Contest begins May 7, 2010 and ends on October 17, 2010. No purchase necessary. To enter, write a completely factual essay describing your travel experience between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island on the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun Ferry that occurred anytime between May 7, 2010 and October 17, 2010. It can describe the experience about the ferry itself, the vistas seen, an encounter with staff or fellow travellers, it can be about travelling to destinations within the Bruce/Manitoulin region or beyond for the summer, about a most memorable moment, a tale of adventure, a mysterious encounter or an amusing event while on vacation, a long weekend at the cottage or simply making the lake crossing, or any other topic, as long as one way or another the essay relates to having been aboard the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun Ferry between May 7, 2010 and October 17, 2010.

Stories must be typewritten, entirely factual, a minimum of 450 words and not longer than 650 words. The person submitting the entry must be the sole author of the story (no stories that are the result of co-authorships will be accepted). At least one photograph must be included with the story and that photograph(s) must relate to the people and/or events in the story (the person who submits the entry must be the person who took all the photographs). You may enter more than once, but each entry must be its own separate entry with its own unique story and unique photograph(s); no person may win more than one prize (except that if a person receives an early bird prize for being one of the first 50 entries, that person will be eligible to also win one of the other prizes; no person may be awarded more than one early bird prize).

All those who are judged to be a potential winner of a prize must provide proof of passage on the M.S. Chi-Cheemaun Ferry during the period May 7, 2010 to October 17, 2010 before being awarded their prize.

You may mail your entry or email your entry, to the following addresses. All email entries must contain your name, postal address, telephone number and must be received by October 30, 2010 (23:59:59) and all postal entries must be received by 5:00 PM, October 30, 2010. Winning entries will be announced and posted on ontarioferries.com/mystory on or before November 30, 2010.

By email to:                 mystory@ontarioferries.com

By postal mail to:        Owen Sound Transportation Company
                                    RR #5, Highway 6 & 21
                                    Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N7
                                    ATTN: MY STORY

If submitting by e-mail, confirmation of receipt of your entry will be sent by email within 24 hours. To receive confirmation for mail-in entries, please enclose a self-addressed envelope with correct postage attached to the envelope.

All entries will be judged by a panel of judges appointed by the contest sponsor, and will be judged based upon the uniqueness, or individuality, or novelty of the story being told; the criteria for judging are therefore wide and the judging by its very nature in a contest of this type will be highly subjective and based on the subjectivity of the judges.

The following prizes will be awarded in the form of a Canadian Tire Gift Card:

One Grand Prize:  $1000
One 2nd Prize:        $500
One 3rd Prize:         $250
Ten (10) Honourable Mentions: $100 each
Fifty (50) early bird prizes, one to each of the first 50 entries: $10 each

Winners will be notified of their having won by registered mail at the municipal mailing address stated with their entry. Prizes not claimed within 30 days of the notification having been sent to them will not be awarded. If winner does not return their release received as part of the winner's notification within 30 days of it having been sent to the winner by sponsor, that person will automatically forfeit their prize and nothing will be given to that person and the prize will not be re-awarded.

Prizes will be sent by registered mail to the mailing address on the entry (if returned as undeliverable, that person will be deemed to have forfeited their prize and nothing will be awarded to them in their place and no other winner will be selected in their place).

By accepting their Prize, the winner agrees to waive all recourse against the contest sponsor, and those associated with them no matter what the reason including if the contest sponsor has been negligent in any way in the conduct of the contest or in the use of the materials submitted as part of the entry. By submitting an entry and accepting their prize, that person grants the contest sponsor the right in perpetuity, and without additional compensation or consideration, to use and otherwise publish their story and photographs in all advertising of the contest sponsor (including on the sponsor's website and including in any other promotional advertising of the sponsor) including a perpetual copyright license to do so, and the person by accepting their prize will be deemed to have waived any moral rights associated with the material submitted as part of the entry, and the entrant also agrees that in publishing the material the sponsor may edit the materials submitted, or make any selective use of the materials.

To enter and be eligible to win, a person must be a resident of Canada, 18 years of age or older, and who is not an employee of, or domiciled with an employee of the contest sponsor. For an entry to be eligible, the entrant must have the consent of any identifiable person appearing in the submitted photographs to appear in the photograph (sponsor's written form of consent will have to be submitted as part of the prize winning release).

By entering, contestants agree: (i) to the contest rules, (ii) and to the use of the entrant's personal information for purposes of administering this contest. By accepting their prize, a person further agrees to the use without compensation of their photograph, filmed or recorded image, name and city of residence in all publicity campaigns related to the contest including in relation to the use of the materials submitted as part of their entry (the "publicity usages").

Before being declared a winner, a selected entrant must: (i) first be in full compliance with these rules and (ii) sign and return sponsor's release within 30 days of it having been sent them (the release will contain a release from all liability, a copyright license to use the materials submitted and a release from any identifiable person appearing in a photograph to allow sponsor to use the photograph for sponsor's own publicity purposes (amongst other uses). Potential prize winners who do not or fail to comply fully with the contest rules will automatically forfeit their opportunity to win that prize and nothing else will be substituted or given to that potential winner and no alternate winner will be chosen in their place.

General rules:

Contest is being sponsored by the Owen Sound Transportation Company (the "sponsor"). No correspondence will be entered into except with a potential winner. The decision of sponsor and their representatives in respect of any matter related to this contest (either before or following selection) is final and without appeal. Contest is subject to all applicable Federal, Provincial and Municipal laws.

The Sponsor, including its agents, representatives and those associated with them, are not responsible for any entry, a prize winning notification or the claim for prize, which fails to get entered, is lost, misdirected or which arrives late, as the case may be, whether or not due to the fault of the sponsor or of any other person or thing and whether or not due to an interrupted or unavailable browser or network server or malfunction, congestion, incompatibility, misconnection or miscommunication, failed or lost computer transmissions, or if the sponsor's Email/Web site portal is compromised by virus, bugs, unauthorized human or unauthorized non-human intervention, or for any technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, server access providers, computer equipment, software failures, or failure of any entry to be received due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or sponsor's web site or other similar technical problems beyond the reasonable control of the sponsor (collectively, the "technical problems"). Proof of transmission (screenshots) does not constitute proof of delivery.

Prizes must be accepted as awarded, in the name of the winner (who must be the person who submitted the entry), is not transferable, and no substitution will be made for the prize. The Sponsor, in its sole discretion, and for any reason, reserves the right to substitute a prize for another prize of equal value.

By completing the entry form all entrants consent to the collection, use and distribution of their personal information by the Contest Sponsor for the purposes of: (i) running the contest (ii) as permitted by these rules (for example, pursuant to these rules, all entrants who accept a prize consent to the use of their personal information and materials submitted as part of the entry for publicity usages) including as permitted by any release signed. Any inquiry concerning the personal information held by the Contest Sponsor should be addressed to the Contest Sponsor at the following address: Privacy Officer, Owen Sound Transportation Company, RR #5, Highway 6 & 21, Owen Sound, ON N4K 5N7.