In light of the high number of PMs Ive been receiving asking me how to make a contest, Ive come up with this sticky to try and condense everything you need to know about contests for all you newbies out there.

1. Do you qualify? You must qualify to be allowed to host your own contest on this site. Firstly, you must have at least 20 posts (in any forum on this site). Secondly, you must have successfully participated in at least one contest on this site as either a judge or a contestant. Successfully participating in a contest means that you judge for the entire duration of the contest OR you must have made it through at least the application round, first round, and second round of a contest if you've chosen to participate as a contestant.

2. Have you read the rules? You MUST MUST MUST read all of the rules written for the Sims Contest Forum before you submit a contest template. Why? There is so much important information included in the rules, and nearly every question you have will be answered if you just read through the rules. Sisaly has also structured a wonderful Contest Picture Taking Tutorial, so make sure to take advantage of that as well if you decide to become an active participant in this forum.

3. Have you looked over the template guidelines? There are a wide variety of templates than can be used, however, hosts must be SURE to include specific information regarding their contest, including how they meet the hosting requirements, time required, etc. Please look them over Template Guidelines before submitting a template.

4. Start a thread. Please post your contest thread in the general Sims Contest Forum here. Once your contest is through the Application Round, it will be moved to the correct subforum as soon as its labeled "In Progress." And remember - threads in this forum are moderated, so your contest thread will not show up on the forum immediately after posting. If your contest template is approved, it will be listed on the Waiting List, which will show you where your contest is in line.

5. WAIT PATIENTLY. I cant stress this enough - dont PM heaven and ask when your contest will be approved. If its on the Waiting List, wait. If its not listed on the Waiting List, you must have either not qualified and therefore your contest thread was rejected, or you must have submitted a contest too general/not unique enough for approval.

FYI: I approve batches of contests together, and Ill approve a new batch every 7-10 days. You can therefore use this as a rough timeline. Dont PM me and write "There are only 2 contests open for applications, you better approve some more!" I'm on this site every day, check in with the contest forum every day, and know it like the back of my own hand. So please, do me a favor and wait patiently for your contest or new contests to be approved.

I'll leave this thread open for any additional questions you have after reading this and all the rules/threads Ive linked here. Chatter or 'thank you' posts shouldn't be posted here ... only questions please

Last edited by heaven : 4th Jan 2012 at 11:33 PM.

Say my contest doesn't go to plan and I get less then 10 people apply - does my contest get kept for a while or do you just outright delete it? And once it's cancelled is there anyway of keeping the template?

Contests have two weeks to accumulate up to 10 contestants. If you cannot get 10 contestants in those two weeks, your contest will be deleted.

You should always keep a copy of your contest template in case something happens to it at any time. I (nor are any of the other Mods) am not held responsible for your contest template. Just keep it in a word document on your computer somewhere for safe keeping and delete it once your contest is over or until you dont need it anymore.

Can two people host one contest? That way if one host is not able to come online on a day when a next round is suppose to take place or on a day when it's time to post the judging results, the second host will be there to do it.

No, two people cannot host a contest together. It was attempted before, and it turned out to be a disaster mixed up with fixed judging and a winner declared by forfeit. So the answer is no.

If you as a host run into something where, during the course of your contest, you dont think you will be able to post scores/round info, you can always ask me or one of your judges to post it for you.

But what if the contest that the two "hosted" together was well planned out and they e-mailed each other round info and things like that. Or even bounced idea's off one another. Is that able to happen? So there won't be any confusion. Also, one of the hosts could be a judge, but could also host if the other host ended up absent.

OH! I get it, like one host already knew how things went and the other host joined to win by cheating. Is that what you meant?

I hope this makes sense, because I think I lost myself somewhere.

Two people cannot host a contest together; only one person can host a contest. Thats the final decision.

Must each contest have 4 rounds?

You can have as little or as many rounds as you would like or you can manage in the time allotted (1 month). But for your contestants to be able to earn a star, they must have won a contest with 4 rounds (yes, the application round is included in those four rounds).

just wondering but how long does it take for a contest to appear on the waiting list if it is accepted?

I can answer this one.

Depending on your submission of your contest, and the placement on the list, it is a possiblity that you could have your contest approved and appear on the contest thread 2 or 4 weeks. 4 weeks maximum!

wait but how long does it take to appear on the waiting list ?? as in be approved to run but not placed open for apps yet?

It's usually a day after you send it. I sent my contest, Project Domination 2.0, two days ago and it's still not on the Waiting List either. We just have to wait for bP to update.

I've actually noticed that the waiting list is updated when new contests are opened to applications. I'm pretty sure they're not added any other time.

Just use this as a reference. If I approve a new batch of contests every 7-10 days, I will update the Waiting List every 7-10 days as well.


This is not true. I update the Waiting List every time I approve a new batch of contests (every 7-10 days).

Well, can't get everything right. LOL

So, what about contests that are in Round 1 but still taking apps and when they move into whatever section they're supposed to be in, do you open up contests in their place? Does the same rule apply?

Im not completely sure on what youre asking, but what I understand your questions to be are: Can contests still hold applications into Round 1; and Do you open contests in place of contests when they move into the "In Progress" status?

Well firstly, yes contests can hold open applications through Round 1. After Round 1, applications should close. And secondly, contests do not open immediately in place of contests which move into the "In Progress" status. Contests are approved in batches (by me) every 7-10 days, with few exceptions.

I understood what you said but I was wondering about contests that were in Round 1 but were still accepting apps and a new batch of contests opened up. Once they close the application stage and move into either Beauty, Houses, or Other section, do you replace those contests with other contests on the Waiting Lists or do you still wait for the 7-10 day approval before opening up new ones? Hope that made sense.

Yes, I still wait for the 7-10 day approval before opening up new contests.

I submitted a contest about a week ago, the WL was updated yesterday. Its not there, so I assume it was rejected, but I have no idea why. Is there any way I can know why it was rejected? Thanks for your patience.


EDIT: I read over this and see it asks for three judges. i can get three, but I wanted to see if my contest would even be approved. Is that enough for a rejection?

Nihon, you don't get the judges until after your contest is approved.

Have you participated in a contest before? That's a necessary step. Also, you have to have a certain number of posts (I think it was 20 before).

Does this answer your question, Nihon?

Nihon_Dreamer... lovelybones is correct, you didnt qualify.

Do I have to have a certain amount of contestants for a contest? I'm sorry if this has already been asked or stated. I must've overread something.

Nearly everything is answered in the contest rules announcement.