Why did you do what
you did? How did you create it? What inspired you? What meaning have you made out of
your exploration of ocean pollution? Entice people who see your work to look longer, deeper,
and most of all to think about the issue you are trying to address.
Requirements
• Length: 250 words or less
• File Format: PDF or MS Word
• Helpful link for getting started on your reflection: read "Your Artist Statement:
Explaining the Unexplainable" at http://www.artbusiness.com/artstate.html

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Sponsors
Each Individual or Group who submits to the contest must have one or more adult sponsors.
Usually, sponsors are teachers, a parent, or a mentor. We ask each student to have a sponsor so
that if we have trouble getting into touch with a student, we have a backup means to
contacting them.
Plus, we think that one of the most important parts of ocean advocacy is building relationships
and actually having conversations about ocean issues. Regardless of how closely the sponsor
does or does not work with the student as they prepare their submission, we encourage students
and sponsors to use each other to practice talking about ocean pollution and how art, poetry,
prose, or film can make a meaningful difference in our world.
NOTE: We also offer Sponsor Recognition Awards! These awards are nomination-based.
Students, nominate your awesome sponsor by writing to us at info@fromthebowseat.org and tell
us why your sponsor is amazing! Nomination letters should be 250 words or less.
Rules
• All submissions must be received by June 13th, 2015 at 11:59pm EST to be entered into the
contest.
• Entries may be submitted by an individual or group of unlimited size. If you submit as a
group, there must be 1 person to serve as the group contact, but all the names of the group
members must be listed upon registration and the prize money will be split among the group
members.
• Any student may submit (meaning have their name included in) only one entry per
category. Therefore, a student may have a maximum of four different submissions, one in
each category.
• Entries submitted previously to the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Student Contest are not
allowed to be submitted for the 2016 contest.
• All entries must be the students' original work. While we recognize that existing sources will
be used for inspiration and research, Bow Seat reserves the right to disqualify an entry if we
suspect plagiarism.
• Bow Seat reserves the rights to reproduce submissions to be used for ocean pollution
advocacy, outreach, contest promotion, and any other use which is not for profit.
• All winners will be notified by email the day before the public announcement on the
website.
• Bow Seat promises to run this contest fairly, ethically, and with integrity.
Eligibility
• Any student in grades 6-8 or the international or homeschool equivalent is eligible for the
middle school division.
• Any student in grades 9-12 or the international or homeschool equivalent is eligible for the
high school division.
• As long as you were a high school or middle school student for any amount of time during
the Contest (Fall 2015 – June 2016) then you are eligible to enter.
• Students from any country may enter.

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• Students must have one or more adult sponsors – usually your teacher is your sponsor.
Homeschooled students may put down their homeschool teacher’s name. Please email
info@fromthebowseat.org if you are unable to meet this requirement.
Judging
• Judging begins immediately after the contest closes.
• Judges look for entries that address the theme of the contest and meet all of the
requirements.
• Winners will be announced in October of 2015.
• All judge’s decisions are final.
Contact Us
Let us know if you have comments, concerns, or questions! We are all ears to hear from you
about how we can improve, and we are on call to answer all of your questions about the
contest.
Email us at info@fromthebowseat.org, we’re looking forward to hearing from you!