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IBM Master the Mainframe Contest
   
No experience necessary. Just a desire to win some great prizes.

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Official rules

IBM
“Academic Initiative Master the Mainframe Contest”
2006 OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Open to students in the fifty States of the United States, the District of Columbia & CANADA (EXCLUDING QUEBEC), 18 years of age and older. Do not enter if you are not located in the United States or Canada at the time of entry.

  1. Registration Web site: To qualify to participate in the contest, you must first complete the on-line registration form. Registration is open from September 5, 2006 until December 1, 2006 11:59 PM in your time zone. Follow all instructions and complete the on-line registration form in its entirety. This process does not constitute entry, but rather registration as a potential entrant. You must be 18 years of age or older and a college or university student as described in Rule #4.
  2. Submitting your entry: Once students have completed the on-line registration form, IBM will confirm each student's registration with an email to the address provided by the student (within three business days). IBM will provide a mainframe user ID before the contest begins on October 2, 2006 to all students who register on or before September 28, 2006. Students who register on September 29, 2006 or later will be provided a mainframe user ID within five business days of receipt of their registration. System resources are finite for this contest, and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis while the supply lasts. If sufficient system resources do not exist, the entrant will not be allowed to compete in the contest. For Parts 1 and 2 of the contest, students submit entries by transmitting data sets to an IBM user ID on the mainframe, as described in the contest instructions. Contestants must submit an entry for Part 1 before they submit an entry for Part 2. To enter Part 3, after completion of Part 1 & Part 2, students must send an e-mail to univprg@us.ibm.com. Student will receive a new user ID for Part 3 (within five business days of IBM's receipt of the student's email). Contest judges (as described in Rule #3) will log into the student's account for Part 3 to verify the completion of Part 3 tasks; no formal submission of data sets needs to be made. No credit is given for partial completion of any Part 3 tasks. Ties are broken by the written report (as described in Rule #3) submitted to univprg@us.ibm.com. All entries may be submitted starting October 2, 2006. Your entry must be received by the sponsor no later than 11:59 PM December 28, 2006 in your time zone. Entry is deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used as the user name at the time of registration. Authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. If your registration form is incomplete, you will not be eligible for the contest. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for computer system, hardware, software, network program, or other errors, failures, or malfunctions of any kind, whether human or technical in nature, in the transmission or receipt of entries or registrations. Part 3 of the contest will be judged according to criteria in rule #3.
  3. Part 3 entries will be judged by a panel of qualified judges beginning on or about January 5, 2007. Judges' decisions are final in all matters relating to the contest. Entrants will be judged on the number of pre-defined tasks they are able to complete in order before the end of the contest, as outlined in Part 3 of the contest instructions. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the entrant having the highest score on a written report submitted to univprg@us.ibm.com. The report will be judged using the following criteria: (1) clarity of documentation - 1 to 10 points will be awarded; (2) technical understanding of completed tasks - 1 to 20 points will be awarded; (3) completeness of documentation - 1 to 10 points will be awarded (results subject to verification by Sponsor, as set forth in Rule 9). Maximum amount of points available is 40. If there is still a tie, a new judge will re-judge the tied entries. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or suspend this contest should virus, bugs or other causes beyond sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security, or proper judging of the contest. If sponsor detects harmful system activity, harmful network activity, or use of the systems for activity beyond the scope of the contest, sponsor reserves the right to remove system resources or to revoke user IDs from the contest. Sponsor not responsible for technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines or network hardware or software. Submission of an entry constitutes your acceptance of the conditions and rules of the contest.
  4. Contest is open to students 18 years or older who are enrolled full-time or part-time at a two, three, or four-year accredited college or university in the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec) and are residing in the U.S. or Canada (except Quebec) and have at least one professor enrolled in the IBM Academic Initiative ("Students"). Students may only submit one entry in each part (Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3) of the contest. Students who have not registered for the contest during the registration period will not be eligible to submit an entry to the contest. Proof of enrollment may be required. Employees of IBM and judges of the Master the Mainframe Contest and the immediate family members and household members of each are not eligible to enter the contest.
  5. Part 1 Prizes (400): One Prize will be awarded to each of the first four hundred students to complete Part 1 of the contest. The prize is a T-shirt. Approximate Retail Value: $15.00 USD.
  6. Part 2 Prizes (25): One Prize will be awarded to the first 25 students to complete Part 2 of the contest. The prize is an AppleTM 2GB iPod nano. Approximate Retail Value: $200 USD.
  7. Part 3 Prizes (5): 3rd One prize will be awarded to each of the top five Students (as determined by the criteria in rule #3). The prize is a MicrosoftTM Xbox 360 Premium System. Approximate Retail Value: $400 USD. For the top two winners, the prize also includes a two-day trip to the IBM mainframe plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, including round trip coach airfare from commercial airport closest to winner's school, ground transportation to/from airports and between hotel and plant, and two nights at the Poughkeepsie Courtyard by Marriot. Trip must be taken on March 14 15, 2007 or that portion of prize will be forfeited. Approximate Retail Value: $1,500.
    Approximate total retail value of all prizes: $16,000 USD. Value of trip prizes may vary with airfare fluctuations and point of origin.

    No cash value or substitutions of prizes except by Sponsor who may change prizes or models of equipment as availability changes or make such substitutions as necessary to meet export requirements. Prizes will be delivered to confirmed winners. Winners of trips must pay all incidental expenses associated with travel and any expenses not specified and are responsible for proper travel documentation. By accepting prizes, winners further agree to release IBM and its subsidiaries, affiliates and related companies and each of their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, including but not limited to Einson Freeman, Inc. (the "Contest Parties"), from any and all liability, loss or damage of any kind arising out of or in connection with winners' participation in this Contest, or with respect to awarding, receipt, possession, use and/or misuse of any prize, or to participation in the Contest or in prize-related activities. By accepting prizes, winners further acknowledge that the Contest Parties have neither made, nor are in any manner responsible or liable for, any warranty, representation or guarantee, expressed or implied in fact or in law, relative to prize or to any portion thereof, including but not limited to its quality, merchantability, mechanical condition, or fitness for a particular purpose.

  8. Except where prohibited, by accepting prize, winner or if a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian acting on his/her behalf consents to the use of his/her name, likeness, and biographical information for advertising and promotional purposes worldwide without limitations and without additional compensation.
  9. Winners of Part 1 and of Part 2 will be notified via email (within fifteen business days of the time stamp on their data set submissions for Part 1 and Part 2, respectively). In the event that a Canadian resident is selected as a potential Part 1 or Part 2 winner, he/she will be required to correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question in order to qualify for their prize. Part 3 winners will be notified by express mail and via e-mail on or about February 1, 2007 and will be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and release of liability/publicity within 7 days of notification (except where prohibited) or prize will be forfeited and may be awarded to an alternate winner on the basis of the criteria set forth herein.
  10. By submitting entries, entrant grants the Sponsor and its agents of this contest the right to publish, use, adapt, sell, edit and/or modify such entry (and electronic communications related to such entry) in any way, in commerce, and in any and all media worldwide, including but not limited to the Internet, without limitation and without compensation to the entrants. Entrant also grants Sponsor a worldwide irrevocable, nonexclusive and royalty free right and license to use, have used, copy, reproduce, transfer, modify and/or display any information contained in their entry in whole or part and in any form without compensation. Entries must be entrant's own original creations, must not infringe on third party rights, must not have won previous awards, must not have been posted on another Web site prior to submission and must be suitable for publication. Winners may be required to sign an additional affidavit/license (except where prohibited) to this effect. Taxes on all prizes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the prizewinners. Entrants agree to be bound by the official contest rules.
  11. At the Sponsor’s discretion, entrants may be required to submit source code to substantiate results reported in the entry.
  12. For a list of winners visit the Mainframe Contest Web site after April 20, 2007, or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: IBM Academic Initiative Student Mainframe Contest, P.O. Box 151, Edgewater, NJ 07020, to be received no later than May 1, 2007.

Sponsor: IBM, Route 100, Somers, New York 10589.