Call for

CONTESTS

The UtahSAINT Organization is excited to announce the Open Call for Contests for the upcoming SAINTCON 2023 conference event.

Proposals Due by May 1, 2023

Overview

As planning for SAINTCON 2023 continues, we recognize the extreme value that contests bring to our learning, growth and entertainment.  Last year was in many ways a breakthrough year for our community conference, and we are looking to improve it even more. 

We are looking for New Contests, Old Contests, Reinvented Contests, but mostly More Contest for our community to participate in.

As such we are opening the “Open Call for Contests” effective immediately.

Ideas for Contests

We are seeking ideas and proposals for Contests at SAINTCON.  Below are some ideas we’ve supported in the past, but if your contest is not listed here, don’t worry we still want to hear from you!

  • Hackers Challenge – Jeopardy Style CTF
  • Los Santos – Escape Challenge
  • King of the Hill – Maintain Control CTF
  • Traditional Capture the Flag Competition (DEFCON Style)
  • GeoCaching Race
  • Packet Capture Contest
  • Tamper Evident Challenge
  • AppSec Web App Challenge
  • The Vault – Physical Security
  • Password Cracking
  • Scavenger Hunt
  • Healthcare Device Pwning
  • TinFoil Hat Contest – Arts and Crafts
  • TinFoil Hat Contest – RF Blocking
  • Wireless Hunt
  • Donkey Car Racing
  • SAINTCON Bingo

Call for Contests Process

We are excited to see what you have!

To submit your proposal, click the link above or send an e-mail to cfc@saintcon.org.

Please include all required information (outlined below) in the body of the e-mail rather than attaching a pdf/odf/docx/pages/wtf document. Once you submit, a member of the selection committee will acknowledge your submission within 3 business days. If you don’t hear back from us. Something went wrong!

Send it again, ping on the SAINTCON Discord, or hunt down @zevlag/@zodiak for more information.

Content for your proposals must include:

  • Contest Name: This is the name that will be used on the website, on the signs, and throughout the conference.
  • Who will run this Contest: We allocate 2 staff positions (1 primary, and 1 secondary) for each approved Contest.
  • Brief description: This is a 1-3 sentence overview of what the contest is, and what people will do.
  • Long description: This is the website content. It should be several paragraphs long. This should include detailed descriptions of how people will play, participation or support from any community, a summary of the rules, tools people might need to bring, skills they should have, what timeframe this contest will run (3 hours? 1 day? 4 days?).  This is your sales pitch to drive participation. Use it.
  • Improvements for 2023 (returning contests): What would you like to do to improve attendees’ experience over previous years?
  • What do you need: Estimates on what you will need to be successful including volunteers, budget, space at the conference, tables, equipment, etc. 
  • Contact information: We need to know how to get ahold of you. This can include real names, discord handles (including # – ie: zodiak#9312), phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.
Hi!, I’m Zevlag, and I’m looking forward to receiving your proposal!

Our Expectations

Contests at SAINTCON are a means for attendees to prove their skills, learn new things, form friendships, and have fun.  As such, we expect the following general guidelines to be understood:

  • All contests associated with Communities or promoted at SAINTCON must be accepted through the Call for Contests process.
  • Contests should clearly define the expected skill level of participants and set expectations.
  • Contest need to have clearly defined rules and boundaries.
  • Contests must be administered fairly and consistently. Whenever possible contests and should avoid situations where “arbitrary judgement” is a primary method of scoring.
  • Contest need to have clearly defined criteria for determining scores and/or a winner.  These do not have to be published to participants in every circumstance, but do need to be available to the SAINTCON Committee.
  • Contest rules should indicate solo play or team play, team sizes, and wether prizes will be awarded to First and two runner ups, or only to a single winner (or team).
  • SAINTCON has a process for budget for prizes for contests.  We desire for contests to respect this prize budget that increase as a contest matures.

Terms of Remuneration

The UtahSAINT Organization and SAINTCON may provide Full Conference Passes for individuals responsible for the execution of approved contests.   Staff members who qualify may also receive housing accommodations during the event.

Budget for Contests

The UtahSAINT Organization and SAINTCON will provide budgeted monetary resources for contests.  Budget requirements should be planned and submitted as part of the proposal process.  Budgetary requests will be discussed as part of the proposal approval process.

Code of Conduct

All proposals and participants in Contests at SAINTCON are required to agree to, and follow our Code of Conduct.