An exhibition's "calendar" is a series of dates by which certain things will happen or will be accomplished. This information is published for public consumption by each exhibition. It may be found in "general rules" or "entry form" or else where but it must always be there.
When compiling your "public calendar" and the calendar which will be approved by the Exhibition Standards Director always use the maximum number of days authorized. For your internal operational purposes you may wish to follow a more abbreviated calendar.
If the exhibition follows a shorter calendar than the maximum calendar, then it will leave exhibitors with the impression that it is "very efficient". By committing to the maximum dates, the exhibition covers itself if some development happens to interfere with the original plans.
Closing Date to Judging Date: Maximum permitted time is 14 days between closing and the start of judging.
Because most exhibitors submit their entries just before the closing date, it is wise to use the maximum of 14 days. An exhibition can count on about two-thirds of the entries arriving the two weeks prior to closing. Exhibitor procrastination can generate a huge backlog of work to process the late arrivals.
This problem is particularly acute for sections with electronic imaging entries . . . the nature of electronic imaging means the vast majority of work must be done prior to the judging.
Most exhibitions accept and process entries received after the closing date but before the start of judging. The exhibition's economic interests are protected and the exhibitor's goodwill is optimized.
Judging Date to Notification Card Mailing: From the end of judging (not the start) until the notification (report) cards are mailed must not be longer than 5 days.
Today most exhibitions "mail" most exhibitor report cards by email or posting the results on a web site.
Public Exhibitions: The judges look at and evaluate images for a single purpose: To provide a public exhibition of the accepted photography. An exhibition may have as many showings of the accepted work as they desire but they must have at least two.
If the exhibition posts their accepted images on a web site (as is typically done with a electronic exhibition section), this counts as one public exhibition.
There are no specific time limits on the public exhibitions but common sense says the first needs to be scheduled far enough after judging so as to "get the show together" and the last needs to be scheduled so that the accepted work may be packed up and sent home within the deadline (77 days between completion of judging and mail back).
Mailing: This category includes "mailing of catalogs", "mailing of entries" and "mailing of awards".
For electronic sections/exhibitions, the JPG files are typically not returned to their owner but the exhibition does dispose of the files with the delete button.
"Awards" includes medals, ribbons, certificates, etc.
"Catalogs" include the traditional paper/printed document plus any CD/DVD and exhibition might want to include. "Mailing" may mean posting the results on the exhibition's web site or traditional postal service.
The maximum number of days permitted between end of judging and mail back is 77 days.
Internally-speaking, what is the calendar? The calendar submitted to PSA with the application for approval functions internally as the exhibition's basic plan of operation.
All functions and activities must fit within the From the end of judging (not the start) until the notification (report) cards are mailed must not be longer than 5 days.
Summary:
Closing to start of judging: Maximum of 14 days
End of judging to notification card mailing: Maximum of 5 days
End of judging to "mail back": Maximum of 77 days.
2008 PSA Calendar
Closing: Tuesday, July 22, 2008. (Fixed).
Judging: Start of judging may be any time after the 22nd of July and by the 5th of August. (Your choice).
End of judging to notification card mailing: Maximum of 5 days to "snail mail", "email" or "post on web". (Your choice).
End of judging to "mail back": Maximum of 77 days or October 14, 2008. (Fixed).