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WFTDA Media Credential Guidelines

All requests for and questions about WFTDA media credentials will be directed to

OVERVIEW

The Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (“WFTDA”) may issue qualified members of the media credentials to cover one or more WFTDA-sponsored Tournament (the “Events”). The WFTDA welcomes media attendance at the Events, but with available space at all of the Events being limited, the number of credentials issued will be at the discretion of the WFTDA.

For each Event, the WFTDA will, at its sole discretion, select the media outlets it believes are best positioned to provide media coverage of the Events. This media credentials agreement has been established to provide you with an understanding of the rights and restrictions associated with the WFTDA media credentials.

REQUESTS FOR MEDIA CREDENTIALS

(Please note: personal page publishers, discussion board/chat rooms, and subscription-only sites will not be given media credentials.)

The WFTDA will issue media credentials at its sole discretion, with a preference toward staff reporters/photographers and/or freelance journalists/photographers on assignment to cover the Event(s) for an established print or broadcast media outlet. You may be asked to provide written verification from the media outlet of the assignment to cover the Event(s).

Website-only journalists may be granted media credentials provided that: (1) the website has a demonstrated record of original roller derby news content; (2) the website’s staff writes an overwhelming percentage of that website’s material; and/or (3) the website can provide certifiable visitor traffic statistics on the credential request form for review.

CRITERIA FOR MEDIA CREDENTIALS

The WFTDA will consider issuing media credentials to journalists representing the following:

  • Wire services;
  • Media outlets with a large daily circulation and/or large national audience;
  • Local media in the host city;
  • Established roller derby specialty media;
  • Freelance journalists/photographers on assignment from a print or broadcast media outlet;
  • Established internet sites; and/or
  • Other media on a case-by-case basis, at the WFTDA’s sole discretion.

An acceptance or rejection e-mail will be sent to you shortly after you submit your request to us. If the WFTDA grants you media credentials, you will be given information about when and where to pick up your media credentials badge.

CREDENTIAL USAGE

If you have been issued a media credentials badge, you will have access to media work areas at the venue (when space and facilities are available) as well as any other areas where media access is provided. A media credentials badge does not guarantee you unrestricted access to all areas.

Even if you have been issued a media credentials badge, you are not guaranteed “comped” admission to the Event. “Comped” admission is at the discretion of the WFTDA and/or the Event host league. You will be notified of comped admission, if applicable, at the time your media credentials approval email is sent.

You must wear your media credentials badge at all times during the Event, and you will be subject to the direction and/or supervision of the WFTDA and its designated representatives. Media credentials are not transferable; you may not give or loan your media credentials badge to another person for any reason. Any misuse of the media badge will result in the immediate loss of the badge, removal from the event, and the loss of media privileges for future WFTDA events.

Please note that the WFTDA may restrict the use of any equipment at its sole discretion.

PROPRIETARY RIGHTS AND RESTRICTIONS

You may not use, distribute, exhibit, reproduce, adapt, display, or publish any audio or visual accounts of the Event(s), other than in the manner described below. Nothing in this media credentials agreement authorizes or allows you to violate any trademark, copyright, or other proprietary right of the WFTDA, the leagues, the teams, and/or the Skaters and Officials.

REAL-TIME GAME REPORTING AND TV/VIDEO COVERAGE

The WFTDA has exclusive broadcast rights to all WFTDA events and works closely with its official broadcast vendors(s) (the “WFTDA Official Broadcaster”). No camera crews other than those of the WFTDA or the WFTDA Official Broadcaster, or approved news crews will be allowed to film or broadcast the track and surrounding seating areas during the games.

“Real-time” is defined as “live and continuous description of an event.” The “real-time” transmission of streaming video, digital images, text-casting, and/or real-time audio (including play-by-play and statistics) of any Event by anyone other than the WFTDA or the WFTDA Official Broadcaster is not permitted. This includes but is not limited to live streaming on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Periscope or video/audio chat on platforms such as Snapchat.

The WFTDA grants you, as a valid media credentials bearer, the right to use the following gathered information:

  1. Any use or distribution of Event photographs if they are time-delayed, i.e., released at least five (5) minutes after the event depicted in the photograph occurred. No more than five (5) photographs may be used for news and editorial coverage of a WFTDA Event.
  2. In any instance where the WFTDA has given you consent to record video of a game, the recorded footage may be used on a website after the game has concluded. No more than three (3) cumulative minutes of such video may be used, and the video may be posted only in the 72-hours after the conclusion of the game. A full single jam may not be aired without prior written approval from the WFTDA. For access to and use of official WFTDA game footage, please see below.
  3. Live text or play-by-play accounts (either video or audio) originating from the Event venue are prohibited.
  4. Score updates are permitted.
  5. Your use of textual statistical information must be reasonably time-delayed and limited in amount (e.g., the score, injuries, record-breaking performances, scoring summaries at the end of halves, a condensed halftime story) so that your online game coverage does not conflict with the WFTDA’s right to broadcast jam-by-jam accounts of the game. Should any of these conditions be breached, you (and your media organization) will not be credentialed for future WFTDA events.

PRE- AND POST-GAME INTERVIEWS AND PRESS CONFERENCES

You may gain access to the venue to shoot practice sessions, warm-ups, and post-competition interviews in designated media areas and, with special permission, may additionally be in the venue at the time of the game to record press conferences or other interviews. The aforementioned activities are to be conducted in an area away from the WFTDA Official Broadcaster’s crews so your interviews do not interfere with the WFTDA Official Broadcaster’s rights and personnel.

Please be respectful of the Skaters’ game schedule when requesting an interview and remember that any Skater may decline the interview request. Repeated requests or hassling of an individual for an interview will result in forfeiture of your media credentials.

You will not be permitted to interview Skaters in the thirty (30) minutes prior to their game. Post-game interviews and press conferences may be held once the WFTDA Official Broadcaster has concluded its post-game interview sessions. Post-game interviews will be conducted in the designated media areas or other public areas.

Locker rooms and backstage areas are off-limits to all media.

These guidelines also apply when requesting an interview of any Official, Volunteer, WFTDA Staff, or other Event person.

ACCESS TO OFFICIAL WFTDA VIDEO FOOTAGE

Under certain circumstances, you can receive digital WFTDA game footage by submitting an email request to your WFTDA media contact or to media@wftda.com and specifying video file type, codec, resolution and additional specs. Please review the following parameters:

  • You cannot use the WFTDA footage until after the entire day of games has been broadcast by the WFTDA, and your use of the WFTDA footage must occur within seventy-two (72) hours after the last game of the day has been broadcast. Any use of the WFTDA footage beyond the 72-hour period must be cleared in writing by the WFTDA prior to use.
  • The WFTDA footage must be aired within a regularly-scheduled newscast or sports program. Any use of the footage beyond the news-use period will require the written consent of the WFTDA.
  • Any and all uses of footage must be accompanied by the appropriate “Video courtesy of the WFTDA” graphic.
  • Any one newscast covering the Event must not have more than three (3) cumulative minutes of game footage. A full single jam not may be aired without prior written approval from the WFTDA.
  • The WFTDA footage may only be aired by your specific media outlet. You cannot assign or transfer the right to use the WFTDA footage.

If you or your media outlet would like to use the WFTDA footage in any manner not described above, please contact WFTDA for permission at .

INTERNET/SOCIAL MEDIA

If you are with an Internet radio station and/or a podcast, you cannot carry any broadcast report from the venue while the game is still in progress. You may, however, report on the Events within a newscast and are not precluded from reporting or updating the score of the game while it is in progress if you are outside of the venue.

You may not – directly or indirectly – blog or otherwise provide live play-by-play or jam-by-jam reports, continuous updates, or textcasts from the venue while the game is in progress.

EVENT PHOTOS

If you have been issued media credentials, you have a limited, nonexclusive, and nontransferable license to take and use photographs of the Event, as long as such use does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship relationship between a third-party and the WFTDA, the leagues, teams, and/or Skaters.

  • The photos you take at an Event are your property. The WFTDA claims no right to use those photographs without your prior consent. The WFTDA has a right to view the photos taken at an Event and may request a license agreement with you for use of a photo. Terms of the usage agreement are at the discretion of the photographer and/or media organization.
  • You understand that any commercial sale of images from the Event will require model releases from any identifiable person in the image. You are responsible for obtaining the proper releases.
  • You agree not to post game or Skater photographs that are not in the spirit of the WFTDA’s values. This includes, but is not limited to, posting game images to websites that rely heavily on nudity, sexual content, violence, obscenity, and/or websites that advocate illegal behavior or discrimination based on race, gender, and/or sexual orientation.
  • You will make every effort to avoid obstructing the view or impacting the safety of any fan, Skater, Official, or other attendee of the Event.
  • You understand that acceptance for media credentials does not guarantee access to all areas of the Event and may not guarantee paid admittance to the Event.
  • You acknowledge that the media badge does not guarantee a track floor shooting position. Due to space constraints, you may be assigned to alternate positions. A WFTDA and/or tournament host liaison will provide you with location assignments and restrictions specific to the Event and venue. If you are allowed to shoot from designated photo boxes on the track, you may only move from these areas at halftime and during official time outs. The ability to shoot on the track is completely at the discretion of the WFTDA, the tournament host liaison, and/or tournament game officials.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND RELEASE

You assume all risk and danger incidental to the sport of roller derby, as well as any risk or danger reasonably foreseeable while on the grounds of the venue, and you release the WFTDA, its employees, members, directors, officers, sanctioned tournament and host sites, title sponsors, participating Skaters, volunteers, assigns, and all agents thereof from any and all liabilities resulting from injuries or personal property loss occurring before, during or after actual play, or while otherwise at the Event venue or any associated WFTDA events.

USE OF IMAGE/LIKENESS

In the event that your name or likeness is included in any broadcast, telecast, photograph, film, video, or other media taken in connection with the Events, you grant the WFTDA a nonexclusive, transferable, perpetual right and royalty-free license to use (and to sub-license the use of) your name and likeness in any media worldwide, whether now known or hereafter devised.

INDEMNIFICATION

You jointly and severally indemnify, defend, and hold the WFTDA (and its officers, directors, and representatives) harmless from and against any and all claims, actions, damages, liabilities, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of suit/arbitration) arising out of or in connection with any act or omission by you, including, without limitation, your breach of any term of this agreement.

With respect to any claim that might give rise to your liability as an indemnitor, the WFTDA will (a) have the right to fully participate in the litigation of such claim with counsel selected by you or your media organization, and approved by the WFTDA, at no expense to the WFTDA; and (b) not be obligated, without its consent, to participate in any settlement of such claim.

THE WFTDA’S MISSION

If possible, the WFTDA would appreciate it if you would include the WFTDA’s mission somewhere in your game coverage: “The WFTDA governs and promotes the sport of flat track roller derby and revolutionizes the role of women in sports through the collective voice of its member leagues around the world.”

AGREEMENT

You must agree to these terms upon submission of your request for media credentials for the WFTDA Events. Submission of your request and/or acceptance and use of the tournament media credentials badge constitutes your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions contained herein. Failure to abide by the terms and conditions will result in loss of your media credentials for these Events and future WFTDA events.

Back to the WFTDA Playoff and Championship Tournament Credentials Information

All requests for and questions about WFTDA media credentials should be directed to

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