Terms and Conditions
Eligibility
Disqualification
Cancellation/postponement
Prizes
General

Contest Administration and Rules
Registration/Administration
Contest Rules
Identification

The Contest
Objectives
Selection Trials, Semi-Finals and Finals for the Individual Category

Eligibility

• The SingTel SMS Shootout 2008 (hereby called "Contest") is open to all Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
  
  
• Contestants can be users or subscribers of any mobile phone network in Singapore.
  
  
• There is no age limit. Those who are under 18 years old must seek parental consent. They must bring an original signed copy of the consent form when they turn up for the Contest. Contestants who are 12 years old and below must be accompanied by an adult (parent or guardian) during the Contest.
  
  
• There is only the Individual category for this Contest.
  
  
• Employees of SingTel companies and related companies, third parties involved in the event, auditors and their immediate families (including parents, spouses and children) are eligible to participate in the Contest. However, should any of the aforesaid persons win the Individual Category and be placed in any of the top three positions, he/she will not be eligible for the mentioned prizes. He/she will instead receive special prizes designated for such persons instead. If he/she breaks the Guinness World Record, his/her name will be submitted.

Disqualification

• SingTel reserves the right not to accept any entries that are incomplete or to disqualify any contestants who are deemed to have infringed these terms and conditions or the rules and regulations of the Contest.
  
  
• Registration fees will not be refunded if the contestant is disqualified or decides to withdraw from the Contest after payment of the registration fee.

Cancellation/postponement

• SingTel reserves the right to cancel, postpone or reschedule the Contest. In such an event, contestants can choose to continue to participate in the Contest or alternatively can request a refund of the registration fee.
  
  
• In the event that the Contest is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, SingTel will arrange to refund all registration fees paid. Contestants will be informed via e-mail of the refund procedures. All refunds not collected after the stipulated date will be donated to the SingTel Touching Lives Fund.

Prizes

• All prizes are non-negotiable and non-transferable either in part or in full. The values stated for the prizes are correctly reflected at time of upload on the website and are subjected to change. SingTel reserves the right to substitute alternative prizes of equivalent value to those offered.

General

• SingTel will not be responsible for any accidents, injury or loss or damage of any personal belongings that may arise as a result of, or during the Contest.
  
  
• Contestants must agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Contest and abide by the decisions of SingTel, which are final in all matters relating to the Contest.
  
  
• SingTel reserves the right to use the winners' names, photos and images for publicity purposes, including print, broadcast, outdoor and online media.
  
  
• Winners of the Contest must have SingTel's written permission to enter into any contracts to endorse any other companies' products or services on the basis of this Contest.

Registration/Administration

• Registration closes on Thursday, 21 February 2008 and places are limited. SingTel reserves the right to:
  
  
• Amend the registration date and set a contestant quota at its discretion
  
  
• Close applications at its discretion
  
  
• There is no limit to the number of entries per participant. However each participant can only submit one best time to qualify for the Selection Trials, Semi-Finals and Finals of the Contest.
  
  
• There is a registration fee of $4.00 (GST included) per entry. All proceeds collected from the registration fees will be donated to the SingTel Touching Lives Fund.
  
  
• Contestants will be informed the time slot for their Selection Trials via an e-mail acknowledgement from SingTel prior to the Contest.
  
  
• No refund of the registration fee will be made if the contestant is unable to show up at the Contest.
  
  
• Contestants must provide SingTel with a registered mobile phone number for communication and competition purposes.
  
  
• The same mobile number cannot be used by other contestants.
  
  
• Contestants have to use the same mobile phone brand/model indicated in their registration form throughout the competition.
  
  
• SingTel will communicate with contestants via SMS or e-mail. Contestants are advised to check their inbox regularly for the latest updates.
  
  

Contest Rules

• All contestants are to provide proof of identity (see "Identification" below) for participation and when collecting their prizes.
  
  
• Contestants will be given two chances to type the message. The faster time from the two attempts will be recorded and used to determine whether the contestant qualifies for the next round. In the event that only one of the two attempts carries the correctly typed message, only the timing for the correct attempt will be used. In the event that both attempts do not carry the correctly typed message, the contestant will be disqualified.
  
  
• Contestants are to provide their own mobile phones for the Contest. The same mobile phone number and mobile phone model used for registration has to be used for the Contest.
  
  
• Contestants have to ensure that the batteries in their mobile phones are fully charged. SingTel will not provide spare batteries or charging equipment.
  
  
• PDA or mobile phones with built-in keyboards are not allowed for the Contest. The use of stylus or other typing aids is also not allowed.
  
  
• Predictive text mode and spelling aids cannot be used. If the predictive text mode is turned on at any time, that particular attempt will be invalidated. As a precaution, contestants are advised to disable the predictive or help text function on their mobile phone before the Contest.
  
  
• Contestants have to divert or reject all incoming voice calls and switch their mobile phone to the silent mode upon entering the Contest area. Any incoming calls received by contestants during the Contest will render that particular attempt invalid.
  
  
• Silence should be observed at all times. The judges have the discretion to disqualify contestants who are unruly or who are badly behaved during the Contest.
  
  
• Contestants must type all the characters of the message in English. They are not allowed to store the Contest's text message, or parts of it, in their mobile phone. They must also set the language setting on their mobile phones to English.
  
  
• Contestants must agree to have their mobile phones checked by SingTel prior to and after the Contest. This includes checks on the SMS inbox, folders etc. Failure to comply to this check will result in disqualification of the contestant.
  
  
• Contestants must agree to have the SingTel brand (e.g. on removable stickers) displayed on their mobile phones during the Contest.
  
  
• Each contestant will be timed in the presence of one or more judges.
  
  
• The Contest will begin once the pre-arranged signal from the emcee or the judge is given.
  
  
• When the Contest is underway, the text can be corrected or re-typed.
  
  
• At all times during the Contest, the judge(s) must have a clear view of the contestants mobile phone screen.
  
  
• All contestants must agree to have their attempts filmed by SingTel.
  
  
• When contestants have finished keying the message, they should hold up their mobile phones at full arm's length so that the judge(s) can stop the timing.
  
  
• Any errors in the typed message will invalidate the attempt. Errors will include duplicating a character, typing a wrong character, typing a character unrelated to the sequence, omitting or adding a space, upper-case or lower-case discrepancies.
  
  
• After the check by the judges, contestants will be required to send the SMS to a dedicated number for record and verification purposes. Failure to do so will render the attempt invalid. The judges' decision will be final.
  
  
• SingTel reserves the right to conclude each Contest round after two minutes has lapsed. Contestants who are unable to finish keying in the SMS message will have that particular attempt declared invalid.

Identification

• Contestants are to bring the following documents for identification during the Contest:
  • Singapore NRIC or Certificate of Identity or Student Identification Pass[with photo].
    
    
  • A copy of the e-mail acknowledgement from SingTel.
    
    
  • Signed consent form (for participants below 18 years old).
    
    
  • Failure to produce the above documents will render the contestant disqualified.

Objectives

• Contestants will compete to break the current SingTel SMS Shootout record for "Fastest Time to Type a Text Message" in the SingTel SMS Shootout 2008.
  
  
• There will be three rounds to the Contest - the Selection Trials, Semi-Finals and Finals.
  
  
• The text message for the Selection Trials is available before the Contest and can be found in www.singtel.com/shootout. Contestants can practise keying in the text in advance.

Selection Trials/Semi-Finals and Finals for the Individual Category

• The Selection Trials for the Individual Category will be held on Sunday, 24 February 2008 at Smoove @ Ministry of Sound (Singapore) located at Clarke Quay, from 10am onwards.
  
  
• Contestants who fail to show up at the assigned venue 15 minutes after the start of their allocated time slot will be automatically disqualified and there will be no refund of the registration fee(s).
  
  
• Contestants are advised to practice keying in the pre-announced text as much as possible. However, they will only be allowed to submit only one best time out of the 2 attempts given.
  
  
• SingTel reserves the right to stop the trial after the stipulated two-minute time limit is exceeded.
  
  
• At the end of the Selection Trials, a total of 50 contestants who have recorded the fastest times in keying the text message accurately / without any error will qualify for the Semi-Finals.
  
  
• Places in the Semi-Finals are limited to one per contestant who qualifies based on the best time, regardless of the number of entries.
  
  
• In the event of a tie, both the tied contestants will be required to type the text again accurately. The contestant with the fastest time with an accurate attempt will win the tie-breaker.
  
• Apart from mid-day meals and other short breaks, contestants must be prepared to be at the venue for the duration of the Contest. Failure to do so will mean disqualification.
  
  
• 50 contestants will compete in the Semi-Finals to determine the 5 finalists. An overall champion will emerge from the 5 finalists.
  
  
• As in the case of the trials, contestants in the Semi-Finals and the Finals will be given two chances to type the message. The faster time from the two attempts will be recorded.
  
  
• The placing of the Contest winners will be determined by the best time that each finalist has achieved during any of the rounds of the competition on 24 February 2008. In the event of a tie, the finalists' second-best and accurate attempt in any of the rounds will be considered to break the tie.