The Malta Climbing Club is pleased to announce its first ever Climbing Photography competition!
The competition is open to everyone, and the theme is broad yet simple: CLIMBING IN THE MALTESE ISLANDS.
Photos can be of anything and everything related to climbing in Malta, Gozo and Comino – the routes we climb, the equipment we use (on location), the scenery we encounter when climbing, even pictures of plants and animals at the crag are welcome. Pictures of MCC events and of indoor climbing (in Malta and Gozo) are also valid subjects! Since this is our first ever photography competition there is no date limit on photos – you can dig through your archives for classic photos of yesteryear’s climbing adventures. Please only submit photos you have taken yourself. If someone took a stunning photo of you climbing, it’s the photographer that should make the submission.

Participants can submit up to THREE entries. The submissions will be judged by a panel composed of members of the MCC Committee, local photographer Inigo Taylor and Dutch pro-climber Marianne Van Der Steen. All entries will be anonymised to ensure there’s no bias. Entries will be awarded points based on their thematic value, aesthetics, originality and technical execution.

The three highest scoring photographers will be awarded prizes from of a prize pool worth over €300 provided by our generous sponsors: Ġebla Climbing, Mochika Outdoor Life, and Surplus and Adventure shop as well as some MCC swag.

Terms and conditions:

1. The competition runs from today until Friday 18th March 2022.
2. Submissions are to be made by email to pro@maltaclimbingclub.org
3. Participation fee: Non-members €30. FREE for paid up club members holding a valid 2022 membership. Not a club member? Click here to sign up!
4. Please submit only photos that you have taken yourself – photos which you take using a remote control, timer, tripod etc are acceptable. Please do not submit photos of yourself taken by other photographers!
5. Image files to be submitted with resolution 1920 pixels at 72PPI on the shortest side (e.g. if your image is square, 1920×1920 pixels, if it is portrait / landscape 1920 on the shortest side). Images below this file size will not be accepted / entries disqualified. If you have a full resolution image file, please resize and submit a reduced file. You may be asked to submit a full resolution image at a later stage.
6. No watermarks or logos on photos.
7. File naming protocol: PhotographerName_PhotographerSurname_Crag(optional)_ImageLocation_imagerefnumber.JPG. Example: Magnus Midtbo submits a photo of someone climbing at The Underworld, Gozo, they would submit the following file name: Magnus_Midtbo_Underworld_Gozo_1234.jpg
8. Captions are required for each submission. There’s no need to get creative with your captions, however at a minimum we would need the route name, climber’s name, crag and route location if applicable. If you are submitting photos of flora / fauna / rock formations, a description and scientific name are greatly appreciated.
9. MCC committee, the judging panel, competition sponsors and their immediate family members are excluded from participating in the competition (immediate family – brothers / sisters / parents / children / partners / lovers / significant others).
10. Photos of *identifiable* people to be accompanied by a model release form signed by subjects. If your photo has a crowd, a group of people in the distance, or people not clearly recognisable, then a model release is not required. Photos without a valid model release will not be accepted. You will find a model release form at the bottom of this page. If you are unsure whether your entry requires a model release, please consult with Stephen Farrugia (pro@maltaclimbingclub.org), who is coordinating this competition.
11. Photos remain the intellectual property of the photographer, however by participating in the competition you are giving the Malta Climbing Club perpetual royalty free rights to use your photos. These will be used for promotional material online and in print. Photographers will be credited when the medium allows.
12. Judges will award a score of 1 to 10 to each photo submitted in an anonymous voting process. The three (3) photographers with the highest scores will be awarded prizes based on their rank (1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place). Results will be announced by the end of March 2022. The judges’ decision is final and there is no appeals process.
13. Entries which do not comply with any of the points above will be disqualified.