Get updates on this contest and future contests. We will be posting podcasting news and celebrating and sharing clubs as they create and publish amazing podcasts.

Once you complete your podcast entry for this contest you will submit your podcast using this form. Must submit your entry before 6/30/2025 at midnight.

The Hard Things Podcast Challenge!

The ClubCast contest is for our Podcast Members and Subscribers (Boys & Girls Clubs, Schools, City Teen Centers) Our team of judges will review submissions and select a group of Three (3) Prize Winners.

• 1st Place Podcast: $250 award for the Podcast Champion AND $250 for the School/Club
• 2nd Place Podcast: $150 award for the Podcast Champion AND $150 for the School/Club
• 3st Place Podcast: $100 award for the Podcast Champion AND $100 for the School/Club

*Be sure to check out the official rules below for more specific details.

Contest Overview & Rules:

• Must Like and Follow ClubCast Facebook page where we will be announcing the winners and any updates.
• Enter the contest with 1 Champion intro episode and at least 1 student episode published to your ClubCast page.
• Each podcast should be between 10 and 15 minutes runtime.
• Contest Starts on 4/21/2025 and ends on 6/30/2025 at midnight.

How to Post and Publish your Podcast Entry:

• Create or login to your ClubCast account
• Make sure you invite the members who are participating in the contest
• Start a New Podcast and Title it: The Hard Things Podcast Challenge
• Design a special artwork for your podcast show using Canva or another tool
• Each member who is participating in the challenge will need to record their own podcast episode that is between 10 - 15 minutes in runtime
• Each participant should record their own episode of the podcast where the School/Club Podcast Champion is the host interviewing the members/kids/students
• Upload the finished podcast to the The Hard Things Podcast Challenge and publish your podcast Entry to ClubCast. (Optional is to submit your podcast to Apple & Spotify)
• This is an audio only podcast (do not use video)
• Add the Sponsor Logo to your ClubCast The Hard Things Podcast Challenge page.

Updated April 21, 2025 3:30 PM MDT

Below are rules for the Student Podcast Challenge for ClubCast members. Boys & Girls Clubs, Teen Centers, Public High School students are eligible to participate.

1. SPONSOR.
The ClubCast Podcast Challenge (the "Contest") is sponsored by ClubCast.

2. OVERVIEW.
The Contest is a podcast submission contest where Podcast Clubs, or members can submit an audio podcast created by their members for an opportunity to win prizes.
By participating in this Contest, each participant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules and to the decisions of the Sponsor and the judges selected by the Sponsor, which are final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest. The Contest will operate as described below, on or about the stated dates:

Sponsor Message

• The Contest submission period begins at 12:00 a.m. MDT on April 21, 2025, and ends at 11:59 p.m. MDT on June 30, 2025. To be eligible, submissions must be submitted in accordance with Section 4 of these Official Rules.
• The Contest judging period begins on July 1st, 2025, and ends on or about July 30, 2025. Eligible submissions will be reviewed by our judges selected in the sole discretion of the Sponsor, and will be judged in accordance with Section 5 of these Official Rules. Three (3) Grand Prize Winners (as described in Section 7 below) will be selected.
• Sponsors will attempt to contact each Winner, or an alternate if necessary, on or about July 30, 2025, and in accordance with Section 6 of these Official Rules.
• The Winners will be publicly announced on or about July 30, 2025.

3. ELIGIBILITY.
The Contest is open only to our ClubCast members.

Sponsor Message
Entry constitutes each Entrant's certification that the Entrant meets the eligibility requirements set forth in these Official Rules. The Sponsor reserves the right to verify and confirm each Entrant's compliance with eligibility requirements. An Entrant may be required to submit further information to assist in the judges' verification of eligibility. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

4. HOW TO ENTER.
To enter, an Entrant must submit an audio podcast featuring the Entrant's student(s)/member(s) discussing the podcast topic chosen for this contest (the "Submission"). The Submission must be both "original" (as defined by copyright law) and unique (meaning it must have been created for the sole purpose of entering the Contest). Submissions must comply with the following requirements:

• Podcast Submissions must be between ten (10) and fifteen (15) minutes in length. Therefore, a 9 minute and under podcast runtime will be disqualified and a 16 and over podcast will be disqualified. Any podcast runtime that is 10 minutes and up to 15 minutes in length is considered a valid entry time for your podcast.
• Submissions must be created specifically for the Contest.
• Submissions must be the original work of the Entrant's student(s)/member(s).
• Submissions must be uploaded by the Entrant to ClubCast and published on ClubCast.
• Submissions must not include any copyrighted music and can be created the Entrant or Royalty Free and must be properly attributed.
• Submissions must not contain material that violates or infringes another's rights (including, but not limited to, material that violates privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights).
• Submissions must be audio only, no video podcasts will be accepted for this Contest.

Sponsor Message

Submissions may not include any material that infringes the intellectual property rights of any person. Please be respectful of copyright and trademark laws. We encourage Entrants to err on the side of excluding music if the Entrant is not sure whether the music is copyrighted or not. Entries will be disqualified if they contain materials that appear to infringe copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights of others. Songs or chants made up by Entrants are acceptable as long as they are performed live on the recording and Entrant notes in Entrant's submission form that the song or chant was composed by Entrant. If you use Royalty Free Music make sure to properly attribute the creator. For examples of what is and is not public domain work, you may visit copyright.cornell.edu/publicdomain.

An Entrant must upload and publish a publicly viewable Submission to ClubCast between 12:00 a.m. MDT on April 21, and 11:59 p.m. MDT on June 30, 2025. Each Entrant will be required to sign-in to ClubCast; if an Entrant does not already have an account for the podcasting platform, that Entrant will be required to create one. After uploading the Submission, an Entrant must complete the Final Submission Form (the "Submission Form"). On the Submission Form, each Entrant must provide: an explanation of the Submission (limited to 200 words); Entrant's name, Club Name, contact e-mail address, and phone number; the Staff members name and email who assisted the club member, a link to the Submission ClubCast webpage, and agree that Sponsor may use the Submission and any recordings of interviews conducted with the member(s)/student(s) on a worldwide, perpetual, gratis and royalty-free basis in any media and for any purpose. By completing the Submission Form, each Entrant agrees to be bound by ClubCast’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Each Entrant must comply with all Submission requirements. Entry is not complete until an Entrant has uploaded and published the Submission to ClubCast and submitted a complete Submission Form. An Entrant must completely and accurately submit all required information to enter, and must timely cooperate with all requests for additional information or documents that the Sponsor may request in order to verify eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules.The Sponsor's clock is the official timekeeping device for the Contest. The Sponsor is not responsible for late or unsuccessful attempts to enter. Incomplete, corrupted, untimely, or unintelligible Submissions or Submission Forms will be disqualified. If for any reason an Entrant's entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, that Entrant's sole remedy is another entry in the Contest to the extent the submission of an additional entry is deemed feasible by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion. The Sponsor reserves the right to determine, in its sole discretion, which entries have satisfied the entry requirements and to disqualify any Submission it believes is not consistent with the spirit and theme of the Contest.

Sponsor Message

AN ELIGIBLE ENTRANT MUST SUBMIT AN ENTRY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES. NO OTHER METHOD OF SUBMISSION WILL BE ACCEPTED.

5. JUDGING.

Judging will begin on or about July 1st, and will end on or about July 30, 2025. There will be two (2) rounds of judging. Initially, all Submissions that meet the requirements listed in Section 4 above will be reviewed by a panel of preliminary judges selected in the Sponsor's sole discretion, that will consist primarily of members of ClubCast Team (the "Preliminary Judges"). The Preliminary Judges will judge Submissions on the following criteria:

45% — Information and Structure

• Does the Submission tell a compelling story or teach us something new and important? Is it structured in a way that makes sense and keeps listeners engaged? Can we easily follow the story you're telling or the information you're explaining? Have you spent time editing — cutting out unnecessary information or repetition and making sure the main ideas come through clearly

45% — Personality and Creativity

• We want to listen to this Submission and hear your voices. Do we hear the unique voices of the host and any collaborating guests? Does it have personality, or does it make us want to "fast forward"? Does it make us laugh or cry or leave us deep in thought — FEEL something? That's what we're looking for.

10% — Production Quality

• We're not judging you on how fancy your equipment is and we don't expect you to be an expert on recording and editing sound, but we hope you'll try. Some Submissions may use sound, or audio, in creative ways. Others may be more of an interview format. If you use sound, does it add to the story you're telling? Did you layer the audio and narration? These are some of the things we'll be looking for.

The Preliminary Judges will select three (3) Finalists Grand Prize Winners.

6. WINNER NOTIFICATION.

ClubCast will notify you by email, phone, and or social media posts. Entrants will want to ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ the ClubCast Facebook page for announcement of the winners and Contest updates.

7. PRIZES.

Each of the Grand Prize winning Entrants, will receive the following "Grand Prize":

• 1st Place Podcast: $250 for the Podcast Champion AND $250 for the School/Club
• 2nd Place Podcast: $150 for the Podcast Champion AND $150 for the School/Club
• 3rd Place Podcast: $100 for the Podcast Champion AND $100 for the School/Club

Prize Checks is made out to the Winning Club or School.

8. PRIZE RESTRICTIONS.

Each Winner will be solely responsible for any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes resulting from acceptance of a Prize. Each Prize cannot be transferred or assigned to another person, class, or school. No Prize substitution or changes are allowed except at the discretion of the Sponsor. A Prize cannot be substituted or redeemed for cash. Each Prize is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.

9. GRANT OF RIGHTS.

In consideration for an Entrant's Submission being reviewed and evaluated for this Contest, each Entrant hereby grants to the Sponsor and the Sponsor's member stations a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, fully paid, universal license to use, copy, sublicense, transmit, distribute, publicly perform, publish, delete, make derivative works from, or display such Submission, or any portion thereof, in any media now known or hereafter devised and for any purpose.

By entering the Contest, each Entrant warrants that a parent or legal guardian of each student (and or Club Member) who contributed to the Submission has agreed that the student's (and or Club Member’s) work may be submitted to this Contest and that the Sponsors may use the Submission on a gratis and royalty-free basis in any media and for any purpose, as described herein.

10. ENTRANT REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, AND RELEASE.

By entering, each Entrant represents and warrants to the Sponsor that: (a) the Submission is completely the original work of Entrant and their student(s), Club Member(s) and was created solely by Entrant and their student(s); (b) the Submission is an original work and is not copied from any other source or previously distributed or disseminated in any media or format; and (c) the Submission is not in violation of or in conflict with the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity, or any other rights of any kind or nature of any other person or entity. By submitting an entry, each Entrant agrees to release the Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, promotional partners, member stations, and agents, and all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest, and the officers, directors, and employees of each of the foregoing, from any and all claims and liabilities arising from or in connection with participation in this Contest, including, without limitation claims for injury, loss, or damage of any kind resulting from participation in this Contest or acceptance or use of any Prize, and claims based on rights of privacy, rights of publicity, false light, defamation, copyright, and/or trademark infringement relating to the submission or exploitation of Entrant's Submission. If an Entrant is a California resident, such Entrant hereby waives California Civil Code Section 1542, which states: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."

Each Entrant further agrees to release any and all liability associated with this Contest or receipt or use of any prizes.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING REGARDING THIS CONTEST IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY. CHECK LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.

11. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

The Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest due to any of an act of god; unavoidable accident; epidemic; fire; blackout; act of public enemy; war, riot, or civil commotion; enactment, rule, order, or act of government, governmental instrumentality, or tribunal; strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; inclement weather; the recapture of any time period scheduled for the live broadcast of a program for an event of national importance or emergency; failure of technical facilities; failure of third-party software or services; failure of essential production or technical personnel to appear or be available for production or broadcast; or other cause beyond the Sponsor's control. The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, damaged, mutilated, misdirected, misdelivered, or delayed entries, or for technical or human errors or failures of any kind in connection with the submission, transmission, processing, or judging of entries.

These Official Rules may operate as an agreement between an Entrant's affiliated Club, school or other educational organization and Sponsor.

THE SPONSOR WILL NOT BE OBLIGATED TO AWARD ANY PRIZE THAT RELATES TO OR ARISES OUT OF IMPROPER OR MISTAKEN PRIZE NOTIFICATION, OPERATION, OR FUNCTION OF THIS CONTEST.

Sponsor Message

THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE ANY TERM OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES OR TO ADDRESS ANY ISSUE THAT ARISES WITH UPDATES OR AMENDMENTS TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES AT ANY TIME UP TO THE DATE THAT THE WINNERS ARE SELECTED.ALL DECISIONS BY THE SPONSOR AND JUDGES ARE FINAL AND BINDING.

12. GOVERNING LAW.

This Contest is governed by the internal laws of the State of New Mexico without regard to principles of conflict of laws. All cases and claims pertaining to this Contest must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of New Mexico.

13. PRIVACY POLICY.

Any personal information supplied by an Entrant to the Sponsor will be subject to ClubCast’s Privacy Policy and the supplemental terms of these Official Rules. By entering the Contest, each Entrant grants the Sponsor permission to share that Entrant's e-mail address and any other personally identifiable information of the Entrant with ClubCast (as applicable) solely for the purposes of administering the Contest and Prize fulfillment.

14. WINNER'S LIST.

For a list of the Winners, thirty (30) days after June 30, 2025, Check the ClubCast Facebook Page, Sign up to our mailing list, or check the ClubCast webpage for the Winner Announcement and Features.