ADA

With publishing of the booklet of IAPLC 2018 in November, this year’s IAPLC was completed. We deeply regret, however, that a number of entries became disqualified due to their simultaneous submissions of the entered work to non-ADA authorized contest(s), organized mainly in China and Taiwan. As the organizer of the IAPLC, we are disappointed, and are sorry for those who have played fairly and complied with the contest rules. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize to them about the outcome.

There are some criticisms and feedback, considering “why these cases cannot be prevented” and we, as the organizer, take it very seriously. As a countermeasure, we have set the contest rules and conditions, stating that “Each entrant may submit only one piece of work” and “Any simultaneous submission of identical work, whether an identical or different photo cut, to other contests is prohibited,” and required all competitors to declare not to make any simultaneous submission of the same work to other contests on a self-reporting basis when submitting an entry. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to eliminate the problem.

“A simultaneous submission” includes not only the submission of the same work, but also the work described below, to any non-ADA authorized contest and the “on-going” IAPLC:
-The entered work was submitted to a non-ADA authorized contest and/or IAPLC in the past.
(This also violates IAPLC Rules and Conditions: Entered photograph must have been taken within one year prior to submission.)
-The entered work was, or will be, submitted to a non-ADA authorized contest and/or IAPLC with a slight modification.
-The entered work was, or will be, submitted to a non-ADA authorized contest and/or IAPLC with different fish positioning.

On top of “simultaneous submissions,” we carefully screen all entries according to the contest rules, including “Do not make any image processing, such as trimming and retouching.”
However, with close to 2,000 works submitted, it is extremely difficult to detect every single breach of rule. We believe that a healthy contest can be organized only with shared awareness of contest rules and ethics among all the participants of the contest.  We will continue to work hard to make the contest more significant and meaningful, that is supported by all of you, aquatic plant enthusiasts.

Thank you for your cooperation, and we greatly appreciate your understanding.
We look forward to your submissions in next year's contest!


The International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest Steering Committee