The “Miss Wheelchair World 2017” Contest Regulations
I. General
§ 1.
1. The Contest regulations, hereinafter referred to as “the Regulations”, define the rules governing the participation, organisation and holding of the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest hosted by the Only One Foundation (Fundacja Jedyna Taka) based in Ciechocinek, at ul. Słowackiego 15/2, 87-720 Ciechocinek, entered in the National Court Register by the District Court in Toruń, under the number KRS 0000453750, NIP [Tax-Identification Number] 8911623477, REGON [Business-Registry Number] 341406755.
2. The objective of the contest is to counteract social exclusion of persons with disabilities, to change a previous, negative approach of other people towards disability, to promote positive role models and attitudes in society, and finally to integrate people with disabilities worldwide.
The Miss Wheelchair World Contest shows that disability should not define people, or determine their identity, and demonstrates that a wheelchair is a support for a person with disability, not a limitation impossible to overcome.
3. The aforementioned beauty pageant is initiated by the Only One Foundation, which filed a trademark application: “Miss Wheelchair World” to the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland.
4. This beauty competition is to be organised every two years by the country of origin of the next Miss Wheelchair World. In exceptional circumstances Miss Wheelchair World is to be organised by the country agreed by the Only One Foundation.
§ 2.
The Organiser
1. The contest entitled “Miss Wheelchair World 2017” shall be held by the Contest Organiser, the Only One Foundation, based at ul. Słowackiego 15/2, 87-720 Ciechocinek, entered in the National Court Register by the District Court in Toruń, Economic Division, under the number KRS 0000453750, NIP 8911623477, REGON 341406755.
2. The host of the Contest is the City of Warsaw.
§ 3.
Subject
The subject of the Contest is to select “Miss Wheelchair World 2017” and award other Contest titles pursuant to the Regulations.
§ 4.
Definitions
1. The Organiser: The Only One Foundation (Fundacja Jedyna Taka), ul. Słowackiego 15/2, 87-720 Ciechocinek, KRS 0000453750, NIP 8911623477, REGON 341406755.
2. The Host: The City of Warsaw.
3. The Submitting entity/Representative: an NGO, a local-government unit, a legal person, a natural person, or an organisational unit without legal personality, which, on a Candidate’s behalf, enters the Candidate to participate in the Contest.
4. The Contest: the Miss Wheelchair World 2017.
5. The Contest Candidate: the winner of a National Contest, or qualifier, for the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest, or a “wild card” candidate submitted according to the Regulations.
6. The Participant: a finalist selected by the Verification Jury from a group of Candidates to take part in the Contest.
7. The Candidate Questionnaire: a personal-data form completed by the Candidates entering the Contest, together with a presentation recorded on a CD and a written statement.
8. The Participant’s Declaration: a Participant’s statement that she has read the Regulations and undertakes to comply with its provisions.
9. The Final Gala: a stage show during which Miss Wheelchair World 2017 is selected.
10. The Ambassador: the winner of the Contest performing representative functions during the period of her term.
11. The Verification Jury: persons appointed by the Organiser to select and complete the final list of the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest Participants.
12. The Jury: persons appointed by the Organiser or the Host to select the Contest Finalists
13. The Winner's Term: the period from the date of the winner’s selection to the date on which her immediate successor is selected.
14. The Winner: a person awarded the title, the crown/tiara and the sash.
15. Miss Wheelchair World 2017: the winner who has been awarded the title of Miss Wheelchair World 2017 at the Final Gala.
16. National Contest: a contest of which the winner is entered as a Candidate to participate in the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest.
17. The Trademarks: the combination of word and shape “Miss Wheelchair World 2017”
18. Titles awarded in the Contest Finals
a) Miss Wheelchair World 2017.
b) Miss Wheelchair World 2017 1st Runner-up
c) Miss Wheelchair World 2017 2nd Runner-up
d) Miss Popularity Wheelchair 2017
e) Miss Photo Wheelchair 2017
f) Organiser may award the Candidates with other complementary titles.
19. The Main Prize – in – kind prize for Miss Wheelchair World 2017 and for 1st and 2nd runner up.
20. The Sponsor/Contest Partner: a natural person, a legal person and organisation unit without legal personality but granted with legal capacity under the Law - supporting the Contest, appointed as the 2017 Sponsor/Contest Partner
21. The Website: – www.misswheelchairworld.com
22. The Agreement: a cooperation contract concluded between the Participant and the Organiser under the Regulations.
23. The Contest Term: the period from the date of the Participant's arrival at the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest to the date of her departure.
24. Force majeure: an event beyond the parties’ control, caused by external circumstances, unpredictable and unpreventable. Force majeure in particular means: wars, strikes, natural disasters, and legal Acts passed by Government authorities.
§ 5.
Organiser's rights
1. The Organiser has an exclusive right to the Contest. The Organiser’s rights to organise and hold the Contest shall not be restricted by any third-party rights.
2. The Organiser shall have the exclusive right to use the Trademark for which an application for protection has been submitted to the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland; the trademark is shown in Appendix 2 hereto.
§ 6.
The use of the Miss Wheelchair World trademarks
1. Unlawful use of the Trademark by any third party without prior written permission of the Organiser, or the use of the trademark in breach of the written authorisation granted by the Organiser, is subject to liability pursuant to the legal regulations in force.
2. The Organiser may grant the right to use the trademark against payment or free of charge, including in particular to the entities holding National Contests or the qualifiers.
§ 7.
Participation Rules
1. Any woman who meets all of the following conditions may participate in the Contest.
a) She is over 18 and has the full capacity to perform acts in law (and is capable of cooperating with other persons in a communicative manner).
b) She has an officially recognised disability status according to which she is wheelchair-dependent.
c) She has not been convicted of a criminal offence, and she is a person of a good repute.
d) She has submitted to the Organiser a correctly completed Candidate Questionnaire and a CD with a 5-minute presentation of herself, and written statements.
2. Signed Candidate questionnaires and CDs must be submitted to the Organiser by 20 August 2017. The questionnaire form is on the Organiser's website: www.misswheelchairworld.com.
Any forms which do not contain the Candidate’s full details, or is without the attached CD, will not be accepted.
3. Each of the Participants, prepare two outfits at their own expense – an evening gown, and a national costume, which she shall bring to the Workshops, and two pairs of matching elegant shoes, including one pair of black shoes. Apart from the Final Gala, this apparel will be used during photo sessions during the Workshops.
§ 8.
Organisation
1. The Contest is open to all women, including persons who are not Polish citizens, provided that they meet the criteria laid down in the Regulations.
2. The Contest, organised and held by the Organiser, will take place in Warsaw. It will feature the participants of National Contests, women selected during the qualifiers held by the Submitting entity, and “wild-card” Participants, entering the Contest pursuant to the Regulations
3. The Contest includes 8 days of Workshops for Participants and the Contest Final Gala.
4. Any Participant who comes from a country which organises National Miss Wheelchair must first participate in the National Miss Wheelchair before being allowed to participate in the Miss Wheelchair World 2017.
5. If National Miss Wheelchair is not held in a Participant’s country, an organisational unit acting on behalf and for disabled persons on the territory of this country may report their “wild – card” Candidate to the Contest provided it has entered into cooperation with the Organiser.
6. If more than one Candidate from one country is reported by different entities or more than one Candidate from a country stipulated in paragraph 4 above reports herself to the Competition, the Organiser reserves the right to select a maximum two Contest Participants from such a country.
7. Organizer May report two Candidates to the Contest; a) winner of Miss Wheelchair Poland and the second one b) one of the finalists of Miss Wheelchair Poland. The decision on the second Candidate is to be made at the discretion of the Organizer.
8. A maximum of 25 Participants from all over the world may take part in the finals of the Miss Wheelchair World 2017 Contest.
9. To enter the Contest , the candidate must be reported by their respective authorised entities, subject to the rules laid down in the Regulations. All candidates submit a correctly completed Candidate Questionnaire, a CD with a 2 -5-minute Candidate presentation, and a written declaration on the Regulations acceptance.
10. The Verification Jury qualifies the Candidates to the Contest. This body is composed of three members approved by the Organiser. The Verification Jury’s decisions will be based on whether Candidates meet the requirements laid down in the Regulations.
11. The selection of the Candidates to the Contest by the Verification Jury will be held according to the following rules:
a) in case of the application from a country which organizes national beauty contest for wheelchair bound women – the Candidate must be reported by the organizers of such national beauty contest. The decision on qualification of such candidature is taken provided all formal requirements laid down herein are observed. The Candidates are immediately notified on their qualification to the Contest.
b) in case of the application from a country which does not organize national beauty contest for wheelchair bound women – the Candidate must be reported by a non governmental organization/foundation or other organization having legal personality, which scope of activity falls within the people with disabilities. The decision on qualification of such candidature is taken according to the first come first served basis. The application must be filed according to the rules laid down in this Regulation. In justified cases the Organizers may waive the aforementioned first come first serve rule of qualification. The Candidates will be notified on their qualification within 7 days of her formal report to the Contest.
12. The Organizers reserves the right to select not more than two Candidates from each country. The Organizers agree to select two Candidates from one of the countries provided less than 25 countries (including Poland) report their Candidates to the Competition.
13. Following the selection of the Contest Participants by the Verification Jury, a list of the Participants will be published on the Website on August 22th 2017.
14. Within 7 days of notifying Candidates of their entering the Contest as Participants, Participants need to conclude a cooperation agreement with the Organiser
15. The membership in the Verification Jury is not subject to any remuneration for they services of Jury.
16. During the Contest, until the Final Gala, Participants take part in the Workshops held by the Organiser in accordance with the “Workshops Regulations”, which are an integral part of the Regulations. The aforementioned provisions Participants agree to comply with by signing the agreement and the declaration.
17. Participants shall present themselves in two outfits which they have brought to the Contest during the Final Gala.
18. The Jury selects the Contest Winners during the Final Gala.
19. Participation in the work of the Jury is honorary.
20. The Jury, composed of 5-25 members, shall be appointed by the Organiser.
21. The Organiser reserves the right to appoint representatives of the Only One Foundation, the Contest Host, and the Sponsors/Contest Partners to take part in the work of the Jury.
22. The Organiser appoints the Chair of the Jury.
23. The voting decisions of the Jury members will be based primarily on the Participants’ personality, their ability to gain the sympathy of the audience, facial features, the ability to move around the stage, grace, command of choreography, comfort with the media, self-presentation, command of foreign languages, and speech delivery and content.
24. The detailed agenda of the Jury panel and the procedure for casting votes for individual Participants shall be established by the Organiser in the following manner.
a. The voting is held using Voting Cards - each of the Jury members receives a voting card. The voting cards must not include any details of any Contest Participants.
b. Each presentation by Participants is subject to evaluation, for which the Participant may score 1 to 3 points.
c. 3 points are given to the Participant selected to win the Contest
2 points – to the Participant selected to be the 1st runner-up
1 point – to the Participant selected to be the 2nd runner-up
The remaining Participants are not given any points.
25. Jury members will pass the completed voting cards to the Chairperson of the Jury within a strictly defined time limit announced by the Organiser during the Final Gala.
26. The Jury voting will be followed by the Chairperson of the Jury’s drawing up a voting report which includes a list of the Contest Winners who will be conferred the titles and prizes stipulated herein.
27. The Contest results will be announced by the Chairperson of the Jury at the Final Gala at the time specified by the Contest Organiser.
28. Complementary titles are awarded by entities designated by the Organizer.
§ 9.
Contest Titles
1. The Miss Wheelchair World 2017 contest winners are conferred the following titles
a. Miss Wheelchair World 2017.
b. Miss Wheelchair World 2017 1st Runner-up.
c. Miss Wheelchair World 2017 2nd Runner-up.