2024 Metra Safety Competition Rules & FAQs
Our theme this year is "Become a Safety Influencer." Railway safety is incredibly important and influencing others to stay alert, aware, and safe around railroad tracks and trains can help save lives. So, whether you’re submitting a poster, video, or social post, show us how you can be a Metra safety influencer and what that means to you.
Submissions for the Safety Competition are now open. The final deadline to submit is May 5.
Finalists and voters are encouraged to follow Metra profile pages (@MetraRail) for competition updates.
CATEGORIES
Submission categories will be divided by age group, with one winner from each grade within each category:
Kindergarten – 4th Grade: Can submit a poster
5th Grade – 8th Grade: Can submit a poster or video
9th Grade – 12th Grade: Can submit a poster, video, or social post
Please note: students may only submit in ONE category.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Winning entries will be selected based on:
- Creativity
- Originality
- Fulfillment of contest guidelines
- Expression of the contest theme, "Become a Safety Influencer.”
REQUIREMENTS
Every submission should highlight the importance of train safety and our "Become a Safety Influencer" theme. Please make sure to adhere to the following guidelines when submitting your content. Any submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be accepted.
IMPORTANT! Please note: any content promoting unsafe activity, or anything depicting activity in restricted areas or on the train tracks will be disqualified.
POSTER
Poster submissions may be hand-drawn or digital.
- Image format: .JPEG or .PNG
- Recommended size: letter, 11x8.5
- Max file size: 10MB
VIDEO
Video submissions may be a music video, poetry reading, skit, song, rap, dance performance, animation, or any other creative form of expression.
- Length: 30 seconds or less
- Accepted Formats: .MP4, .MOV
SOCIAL POST
Social posts may be a photo, drawing, animation, video, or any other artistic content you wish to share. Make sure your post includes a caption and any hashtags you want to use. You can also upload your work directly to social media and use the hashtag #MetraSafetyCompetition2024 (with your parent or guardian’s permission).
- Social Platforms: Facebook or Instagram
- Accepted Formats: .MP4, .MOV, .JPEG, .PNG
- Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Video length: 30 seconds or less
- Max file size: 8MB
- Caption copy length: 75 words or less
WINNERS AND PRIZES
Each category will have a 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place winner from each grade. With 86 prizes to be given away amounting to over $25,000, this year’s Safety Competition is bigger and better than ever.
Poster Winners
Grades K-12
- 1st Place: $500 Amazon gift card, art to be featured on Metra’s 2024 Safety Calendar.
- 2nd Place: $250 Amazon gift card
- 3rd Place: $100 Amazon gift card
Video Winners
Grades 5-12
- 1st Place: $500 Amazon gift card
- 2nd Place: $250 Amazon gift card
- 3rd Place: $100 Amazon gift card
Social Post Winners
Grades 9-12
- 1st Place: $500 Amazon gift card
- 2nd Place: $250 Amazon gift card
- 3rd Place: $100 Amazon gift card
In addition to individual student winners, the school with the most submissions will also receive a $500 Amazon gift card.
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNERS
Along with winners from each category in each grade group, Metra will hold a People’s Choice vote on Instagram. We will be posting the top three posters from each of the 11 regions represented by a Metra Board member – one from each grade group (K-4th, 5th-8th, 9th-12th) via Instagram. Fans of the competition will then be asked to vote via the comment section on their favorite poster from each region. The People’s Choice winner from each region (11 winners total) will be awarded a $500 Amazon gift card and will have their work featured in Metra promotional materials. Winners will be announced on May 20.
Please note: the People’s Choice Vote is for posters ONLY. Users are only allowed to vote once per post.
RECEIVING YOUR PRIZE
Winners will be announced via email the week of June 3. All first-place winners will be invited to the Metra Board Meeting on June 12, 2024 to receive their prize. All other prizes will be distributed via email.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Following the format and size guidelines above, students will upload their submission to either a Dropbox or Google Drive folder that they own, then click on the submission portal below and submit a link to that folder.
Please note: the title of the file should be the student’s name. Any file without a name will not be accepted.
Submit to Metra’s Safety Competition Here! (Link)
Submission Portal
Interested in learning more about Metra safety? Contact safetypresentations@metrarr.com to get information on school safety presentations and promotional materials.
FAQs
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE COMPETITION?
All students in grades K-12 who attend school within Metra’s six-county service area are eligible to participate.
HOW DOES PEOPLE’S CHOICE VOTING WORK?
Voting for the People’s Choice winner begins on April 15. Metra will post a People’s Choice voting series on the Instagram page as a carousel, and voters will have a week to cast their vote via the comments using a valid Instagram account. Voters are permitted to vote only once per finalist. The 11 winners (one from each region) will be announced on May 20.
WHEN ARE MY ITEMS DUE?
The last day to submit to the Safety Competition is May 5.
WHEN WILL THE WINNERS BE ANNOUNCED?
Winners will be announced via email the week of June 3. People’s Choice winners will be announced on May 20 via Metra’s Instagram.
HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE INFORMED?
Winners will be informed via email.
HOW WILL PRIZES BE AWARDED?
All first-place winners will be invited to the Metra Board Meeting on June 12, 2024, to receive their prize. All other prizes will be distributed via email.
HOW WILL THE WINNERS BE CHOSEN?
People’s Choice Winners will be voted on through Instagram. All other winners will be selected by a panel of judges.
AM I ALLOWED TO UPLOAD IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES?
No, each student can only submit in one category. If more than one submission is entered, only the first submission will be counted.