FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year

1. To be eligible to enter, contestants must:

1. Be enrolled in Secondary School for the 2024 school year – years 9 to 13 only – as of the 1st of February 2024
   OR
   Be enrolled in an NZQA approved Tertiary Education Provider for their first year only as of the 1^st of February 2024, completing a qualification no higher than a Certificate[i], and must not be older than 17 as of the 1^st of February 2024
   
   
2. Enter the Contest in the region in which their school is located. If there is a need to compete out of their region, an application must be put forward to the New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) Events Team for deliberation and may be accepted in serious cases. However, they cannot be awarded a placing at the Contest outside of their region and cannot progress to the Grand Final.
   
   
3. Pay the entry fee of $10 per team
   
   
4. Not be a previous winner of an FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final. 

2.    Contestants will compete in teams of two. 

3.    Once an entry payment has been received for the Contest, no refunds can be given.

4.    All contestants will:

1. Compete at their own risk. 
   
   
2. Undertake all activities in a safe manner; and
   
   
3. Do nothing to bring the contest, its sponsors, judges, and organisers into disrepute and will behave in a proper manner that benefits the Contest at all times.
   
   
4. Agree and abide to all NZYF Health & Safety policies and procedures

5.    Contestants agree to arrive at the Contest venues no later than the time indicated 

6.    For Health and Safety reasons, contestants aged 12 or 13 at their Regional and/or Grand Final will be restricted on certain modules with a high-risk aspect.  Contestants will not be penalised or disadvantaged in the event that they are restricted from participating in certain modules and will be able to instruct the judge to complete the module on their behalf.

7.    The Contest venues are out of bounds for contestants in the two days prior to the Contest at the Regional and Grand Final stages.

8.    Contestants will not communicate with any member of the public regarding contest challenges or content during the contest. (This includes parents and other family members.) Teams risk disqualification or point(s) deduction if they are deemed to have gained an advantage through a breach of this rule.  

9.    At the Regional Final level, immediate family members of FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year officials can compete, however, they cannot be awarded a placing or receive any prizes unless they complete a Conflict-of-Interest Form prior to competing and have approval from the NZYF Events Team. 

10.    Contestants must disclose any relationship that they have with any module host

11.    Contestants aged 12 to 16 must be accompanied by a supervisor. A supervisor is a person aged over 18 who is responsible for their contestants and their wellbeing at all times during the contest. NZYF cannot provide this supervision during the contest.

12.    The first and second-placed teams in each Regional Final will qualify for the Grand Final. If any qualifying team is unable to attend the Grand Final, then the next highest-placed team from that Regional Final will qualify for the Grand Final as a substitute. 

13.    If, for a valid reason, one member of the team cannot compete at the Grand Final level, the team is able to have one person as a reserve member to compete in their place. However, this will be at the sole discretion of the NZYF Events Team and this member must adhere to these guidelines.
 
14.    Contestants must respect all decisions and requests made by FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year Officials.  At all times, the judge’s decision is final and no correspondence or discussion regarding scores or judging will be entered into. 

15.    Prizes are to be accepted as awarded, and no other product or cash in lieu of the prize shall be negotiated for. 

16.    Each team is responsible for their own costs incurred in relation to the Contests. No costs incurred by contestants (including travel costs) will be payable by NZYF.

17.    Winners who receive the FMG Junior Young Farmer of the Year Champions Trophy at the Grand Final must arrange for its return to the NZYF National Office in a clean state by the end of May the following year.  Any damage or loss of the trophy will be the responsibility of the current trophy holder(s). The NZYF National Office reserves the right to invoice the current trophy holder(s) for repair or replacement as required. 

18.    Contestants agree to be photographed and filmed during the contests and consent to the resulting photographs and film material being used by the organisers and sponsors for promotional purposes which includes, but is not limited to, publication on websites and social media. 

19.    The Contestant and supervisor acknowledges and agrees that NZYF may request, use, collect, store and share their personal information in line with NZYF’s privacy policy. The Contestant and supervisor also acknowledges that NZYF uses external systems to gather registration information (such as Humanitix) and that personal information gathered by these external systems will be shared with NZYF. NZYF accepts no liability for the error, fault or omission of these external systems. You may access your information upon request by contacting the NZYF Events Team at events@youngfarmers.co.nz.

[i] Proof of enrolment must be provided at time of registration. Please send this to events@youngfarmers.co.nz

NZYF reserves the right to end any competition or amend the rules at any time.

Failure to adhere to these ‘Rules and Conditions of Entry’ can result in point deductions or disqualification. This is at the NZ Young Farmers Events Team's discretion. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact: events@youngfarmers.co.nz