Hidden Earth 2017 runs from Friday 29 Sept. to Sunday 1 Oct. See hidden.earth for information about the event, which will be at Churchill Academy in the Mendips.

Entry forms for the four 'salon' competitions - Art, Photo, Survey and Video - will be available soon. Entries for these salons must be made in advance. For the Art, Photo and Survey salons, the closing date for entries has been extended to 23:00 BST on Thursday 28 September. For the Video salon, the closing date is 23:00 BST on Saturday 23 September.

When the salon forms are available (hopefully in the next couple of days), an announcement will be made on the UKcaving.com and British-Caving.org.uk bulletin boards as well as on the Hidden Earth Facebook page.

Just to say... apologies for the delay in getting the salon entry forms up and running. They might be ready tomorrow. The competitions are all pretty much as last year (Eurospeleo) and at Hidden Earth 2015; and information is on the Hidden Earth web site at https://hidden.earth .  Please note that you must enter in advance, even though Im leaving you  a pretty narrow window of opportunity to do that.

Further detail: It's all pretty much as before, but with the following changes, which will work their way through to the web site in due course.

• Survey Salon - Clarification on the categories. (1)  Small surveys: a total area not greater than 1250 sq.cm.and  not exceeding 118 cm in any dimension. (A3 sheet is 1250 sq. cm). (2) Large surveys: area exceeds 1250 sq.cm and not exceeding 118 cm in any dimension, except by prior arrangement. (3) Other Material: no change.
  
• Art Salon - change to the Display Requirements.  These were changed for Eurospeleo, and now revert to the Hidden Earth rules: - Flat work ? i.e. drawings, paintings, cartoons ? should be card-mounted in such a way that it can be displayed using adhesive Velcro dots. Window mounts are recommended. Unframed canvas is acceptable but it should be finished to exhibition standard. Works framed using glass or which are on wood and require hanging string are not eligible. Sculpture or other 3D work may be displayed on tables but can also have its own display stand. For all artwork, a written Artist's Statement can be included but should not exceed 100 words. These should be mounted and designed to display below your work.
  
  
• Art Salon - change to competition categories.  This year we will not be running the St Cuthbert's Mill Prize for Best Art on Paper
  

Apologies for the continued delay. The Hidden Earth competition entry forms for the four salons (Art, Photo, Video and Survey) are now online. Go to http://hidden.earth and follow the links or take a short-cut to http://hidden-earth.org.uk/forms

Despite the late arrival of these entry forms you do need to enter the competitions in advance - this is especially important for the Photo and Video salons. However, it is usually the case that hardly anyone enters till the last moment so Im hoping that means that none of you are particularly inconvenienced by my delays.

dont forget - although these are billed as "competitions", the salons are more than just a competition ?they are an opportunity to show your work and to receive feedback from your peers. Somebody has to win, but the 'winning' is only part of the process. An equal, if not a more important part of the competition, is that you get to show your work, see the work of others, discuss it and improve yourself. People do not just enjoy the winning entry ? they enjoy seeing everybody's work and we hope you will also enjoy the chance to show your work to others.

In the likely event that the entry forms contain bugs, do let me know.