2025 SIPA’s Best Writing Entry Instructions
Entries to SIPA’s Best Writing Contest will be submitted using the BetterBNC Media Awards Platform. Below are directions for preparing and submitting entries.
If you have questions about the categories or entries, please contact Amy Smedberg at [email protected].
If you have technical questions about the contest platform, there is a help and support link in the upper left corner of the contest platform page.
IMPORTANT: BetterBNC is optimized for the Google Chrome browser; and Firefox for PC and Macintosh/Apple. Please have a recent version downloaded and installed for the best contest experience.
The deadline for all 2025 SIPA’s Best Writing Contest entries is December 15, 2024. Each individual media staff that enters must be a SIPA member. Memberships are by publication, not by school or adviser. You may renew your membership if needed here. If you are unsure of your present membership status, please contact Amy Smedberg at [email protected]. If you are a Lifetime Member of SIPA, please fill out the membership form and indicate your lifetime status.
Entries are $5 each and payment information is found at the end of this process. Entries are limited to one student per category, but unlimited per media staff.
Winners will be presented during the closing ceremony of the SIPA Convention on Sunday and will be posted online after the convention.
To submit entries:
Login
Go to www.betterbnc.com
Click Contestant Login
Under Select a Contest, choose SIPA’s Best Writing Contest
If you are or have recently been a member of SIPA, you should find your school and media name under Select Media Organization. If you do not see your school or media, please contact Amy Smedberg at [email protected].
Select the appropriate contestant type.
If you are the single point of contact for your organization, select Contestant Manager, then skip to Contestant Manager Login. (The adviser should be the Contestant Manager. Advisers who wish to may designate others, such as your student editors or managers as Authorized Entrants. They may submit entries for your media staff if you wish.)
Contestant Manager Login
Select the contest you would like to enter
Select your Media Organization – This should be your school and media name. If you do not see your media staff listed, please contact Amy Smedberg at [email protected].
Enter your password
If it is your first time logging into your account, use the temporary password: bnc (lower case). After you log in using that temporary password, the system will require you to update your password. Going forward (including future years) you will log in with the password you set.
Click Login
If the designated Contestant Manager should leave your media organization, please contact us at SIPA to have the contact info in your account updated.
During the process of establishing your account, the BetterBNC platform will send an authorization email to the email address you provide. Be sure to check your junk, quarantine or spam folders for this email.
Submit Entries
Click Submit Entry from the Manage Entries page
Select a Division (group of Categories)
Select a Category
Enter the entry headline or title
Add entry content (may vary by category)
To upload digital file attachments (other than audio/video), click “Browse”, navigate to the desired file, and then click Open. Allowed file types are PDF, DOC/DOCX, TXT, JPG, GIF, and PNG. To upload additional attachments to a single entry, click the Browse and Attach More Files button. BetterBNC will allow up to about a 20MB file, however, we suggest keeping your files around 5MB in case the judges have a slow connection. For files larger than 20MB, you can click the RealView icon on the Submit Entry page to create a free account, upload your files, and then copy and paste the URL into the URL field on the Submit Entry page. You may also use a similar third-party website that provides hosting services (scribd.com, issuu.com, etc.)
To add web/audio/video content, copy and paste the content’s URL address into the provided website URL field. To host your content online, either upload it to a free streaming content website such as YouTube or host it on your media website. Make sure the content will be accessible online throughout the duration of the contest and awards process. Here are some examples of free streaming content websites where you can upload audio and video content:
Audio: soundcloud.com
Video: youtube.com; www.vimeo.com
You can also use a cloud storage site such as Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
IMPORTANT: Please be sure that items are not behind a paywall or a password-protected area. Judges may disqualify your entry if work samples are inaccessible.
Add Comments
Enter Credits
Click “Submit Entry”
Pay for entries
When all entries are submitted log into your account
Navigate to the Manage Entries page
Click “Calculate Entry Fees”
Follow the on-screen instructions to pay for your entries