NAME THE NEWEST SEA LION PUP AT THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES, 2020
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
The NAME THE NEWEST SEA LION PUP AT THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM CONTEST (the “Contest”) starts at 12:00am EDT on August 31, 2020. Entries are due by 11:59:59pm EDT on September 7, 2020. The winners (and winning name) will be announced on September 15, 2020. The sponsor of this Contest is the Wildlife Conservation Society (“Sponsor”), with a principal place of business at 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York 10460. The Contest shall be subject to these Official Rules, and by entering all participants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions herein. Certain restrictions may apply.
ELIGIBILITY:This Contest is open only to legal residents of the fifty United States (not including territories and possessions) and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older as of the date the Contest begins. The officers, trustees, employees and agents of Sponsor and its affiliates, and the immediate family members and those living in the same household of the foregoing, are not eligible to participate in the Contest or win prizes. No purchase is necessary to enter the Contest. All federal, state and local rules and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.
HOW TO ENTER: Using one of the following methods, Entrants (sometimes referred to as “you” herein) may enter the contest free of charge by submitting a proposed name for the new sea lion pup born at the New York Aquarium this year (the “Entry”):
A) Enter online by visiting NYAquarium.com/Sealion, filling out the entry form there in its entirety and submitting it online as instructed;
B) If you have signed up to receive emails from WCS, you might receive a dynamic email message from WCS through which you may enter the Contest. In this case, enter via email by filling out the entry information in the dynamic email message in its entirety and submitting it as instructed;
C) Enter via USPS mail by sending WCS a postcard with your name, address, email address, the proposed name and the reason you want the sea lion pup to be named with your proposed name. Send your postcard to: Name the Newest Sea Lion Pup Contest 2020, c/o Christina Sirabian, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460.
Limit one entry per person and one entry per email address.
Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any Entry for any reason whatsoever, including, without limitation, that an Entry may be derogatory, offensive, threatening, defamatory, disparaging, indecent, profane, unlawful, commercial in nature or otherwise inappropriate. The use of any device or program (including but not limited to commercial contest subscription notification and/or entering service sites) to automate the entry process is prohibited, and any mechanically produced entry will be declared invalid and disqualified for this Contest.
By entering the contest, you, as the entrant, grant Sponsor the non-exclusive worldwide right to publish, use, distribute, reproduce and publicize your Entry, and to create derivative works from your Entry, in perpetuity, in any of its online, print or other media publications, channels, materials or exhibitions (including but not limited to Sponsor’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media accounts), for purposes of promoting the Contest and/or raising awareness of Sponsor’s mission and programs, including but not limited to editorial, advertising, publicity, and fundraising purposes, without payment of compensation unless prohibited by law. You grant Sponsor the right, but not the obligation, to provide your name, and your city and state of residence, when publishing, reproducing or otherwise using your Entry and when identifying you as an entrant or prize winner in the Contest.
Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify you and/or your Entry if, among other reasons, you breach the warranties you are required to make, or your Entry is lost, late, delayed, misdirected, incorrect, incomplete, illegible, garbled or incompletely received, for any reason whatsoever, including by reason of hardware, software, browser, mobile device or network failure, malfunction, congestion or incompatibility with Sponsor’s servers. False, fraudulent or deceptive Entries or acts shall render entrants ineligible.
Sponsor reserves the right to modify the deadline for submissions due to circumstances beyond its control.
FINALIST SELECTION; CONTEST CRITERIA: At the close of the Contest entry period on September 7, 2020, Sponsor will review eligible Entries and select up to five (5) finalist names for the new sea lion pup name. A WCS selection team will select the finalist names based on their suitability, creativity and appeal.
VOTING: The finalist names will be posted on Sponsor’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. From September 10, 2020 through September 13, 2020, members of the public will be given the opportunity, via these platforms, to vote via text/SMS for their favorite name for the new sea lion pup from among the finalist names. Voting instructions will be included in the posts and can be found at nyaquarium.com/sealion. At the close of the voting period, Sponsor will tabulate the votes, and the name that has received the most votes will be declared the first prize winner – and the new sea lion will be given the winning name. All decisions of Sponsor regarding the selection of the winning name, the winner and the results of the public vote are final and binding.
Regardless of the extent to which voting determines the prize winner(s): (i) except as otherwise announced, voting is for entertainment purposes only and will not necessarily be the determining factor in selecting the prize winner(s), but may at Sponsor’s sole discretion be taken into consideration as one of many factors considered by Sponsor in determining the prize winner(s); (ii) Contest eligibility requirements, including without limitation age and residency requirements, are not applicable to determining whether or not a person may vote in a Contest; (iii) Sponsor may, but will not be obligated to, post online the “in process” tally of online and/or texting votes, as Sponsor sees fit, in which case(s) such posting(s) may be discontinued at any time, may not be real-time, may not be relied upon by Entrants or voters, is solely for entertainment/excitement purposes and is not binding upon Sponsor; and (iv) in the event of text/SMS voting, Sponsor reserves the right at any time to end text/SMS voting prior to the announced closing date for text/SMS voting, for any reason or for no reason, by providing at least twenty-four (24) hours’ notice on Sponsor’s website that such text/SMS voting will end early. Sponsor is not liable for any costs associated with voters’ text/SMS messaging. Individual carrier, network and/or data use charges may apply. Use of text/SMS messaging in connection with the voting is subject to the WCS SMS Texting Policy, a link to which will be included in the voting instructions and which is also available at https://www.wcs.org/legal/sms-texting-policy.
Limit one vote per person and per mobile telephone number.
WINNER NOTIFICATION: Sponsor will notify the winner(s) via the text/SMS number, the email address or the street address used to enter the Contest. A winner must confirm and verify to Sponsor his/her/their identity to Sponsor’s satisfaction; Sponsor shall verify a winner’s Contest eligibility and compliance with Contest rules. Sponsor is not responsible for changes to an entrant’s text/SMS number, email address or street address after the entrant enters the Contest.
The winner(s) will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Publicity Release and completed IRS W-9 form within five (5) days of notification. The Affidavit will include a statement by a winner that he/she is the originator of the Entry. If a selected winner fails to comply with these rules, cannot be contacted, is deemed ineligible, fails to reply to the winner notification as requested, fails to return the completed and executed Affidavit/Releases in the stated time period as required, or fails to claim the prize, such winner will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected.
Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use the winner’s name, likeness and winning Entry for promotional, publicity, fundraising and programmatic purposes in any media now known or hereinafter developed, worldwide in perpetuity, without additional compensation, permission, notification or limitation unless prohibited by law.
Sponsor shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use and display the winning Entry on Sponsor’s digital accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, other social media channels, in print publications and broadcast news outlets, at the New York Aquarium or other facilities operated by Sponsor, online or in other locations.
PRIZES: One (1) first prize winner will receive a WCS Membership Family Zoos PLUS & NY Aquarium Admission and a personalized 45-60 second video from the New York Aquarium staff featuring the new sea lion pup. The total approximate prize value is $410.00.
Two (2) runners-up in the vote count from the group of finalists will each receive a personalized 45-60 second video from the New York Aquarium staff featuring the new sea lion pup. Each runner-up prize is valued at approximately $100.
At Sponsor’s sole discretion, a prize of equal or greater value may be substituted for any prize for any reason. Winner may not make prize substitutions. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash.
All applicable federal, state and local taxes, duties, tariffs or other fees and or surcharges associated with the acceptance and/or use of the prize(s), if any, are the sole responsibility of the prize winner(s).
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Sponsor shall not be liable to any winner or any other persons for failure to supply the prize or any part thereof, by reason of any acts of God, any action(s), regulation(s), order(s) or request(s) by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity (whether or not the action(s), regulations(s), order(s) or request(s) prove(s) to be invalid), equipment failure, terrorist acts, earthquake, war, fire, flood, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, epidemic or pandemic, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot or any other cause beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control.
Sponsor is not responsible or liable to entrants or any other persons for any incorrect or inaccurate Entry information; human errors; technical malfunctions; failures, omissions, interruptions, service outages or delays, deletions or defects of any telephone, broadband, wireless or other network, computer online system, computer equipment, server, provider, mobile device or software, third-party platform or social media site or any combination thereof including without limitation any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer or mobile device relating to or resulting from participation in the Contest; theft, tampering, destruction, or alteration of, or unauthorized access to, entries; data that is processed late or incorrectly or that is incomplete or lost due to computer or electronic malfunction or traffic congestion on transmission lines or the Internet, postal delays or misdeliveries, or for any other reason whatsoever; typographical, printing or other errors; or any combination thereof.
GENERAL: Entrants release and waive any claims they may have against Sponsor and its affiliates, and their respective trustees, officers, employees and agents, for any and all injuries, claims, damages, losses, costs, or expenses of any kind (including without limitation attorney’s fees) resulting from acceptance, use, or misuse of a prize; participation in this Contest; or any technical malfunctions of the telephone network and/or transmission line, computer online system, computer, mobile device or transmission device or its dating mechanism, equipment, hardware, software or any combination thereof, third-party platform, social media site or any combination thereof, or any entries that are late (including delayed data or mail transmissions), tampered with, garbled, illegible, incomplete, misdirected, lost, mutilated, delayed, corrupted, mechanically duplicated, illegible or otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules. By entering the Contest, entrants affirm that they have read and accepted these Official Rules. The Contest shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. By entering the Contest, entrants hereby submit to the jurisdiction and venue of the federal and state courts of New York and waive the right to have disputes arising out of the subject matter hereof adjudicated in any other forum.
If for any reason it is not possible to operate this Contest as planned, or if this Contest website, other website(s) associated therewith (or any portion thereof) or voting becomes corrupted or does not allow the proper playing of the Contest and processing of Entries or votes in accordance with these rules, or if infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, actions by entrants or voters, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes, in the Sponsor’s sole opinion, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual implicated in such action and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest or any portion thereof.
If a dispute arises about who submitted an online Entry, the Entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder who posted the Entry in accordance with the Contest rules. The authorized account holder is deemed the natural person who is uniquely assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, service provider, or other online organization with such responsibility. A potential winner may be requested to provide the Sponsor with proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the email address associated with the winning Entry and that all eligibility requirements are met.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or modify the Contest at any time for any reason or no reason.
For the list of the official winner(s) (available fifteen (15) days after the Contest ends) or a copy of these Official Rules, send an email to csirabian@wcs.org or mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: NAME THE NEWEST SEA LION PUP CONTEST 2020, c/o Christina Sirabian, Wildlife Conservation Society 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx NY 10460.
PRIVACY: Information collected from entrants is subject to the WCS Privacy Policy which can be found at https://www.wcs.org/legal/privacy-policy.
