MONTHLY CREATOR COMPETITIONS

A short description of your store and the products you offer.

MAY/JUNE'S THEME:

Stories Beneath the Surface

entering is as easy as 1,2,3

The Underwater Creator Academy Monthly Creator Competitions are open to everyone. Whether you shoot on a professional camera, action camera, smartphone, or underwater housing setup — anyone can enter. It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional underwater photographer, filmmaker, content creator, or someone picking up a camera for the very first time.

Our creator community exists to help people learn, improve, and grow together. Every competition is free to enter, because we believe ocean storytelling and underwater content creation should be accessible to everyone.

All participants can earn recognition within the community, with free members eligible to receive Highly Commended Awards and the opportunity to have their work featured across Return to the Ocean’s social media channels.

Prize rewards, however, are exclusively available to Premium Tier members of the Underwater Creator Academy. Premium members unlock full prize eligibility while supporting the continued growth of the creator community and future competition opportunities.

How the competitions work

Competitions are hosted exclusively inside the Underwater Creator Academy’s Skool Community under the “Monthly Competitions” tab.

The first competition officially launches May 15th and runs until June 30th.

Themes, submission details and official announcements will be released inside the community.

How to enter

Join the Underwater Creator Academy on Skool (if you are reading this then you are already here!)
Head to the “Monthly Competitions” section
Upload your submissions

When submitting, please include:• Piece Name• Piece Description• Location• Date Captured

If your work is shortlisted or placed, you may be asked to provide the RAW, TIFF or original unedited file to verify ownership of the image/video.

Judging

Join the Underwater Creator Academy on Skool (if you are reading this then you are already here!)
Head to the “Monthly Competitions” section
Upload your submissions

When submitting, please include:• Piece Name• Piece Description• Location• Date Captured

If your work is shortlisted or placed, you may be asked to provide the RAW, TIFF or original unedited file to verify ownership of the image/video.

rules

Unlimited entries are allowed

• Photo and video submissions are accepted

• AI-generated imagery is not permitted

• Colour grading/editing is allowed

• Minor retouching and removals are allowed

• Heavy compositing/manipulation is not permitted

• Entries must be your original work

• Respect wildlife and natural environments at all times

• Images showing unethical wildlife interactions will not be considered

• Baited experiences are allowed within reason and must still follow ethical wildlife practices

• Entries containing stolen content, misleading edits or false information will be removed

• RTTO/UCA reserves the right to disqualify entries that breach competition rules or ethical standards

By uploading content to the UCA Skool Community, you grant RTTO and the Underwater Creator Academy permission to repost and use submitted content across relevant social media and promotional channels with full credit to the creator.

Creators retain ownership of their work at all times.

WAYS TO ENTER

Explore the ways to enter the monthly competitions within the Underwater Creator Academy

FREE Entires

OUR PRIZES

At the Underwater Creator Academy, our goal is to build more than just an underwater photography competition — we’re building a global community for ocean storytellers, underwater photographers, videographers, and creators passionate about the marine world. As a small Western Australian business, our prize pools may not yet rival the world’s largest photography and videography competitions, but every month we’re investing back into growing opportunities for our community.

As the Underwater Creator Academy grows, our monthly creator competition prizes will grow alongside it. More importantly, we hope your underwater photography, videography, and ocean storytelling skills grow with us. Whether you’re shooting on a professional camera, action camera, or smartphone, this is a place to challenge yourself, improve your craft, and connect with creators who share a passion for the underwater world.

Join us early, grow with the community, and help shape the future of underwater content creation.