THE Suffolk FA Grassroots Photograph of the Season competition sponsored by Lockdales is back for a fifth time with a new category.

In addition to the main category prize, organisers have agreed to run a category for the best photograph submitted by anyone under the age of 15.

The competition is aimed at finding the best pictures taken by amateur photographers of grassroots football in Suffolk this season.

Entries can depict any scenario in football – on a match-day, a team shot or even a staged picture – providing they are photographs of grassroots football in Suffolk and not the professional game.

The competition is once again being sponsored by Lockdales, the Martlesham-based coin dealers and auctioneers, for the third time.

The judging panel will feature representatives from Suffolk FA, Lockdales and Archant Ltd, who will meet after the end-of-season deadline to select the winners.

The winner of the main category will receive a canvas photograph of their winning entry, with the runner-up and third-place entries receiving smaller canvas photographs of their entries.

The winner of the U15 category will also receive a canvas photograph of their winning entry.

Lockdales Managing Director Dan Daley said: “It’s a pleasure to have been invited back to sponsor this grassroots competition for a third year in succession.

“We would love to see more friends and family getting involved with their local teams and clubs and think the photograph competition is a great way of encouraging this.

“All those devoted parents and grandparents standing on the side every week with cold feet, get your phone out and get snapping!

“I think it’s great that this year there will also be a new under-15s entry category. I really hope the younger people will embrace this and have some fun.”

Suffolk FA Marketing & Communications Officer Nick Garnham said: “We now live in a very visual world and this competition serves to encourage amateur photographers and enthusiasts, even if they are not attached to a club, to get out and take photographs of grassroots football.

“The quality of images you can take on a mobile phone now means you don’t even need to own a camera or remember to take one with you when going out.”

Pictured above launching the competition are Lockdales employees Liza Machan, who is head of photography, marketing and design, and Callum Sinclair, who is photographer and sales room co-ordinator who also plays for Woodbridge Town FC.

Competition Rules

The competition is open to all amateur photographers – ie those who do not either have a licence to cover Football League matches or whose main source of income is via payment for photographs printed in newspapers or via any other media outlet.

Only photographs taken between August 1st 2019 and May 23rd 2020 will be eligible for entry. The closing date is 5pm on Monday, May 25th 2020.

Entrants are limited to a maximum of five entries each, and entries should submitted as .jpg files and be a minimum 2 megabytes in size.

These should be emailed to nick.garnham@suffolkfa.com, while entries submitted as prints should be sent to Nick Garnham, Marketing & Communications Officer, Suffolk FA, Bill Steward House, The Buntings, Stowmarket IP14 5GZ.

All entries should be accompanied by the entrant’s full name, age, home address and daytime phone number plus details of when and where the photograph was taken and what it is about.

Entries in the Under-15 category must include a parent or guardian’s email address.

Photographs containing children under the age of 18 should be submitted along with the media consent form which is available below.

Please note entries may be used for marketing and promotional purposes by Suffolk FA, Archant Ltd and Lockdales, and by entering you consent to images to be used for this purpose.

Normal Archant Ltd competition rules apply and the editor’s decision is final.