SARC 2026 Results Are Now Live
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 2026 OR have graduated but not yet enrolled in university studies before September 2026.
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 the competition 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. Pre-registration opens 6 months before the competition and costs $10.
2.2.2. The Early Bird registration fee is US $15 per student. Early bird registration stage dates: January 1st - March 8th, 2026
2.2.3. The Regular registration fee is US $20 per student. Individual registration stage: March 9th - April 19th, 2026
2.2.4. The registration form closes automatically on April 19th, 2026 at 23:59 (GMT+0). No registrations will be accepted after this time.
2.2.5. Students may reduce the registration fee by using a promo code (not accessible upon request).
2.3. All correspondence regarding the SARC 2026 Competition will be made through the nominated contact details provided when registering. These emails must NOT be school emails.
2.4. SARC 2026 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 2026 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 19th, and the competition runs from April to May 2026.
A. Registration: Early Bird Registration: January 1st to March 8th, 2025 23:59 GMT+0
B. Regular Registration: March 9th to April 19th, 2026 23:59 GMT+0
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Live Webinars Start: April 18th, 2026
C. Research Proposal Submission Deadline: April 30th, 2026 23:59 GMT+0
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Submit a 2-page research proposal as a PDF document
D. Top 50 Qualification Round Winners announced by May 6th, 2026
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Finalists begin filming 1.5 - 3.5 minute video pitches on proposal
E. Video Pitch Submission Deadline: May 12th, 2026 23:59 GMT+0
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Finalists submit 1.5-2 minute video pitches
F. Winners Announced date May 20th, 2026
6. Prizes
6.1. 1st Place: $1000 cash, free Indigo Research Intensive Program (typically
costs $3800) and research proposal published on SARC website.
6.2. 2nd Place: $750 cash, 50% discount for Indigo Research Intensive Program
program and research proposal published on SARC website.
6.3. 3rd Place: $500 cash, 25% discount on Indigo Research Intensive Program
program and research proposal published on SARC website.
6.4. Global winners will have their research published on the Official SARC Website.
6.5. Prizes must be claimed within 15 days of the winner's announcement.
6.6. 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 defence of legal claims.
When you agree to the T&C, you agree to have your research, name, image published on websites if you win or give a testimonial. Further, you give the promoter the right to send you news/information/promotions.
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. Single 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.