{"id":160,"date":"2023-09-08T13:51:36","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T13:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/?page_id=160"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:20:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:20:59","slug":"state-convention-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/?page_id=160","title":{"rendered":"State Convention Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We have new convention guidelines! Before submitting your registration form and any student work, please read the following information in full. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO SUBMIT INDIVIDUAL STUDENT WORK FOR JUDGING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AWARDS REGISTRATION FOR 2026 IS NOW CLOSED<\/strong>, BUT YOU CAN STILL JOIN US WITHOUT COMPETING IF YOU REGISTER BY FEB. 6!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fill out a state convention registration form<\/a> for your publication(s). You will need<\/strong>:
– Teacher\/Adviser first and last name
– Teacher\/Adviser email and phone number
– Excel sheet with student entry information. DO NOT email this information! It MUST be submitted with your registration form in the correct format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What your Excel sheet should look like!<\/strong> Please save the file as: SCHOOL NAME_STUDENT ENTRY LIST.xlsx<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fill out an individual student submission form<\/a> for EACH piece of student work and Overall submissions. You will need:<\/strong>
– Student(s) first and last name
– Publication name
– Title of work or media
– Category it is being submitted under
– File of media to be judged. Broadcast, podcast, website and social media post(s) may be submitted as links in a Word document. Everything else must be digitally submitted as .jpgs, .pngs or PDFs.<\/strong> Overall print publications may be mailed to ASPA by January 23, 2026, but digital is preferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are welcome to fill out their own individual student submission forms as long as the adviser has listed their work and paid for the submission on the main registration form. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any student entries that are not on the Excel sheet of student entry information will not be considered for judging.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will also receive this link when your registration form has been successfully submitted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON-SITE COMPETITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON-SITE REGISTRATION FOR 2026 IS NOW CLOSED!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the guidelines<\/a> for on-site competition categories available before entering. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fill out an on-site competition registration form<\/a>. You will need:<\/strong>
– Teacher\/Adviser first and last name
– Teacher\/Adviser email and phone number
– Excel sheet or Word document with individual and team student participants and the category they will participate in. While students may compete in more than one category, it is not recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No additional payment is required with the submission of this form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO SUBMIT SENIOR AND ADVISER AWARDS FOR JUDGING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the guidelines<\/a> for the specific award you plan on entering. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fill out a senior and adviser award form<\/a>.<\/strong> You will need:<\/strong>
– Student’s first and last name
– Student email
– Portfolio, writing or adviser nomination package. Portfolios may be submitted as Word documents with a link. Writing examples may be submitted in as Word documents or PDFs. ALL adviser award nominations must be submitted as PDF packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All senior and adviser awards are free to enter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any specific questions or experience any issues filling out your forms, please email aspa@ua.edu<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DEADLINES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration and Individual Awards Contest Entries*: <\/strong>Friday, Jan. 23, 2026
* Deadline applies to on-site registration as well (individual and team).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior and Adviser Award Entries: <\/strong>Friday, Jan. 30, 2026 (This includes AL Journalist of the Year)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late Registration<\/strong>*: Friday, Feb. 6, 2026
*If you register after Jan. 23, you are more than welcome to attend convention, however, you will not be eligible for entry into any awards or day-of competition. You must still be a member of ASPA to attend even if you register late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have any students who are attending but NOT<\/span> competing, please email aspa@ua.edu<\/a> with a list of their names so we can have <\/strong>name<\/b> tags for everyone!<\/strong> Additionally, if you are a teacher or advisor who is attending without students, please email us your name as well so we can have an accurate headcount for lunches!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have new convention guidelines! Before submitting your registration form and any student work, please read the following information in full. HOW TO SUBMIT INDIVIDUAL STUDENT WORK FOR JUDGING AWARDS REGISTRATION FOR 2026 IS NOW CLOSED, BUT YOU CAN STILL JOIN US WITHOUT COMPETING IF YOU REGISTER BY FEB. 6! Fill out a state convention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-160","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":852,"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/160\/revisions\/852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aspa.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}