Terms and Conditions

The promoter of this competition is Crimson Consulting Limited, a company
incorporated under the laws of New Zealand with registration number 4957459, and
having its registered office address at 18 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Maritime Square,
Auckland, 1010, New Zealand (the “Promoter”, “us”, “we”).
Information on how to enter and the prizes form part of these conditions of entry (the
“Terms of Participation”).

1. Eligibility
1.1. Entry is open to residents of all countries. Students must be at or between
the ages of 13-18 and currently attending a secondary or high school at the
timeline of the global competition in April-May 2024 OR have graduated
but not yet enrolled in university studies before September 2024.
1.2. If you are a minor over the age of 16 but under the age of 18, you should
review these Terms and Conditions with your parent or guardian to make
sure you both understand them. We require parental consent to award the
prize to participants under 18 who are selected as winners of any of the
prizes. If we learn that we have collected information from an individual
under the age of 16 without parental consent, then we will delete that
information as soon as possible.
1.3. We may ask you to provide proof of identity, residency, and age, to confirm
that you are eligible to participate.
1.4. You may only enter once and in your own name.
1.5. If you (or your immediate family or housemates) are employees or
contractors of the Promoter, or its subsidiaries or parent or affiliated
companies, then you’re not eligible to participate.
1.6. The laws in some places may not allow the Promoter to run such
promotions, so this competition and these Terms of Participation are void
in those places.

2. Registration
2.1. Registration in the competition constitutes acceptance of these Terms and
Conditions. The SARC Team reserves the right to amend these Terms and
Conditions without notice and at its sole discretion.
2.2. The registration fee must be paid by credit card at the time of registration
individually.
2.2.1. The Early Bird registration fee is US $10 per student. Individual
registration stage dates: January 1st - February 20th, 2024
2.2.2. The Regular registration fee is US $15 per student. Individual
registration stage: February 21st - April 17th, 2024
2.2.3. The registration form closes automatically on April 17th, 2024 at 23:
59 (GMT+0). No registrations will be accepted after this time.
2.2.4. Students may reduce the registration fee by using a promo code
(not accessible upon request).

2.3. All correspondence regarding the SARC 2024 Competition will be made
through the nominated contact details provided when registering. These
emails must NOT be school emails.
2.4. SARC 2024 is not responsible for updating incorrect email addresses.

3. Cancellation policy.
3.1. Registration fees are non-refundable.
3.2. By paying the registration fee and submitting your registration form, you
acknowledge that you have read and agree to SARC’s no-refund policy.

4. Competition Rules
4.1. SARC 2024 Research topic: Researchers can choose a topic they’re
passionate about, something they wish to dive deeper into, or something
they want to study in university.
4.2. All changes will be published on the competition website,
www.researchcomp.org.

4.3. Individuals must submit their work before the specified deadlines - no late
submissions will be accepted.
4.4. By submitting your work, you confirm that all of your entries are your own
work. It’s your responsibility to make sure that your entry doesn’t infringe
on any third-party rights.

4.5. Note that no scores, comments, or marked judging rubrics will be provided to participants for first round submissions due to the high volume of submissions.

5. Competition Structure & Dates
Registration runs from January 1st to April 17th, and the competition runs from
April to May 2024.

a. Registration: Early Bird Registration: January 1st to February 20th,
2024 23:59 GMT+0
b. Regular Registration: February 21st to April 17th, 2024 23:59 GMT+0
● Webinars: Open April 18th, 2024
● First Checkpoint: April 24th, 2024
a. Submit 150-250 word responses to 4 questions
● Research Proposal Submission Deadline: April 30th, 2024 23:59 GMT+0
a. Submit a 2-page research proposal as a PDF document
● Top 10 Qualification Round Winners announced by May 6th, 2024
a. Finalists begin filming 1.5-2 minute video pitches on proposal
● Video Pitch Submission Deadline: May 9th, 2024 23:59 GMT+0
a. Finalists submit 1.5-2 minute video pitches
● Winners Announced date May 15th, 2024

6. Prizes
6.1. 1st Place: $1000 cash, free Indigo Research Intensive Program (typically
costs $3800)
6.2. 2nd Place: $750 cash, 50% discount for Indigo Research Intensive Program
program

6.3. 3rd Place: $500 cash, 25% discount on Indigo Research Intensive Program
program
6.4. Winners have to complete the Indigo Research Intensive Program (or
equivalent Indigo program) AND complete presentations at the Indigo
Academic Conference to be qualified for two University of California, Santa
Barbara credits.
6.5. First-place winners will have their research published on the Official SARC
Website.
6.6. Prizes must be claimed within 15 days of the winner's announcement.
6.7. The prizes are not transferable or refundable.

7. Competition Management
7.1. If this Competition is interfered with in any way or is not capable of being
conducted as reasonably anticipated due to any reason beyond the
reasonable control of the Crimson, Indigo, and SARC Team, they reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to the fullest extent permitted by law (a) to
disqualify any participant; or (b) subject to any written directions from a
regulatory authority, to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the
Competition, as appropriate.
7.2. By registering for this competition, you consent to your personal data
being shared with the organizing partners of the competition. For the
avoidance of doubt, this includes Crimson, Indigo, and SARC Team.
7.3. Except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law, Crimson, Indigo, and
SARC Team’s control (including its officers, employees, and agents)
excludes all liability (including negligence), for any personal injury; or any
loss or damage (including loss of opportunity); whether direct, indirect,
special or consequential, arising in any way out of the promotion, including,
but not limited to, where arising out of the following: (a) any technical
difficulties or equipment malfunction (whether or not under Crimson,
Indigo, and SARC Team’s control); (b) any theft, unauthorized access or
third party interference; (c) any entry or prize claim that is late, lost, altered,
damaged or misdirected (whether or not after their receipt by SARC Team)
due to any reason beyond the reasonable control of SARC Team; (d) any

variation in prize value to that stated in these Terms and Conditions; (e) any
tax liability incurred by a winner or participant; or (f) use of the prizes.
7.4. Each participant indemnifies and keeps indemnified Crimson, Indigo, and
SARC Team(s) against all claims, losses, damages, and expenses suffered by
Crimson, Indigo, and SARC Team(s) or any third parties arising out of the
breach of these Terms and Conditions by the participant, the conduct of
the participant in the Competition or the use of any components of the
prizes.

8. Intellectual Property. By submitting your entry, you understand that the
Promoter, anyone acting on behalf of the Promoter, or its respective licensees,
successors, and assigns will have the worldwide irrevocable right to review, print,
publish, broadcast, distribute, and use, in any media, in perpetuity, your entry,
including without limitation, the entry and your name, portrait, picture, voice,
likeness, image or information for trade, advertising, public relations and
promotional purposes, without any further compensation.

9. Personal data. Any personal information or other information about you collected
by the Promoter through, or in connection with, the competition is subject to our
Privacy Policy. Your personal data, such as your name and your email address, will
be processed by the Promoter for the purposes of your participation in this
competition and to provide you with information and promotions about the
Promoter and/or any of its affiliates that we deem could be of interest to you. We
may share your personal data with our corporate affiliates, claims handlers, and
other business partners both within and outside New Zealand. The Promoter and
its affiliates may also use your personal data, combined with information about
you obtained from third-party sources, to market our products and services,
including special promotions based on your interests. You have the right to, at any
time, withdraw your consent or object to us using your personal data for direct
marketing purposes by contacting us at the address set out below. We will only
keep your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which it
has been collected or in accordance with time limits stipulated by law and good
market practice unless further retention is necessary for compliance with a legal

obligation or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

10. Conflict Of Interest
All participants in the competition, including hosts, teams, team members,
industry mentors, faculty advisors, judges, and graders have an obligation to avoid
actual or potential conflicts of interest with their participation. A conflict of
interest is any matter that could reasonably be expected to impair an individual’s
independence and objectivity or interfere with an individual’s duties. A conflict
may be actual or perceived. For example, a conflict of interest may exist when a
participant or a participant’s family member or close friend is involved in activities
that affect the participant’s ability to perform their role fairly and impartially, but
conflicts of interest can arise even without a personal relationship. Hosts, mentors,
and advisors also have an obligation to avoid purposefully or inadvertently
pressuring teams to make a particular investment recommendation.

To avoid any actual or perceived conflicts of interest, each participant must
disclose to the competition team in writing any potential conflicts, including but
not limited to any ownership interest in the subject company and any close
personal or professional relationships with employees at the subject company.
Judges and graders must further disclose any close personal or professional
relationship with team members, mentors, or faculty advisors. Potential conflicts
of interest must be disclosed promptly upon becoming aware of the potential
conflict.

The competition management will investigate any disclosures of actual or
potential conflicts of interest. If a conflict of interest is found to exist and cannot
be reasonably and timely cured, the individual with the conflict of interest will be
disqualified from participation. If the competition management determines that
it is necessary to protect the integrity of the competition, the competition
management may disqualify a team from the competition if any team member,
industry mentor, or faculty advisor is found to have a conflict of interest that is
incapable of being reasonably and timely cured. In extraordinary circumstances
where a local level host is found to have a conflict of interest, the competition
management may, at its discretion, disqualify the local level host and all teams

from that location from participating in the research competition. The decision of
the management regarding the existence of a conflict of interest and its
determination regarding the disqualification of any individual or team are final
and binding.

11. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined as copying or using in substantially the same form materials
prepared by others without acknowledging the source of the material or
identifying the author and publisher of such material. Teams can read existing
research on the subject company, but all analysis should be their own; they may
not copy analysis (i.e., plagiarize) from another source.

Allegations of plagiarism will be investigated by the competition management
(with assistance as necessary from the local level host) and may be referred to the
Professional Conduct Program. Participants found to have plagiarized will be
disqualified and reported to the competition management Professional Conduct
Program. The decision of the competition management regarding plagiarism is
final and binding.

Participants also must not:
11.1. use excerpts from articles or reports prepared by others either verbatim or
with only slight changes in wording without acknowledgment,
11.2. cite specific quotations as attributable to “leading analysts” and
“investment experts” without naming the specific references,
11.3. present statistical estimates of forecasts prepared by others and identifying
the sources but without including the qualifying statements or caveats
that may have been used,
11.4. use charts and graphs without stating their sources, or
11.5. copy proprietary computerized spreadsheets or algorithms without
seeking the cooperation or authorization of their creators.

12. Affiliations. This competition is not endorsed by, affiliated with, maintained, or
otherwise associated with The University of California, Santa Barbara.

13. Appearance & Font
13.1. Font should be Times New Roman — point size 12,

13.2. Margins of 1 inch (2.5 cm) all around,
13.3. Double spaced,
13.4. Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format only.

14. Report Format
14.1. Be no longer than 2 pages (not including the cover page provided on
A4-sized paper (210 mm × 297 mm, 8.27” × 11.69”), although you may
include an appendix no longer than 2 A4-sized pages;
14.2. Be properly cited using a generally accepted citation system. Generally
accepted citation systems include, but are not limited to MLA (Modern
Language Association) style.
14.3. Be the original work of the participant.
14.4. Be prepared from the perspective of an independent research analyst;
14.5. be submitted to the local-level host by the deadline established by the host
including the front cover.

15. Citation
15.1. Datasets, publications, and other documentation must be properly cited.
15.2. The APA 7th Edition is used for references. An excerpt is presented below:
15.3. All sources cited within the document should be included in the list.
15.4. List the references in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name.
15.5. References are formatted with a hanging indent set at 0.5 inches.
15.6. Provide 1 space between each part or element of the citation (i.e., author,
date, title, source information).

16. Title Page & Abstract
16.1. The title page must include the author’s name, research topic, and email
address.
16.2. Page headers and/or footers should contain page numbers and a
shortened title of the paper. They are not to include the author’s name or
the name of his or her institution. This ensures anonymous review by the
judges.