The 2026 Scuba Diving Photo Contest (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Scuba Diving magazine, a publication of PADI (“Sponsor”).

## **2026 THROUGH YOUR LENS PHOTO CONTEST PRIZES**

### GRAND PRIZE
* Komodo Aggressor, North Komodo Itinerary valued at $3325 North Komodo Itinerary 
* $1,000 cash prize awarded by Scuba Diving magazine 
* Choice of a PADI® 60th Longitude Eco-Parka or Midnight Eco-Parka (Unisex), with an approximate retail value of $200 USD, plus applicable tax and shipping

### FIRST-PLACE PRIZES

**Macro First-Place **

* Belize Aggressor V, New Belize South itinerary valued at $3395 
* A PADI® 60th Longitude Camo Leggings (Women’s) or PADI® 60th Longitude Camo Dive Shorts (Men’s), valued at approximately $70 USD, plus applicable tax and shipping.

**Wide-Angle First-Place**

* First-Place: Red Sea Aggressor V, Red Sea Deep South Itinerary valued at $2699pp 
* A PADI® 60th Midnight Eco-Cropped Rashie (Women’s) or PADI® 60th Midnight Rash Guard (Men’s)

**Compact/Smartphone First-Place **

* All Star Blackbeard’s Bahamas Valued at $1245 
* A PADI® 60th Midnight Swim Leggings (Women’s) or PADI® 60th Midnight Dive Shorts (Men’s), valued at approximately $70 USD, plus applicable tax and shipping.

**Behavior First-Place **

* All Star Scuba Scene, Red Sea Valued at $2195 
* A PADI® 60th Longitude Camo Cropped Rashie (Women’s) or PADI® 60th Longitude Camo Rash Guard (Men’s), valued at approximately $70 USD, plus applicable tax and shipping.

**Sharks and Rays First-Place **

* Caribbean Explorer II, Saba and St. Kitts Itinerary valued at $3,195 
* A PADI® 60th Midnight Cropped Rashie (Women’s) or PADI® 60th Midnight Rash Guard (Men’s), valued at approximately $70 USD, plus applicable tax and shipping.

Each prize consists of one (1) liveaboard diving trip for one (1) person as specified for each prize tier.  

Trip prize is subject to availability and valid for travel through December 31, 2027, after which the prize will be deemed forfeited. All travel arrangements are subject to the terms, conditions, and availability of the applicable liveaboard operator, and Administrator makes no representations or warranties regarding the services provided by any third-party operator.

**Not Included:** The trip prize does not include airfare, airport transfers, ground transportation, hotel accommodations before or after the trip, meals consumed off the vessel, alcoholic beverages, gratuities, dive equipment rental, dive certification fees, port taxes, fuel surcharges, entry visas, travel insurance, or any other incidental expenses.

**Blackout Dates:** Certain departure dates may be unavailable. Winner is responsible for confirming availability at time of booking. Administrator is not responsible for any prize that cannot be redeemed due to scheduling conflicts or lack of availability.

**Non-Transferable:** Trip prize is non-transferable, non-refundable, and has no cash value. No substitution of prize is permitted by winner, except that Administrator reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value at its sole discretion.

**Travel Documents:** Winner is solely responsible for obtaining all required travel documents, including a valid passport, entry visas, and any health or vaccination documentation required by the destination country. Failure to obtain required documentation does not entitle winner to a substitute prize.

**Travel Insurance:** Winner is strongly encouraged to obtain travel insurance at their own expense prior to travel. Administrator  is not responsible for any loss, injury, delay, or other incident that occurs during travel to, from, or during the trip.

**Physical Requirements:** Some trips may require participants to hold a valid scuba diving certification. Winner is responsible for meeting all physical, health, and certification requirements of the applicable liveaboard operator. Failure to meet such requirements does not entitle winner to a substitute prize.

**Release of Liveaboard Operator:** The liveaboard operator providing the trip prize is an independent third party and is not a co-sponsor of this Contest. Administrator is not liable for any acts or omissions of the liveaboard operator in connection with the fulfillment of any prize.

### Second-Place Prizes 
All second-place winners will receive a Scubapro MK11/Evo C370 color regulator system valued at $759  

### Third-Place Prizes
All third-place winners will receive a Shearwater Tern TX dive computer valued at $805

## SUBMISSION DEADLINE JUNE 15, 2026

All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply; void where prohibited or restricted by law. No purchase necessary to enter to win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.  PRIZES MAY BE SUBJECT TO TAX; ALL APPLICABLE TAXES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNER. 

**ELIGIBILITY:** The Contest is open only to individuals, eighteen (18) years or older at time of entry, excluding residents of any jurisdiction where participation is restricted or prohibited by law. Employees, officers, directors and family members of employees of PADI Media (Sponsor), its parent companies, its subsidiaries and affiliates are not eligible for participation. 

**ENTRY:** All entrants must submit at least one image as a .jpg, or .png file and must be less than 5 MB. You may enter electronically. Entries are limited to five per person per category resulting in a maximum entry of twenty-five photos total between the five categories; exceeding this may result in disqualification. All photos must be original works, taken by the Entrant. No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains. To enter visit our website at www.scubadiving.com/photocontest. All information provided by entrant must be complete, true and correct. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received in each category. Submissions to the Contest must be received by 11:59 p.m. JUNE 15, 2026 Eastern Time (“ET”), in order to be eligible. Entries received after that date will be deemed ineligible to win. All submitted entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, inaccurate, incomplete, damaged, illegible, or misdirected entries. Each entry must be submitted on an individual basis (i.e., no team, joint, or corporate entries) and all components of the entry must be the original creation of the submitting participant. Only non-commercial work may be submitted. Entries may not contain profanity, nudity, pornographic images, violent images, anti-competition messages, illegal material, or material that violates the rights of third parties. Entries may not include confidential information, trade secrets, trademarks or copyrighted material belonging to any person or entity other than the entrant absent a suitable license or permission agreement, proof of which is required. Entries containing any forbidden matter or material otherwise deemed by Sponsor to be inappropriate will be disqualified. Online entries will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. 

**PHOTO MANIPULATION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI):** Post-processing of images is allowed. This includes global adjustments to exposure, contrast, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, and tone. Minor cleaning of images is permitted, including the removal of backscatter, dust and scratches. HDR, panoramas, focus stacking or other techniques that involve using multiple images taken at the same time and place are also allowed. Adding, removing or moving animals, people, plants or other objects is not allowed. For example, moving a fish, removing a reef element or adding a glow to a diver’s torch is not acceptable. While digital manipulation is permitted, please keep in mind this not a Photoshop competition. All images should accurately represent the subject matter and nature. Images that appear to be overly processed may be disqualified at the judges’ discretion. 
Both AI generative fill and fully generated images by AI, will be excluded from consideration for the contest. 

**JUDGING:** A panel of judges consisting of Scuba Diving editors and external judges will select the winning entry based equally upon the criteria of originality, skill, and relevance. By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules, and that the decisions of the judges are final and binding in all respects. Judging will be completed by August 1, 2026, and potential winners will be notified by email on or before end of August 2026. Potential winners may be required to sign and return a sworn Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release. If required documentation is not returned within ten  (10) business days of notification, or if notification is returned as undeliverable, any prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. 

**PRIZE AWARDS:** Prizes will be awarded within sixty (60) days after winner verification. No prize substitution or transfer is permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value, including cash, for any reason. Sponsor is required by law to report prize values to taxing authorities; all taxes and any other incidental expenses on prizes are the sole responsibility of each winner. 

**GENERAL RULES & LIMITATIONS:** By entering, you represent and warrant that: (i) your entry is your own original work; and (ii) you have the legal right to convey the below-identified rights in your entry in perpetuity to Sponsor. 
By entering, you grant to Sponsor a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide license to reproduce and republish your entry, along with your name and likeness, in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised for the purpose of promoting the Contest or future related contests by Sponsor, without further permission, notice or compensation (except where prohibited by law). 
Photo Contest Winner will have the opportunity to have their photo featured on a limited edition PADI replacement card, available to divers globally. Such cards may be printed in a recycled physical card, on an eCard or both. 
Entrant shall retain copyright in the entry; any use of an entry will be credited to the original entrant. By participating in the Contest, you agree to release Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, directors, officers, and agents from any and all liability, claims or actions of any kind whatsoever for (i) injuries, damages or losses to persons and property which may be sustained in connection with the receipt, ownership, possession, use, or misuse of any prize, and for (ii) any claim for infringement from a third party. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures, or other errors or problems which may occur in connection with the Contest, whether computer, network, technical, mechanical, typographical, printing, human or otherwise, including, without limitation, errors or problems which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes, in any Contest-related materials, or that may limit prize fulfillment or a participant's ability to enter the Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to amend these official rules and to disqualify permanently from the Contest any person it believes has intentionally violated these official rules. PRIVACY: By entering, you agree that the information you provide may be sent to promotional partners of the Sponsor. You may be contacted by the Sponsor and/or promotional partners with future promotional offers.

This Contest is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts of Orange County, California.  Information provided by you to participate in this Contest is subject to the privacy policies of the Sponsor. (https://www.scubadiving.com/privacy/privacy-policy)

For any inquiries, a complete copy of these Official Rules, or a list of winners after (August 1, 2026), please write to: 
PADI Media 30151 Tomas Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92676