Enter The 'GMA Weekend' Best Scoops Challenge!

April 11, 2008 — -- Is there an ice-cream shop in your community that has it all -- great atmosphere, great people, and ice cream so good it has people waiting in line for their favorite scoop?

Whether it's the best-tasting vanilla ice cream you've ever had, or a wild flavor that has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, "Good Morning America Weekend" wants you to help us find where to get the best scoop in America.

If your entry gets the most votes from our panel of judges and viewers across America, your ice-cream shop may be featured on national television, and you could win a trip to New York City for two that includes dinner and dessert at one of Manhattan's fine restaurants.

Read the rules below and click here to enter the GMA Weekend Best Scoops Challenge.

Contest Overview:

Enter by April 27, 2008

Send an essay of 300 words or less telling us why the ice-cream shop you are nominating is so special, and tell us about your favorite ice-cream flavor or dish.

Include up to three original photos of the ice-cream shop.

Include the name, address, and phone number of the ice-cream shop, as well as the name of the owner if possible.

Include your contact information -- name, address, phone number and e-mail.

OFFICIAL RULES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  Challenge open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia, 21 years of age or older. Challenge sponsored by Good Morning America Weekend ("Show") and American Broadcasting Companies Inc. ("Sponsor").

Challenge Entry Period: "Good Morning America Weekend's Best Scoops Challenge"  (the "Challenge" or "Contest") entry period begins 7 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on April 12, 2008 and ends 11:59 p.m. ET on May 4, 2008 (the "Challenge Period"). Sponsor computer is the official clock for this Contest.

How to Enter:

You may enter the Challenge by navigating the Internet and visiting GMA.ABCNews.com, or by clicking here.

To enter, you must submit an essay of 300 words or less telling us about your favorite local ice-cream shop and why its atmosphere, people and ice cream make it such a memorable experience. Please also tell us about your favorite ice-cream flavor or dish there -- what makes it so delicious, and why it's a local favorite. You may also submit up to three original photos of the ice-cream shop that highlight the location's uniqueness.

Be sure to include the name, address and phone number of the ice-cream shop in your entry, as well as the name of the owner if possible. We also need your name, address, daytime phone number and an e-mail address where we can contact you.  The contact information for the ice-cream shop and yourself does not count towards the 300 word limit in the essay.

Deadline for entries: All entries must be received by 11:59 pm Sunday, April 27, 2008.

Eligibility Guidelines:

The ice-cream shop you are submitting must be located in the United States or District of Columbia, with fewer than five locations. Your favorite ice-cream flavor must be a non brand-name ice cream. If you are a minor, you must include written permission from a parent or guardian to enter.  Employees of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies, or the immediate family members or members of the same household of anyone so employed, are not eligible to enter or to win.

Judging Procedure:

The entries will be judged on the basis of originality, creativity, potential for on-air appeal and appropriateness for the Show. Decisions of the judges are final as to all Contest related matters.

Notification and Finalists Judging:

During the week of April 27, 2008, potential finalist entrants will be contacted.  Good Morning America Weekend staff will then contact the ice-cream shops these entrants have submitted, and gain permission to video tape in the ice-cream shop during the week of May 12, 2008. The top four entrants whose ice-cream shops agree to comply with all the terms and requirements will be selected as finalists.  During the week of May 12, 2008, Good Morning America Weekend crews and possibly Good Morning America Weekend anchors will visit each of the four ice-cream shops to sample the ice cream, and video tape the exterior and interior of the ice-cream shop.

On or about Saturday, May 17, 2008, Good Morning America Weekend may present on its broadcast video tape from each of the four ice-cream shops, as well as the ice-cream flavors. A panel of judges, consisting of Good Morning America Weekend anchors and possibly one or more guest judges may sample each of these ice-cream flavors and then display their score for each ice-cream shop among the finalists. The judging panel's scores will count towards fifty percent of the overall scoring. Viewers may then be asked to go to GMA.ABCNews.com to cast their vote by May 23, 2008. The online voting will count towards the other fifty percent of the overall scoring. The ice-cream shop receiving the highest cumulative score from the on-air judging and online judging may be announced on Good Morning America Weekend on or about Sunday, May 25, 2007; the owner from that ice-cream shop must be available to appear via satellite from that ice-cream shop on the day designated for broadcast as selected at the sole discretion of the Show. The Winner is the person who submitted the entry.

Prizes:

The Winner and one guest will receive roundtrip airfare between a major metropolitan airport closest to the Winner's town and New York City; two (2) nights' accommodations (double occupancy, standard room) at a New York City hotel; round-trip ground transportation between the New York City area airport and New York City hotel; and a $450 gift certificate for dinner for two (2) at one of New York City's fine restaurants. All travel arrangements, and choice of and reservations for the restaurant will be made at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.  Estimated total value of prize package: $2100.

Final actual value at time of booking and travel may be substantially more or less depending on dates of travel, point of origin and ticket availability.  Some restrictions apply. Gift certificate may not be valid for use towards alcohol, gratuity, tax or may otherwise be restricted.

All expenses not specifically provided for herein are the winner's sole responsibility.  Some restrictions may apply.

Federal, state and local taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the winner, who will receive an IRS Form 1099 reflecting the final actual value of any prize valued at $600 or more.

Winners are not entitled to exchange or transfer prizes or to obtain cash or other substitutes, but Sponsor in its sole discretion may substitute prizes of equal or greater value.

If won by a minor, prize will be awarded in parent's or guardian's name. Prize is subject to availability.

Releases:

By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of the Sponsor/Judges and the contest administrator, which shall be final in all respects.

By participating in this contest and accepting any prize that they may win, entrants agree to release American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., its parent, subsidiary, affiliated and successor companies, advertising and promotion agencies and prize suppliers, and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives and employees, as well as each of their respective successors, representatives and assigns (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any and all actions, claims, injury, loss or damage arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, from participation in this contest and/or acceptance or use of any prize.

Entrants authorize the Released Parties to use their name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials in programming or promotional material, worldwide in perpetuity, or on a winner's list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.  Sponsor is not obligated to use any of the above mentioned information or materials, but may do so and may edit such information or materials, at Sponsor's sole discretion, without further obligation or compensation.

By submitting entry materials (including but not limited to essay and/or photos), entrants certify that such materials are original and created by entrant, that entrants have the necessary rights, permission and authority to submit such materials, and, if applicable, that entrants maintain a valid copyright in the materials.  Entrants acknowledge that such materials may be included and/or discussed in a broadcast, that such discussion may include statements or opinions by the broadcast talent or others about the entrants, the entrants' appearances and/or the materials, and that those statements and opinions may be considered surprising, humiliating, embarrassing, derogatory, defamatory or otherwise offensive or injurious to them, Sponsor's employees, its studio or at-home audience and/or other third parties.  Entrants release the Released Parties from any actions, claims, injury, loss or damage allegedly caused, directly or indirectly, by any such statements or opinions made during a broadcast.

Sponsor is not responsible for failed, partial or garbled computer transmissions, or for technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to electronic malfunction or damage of any network, hardware or software.  If for any reason the contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or other causes that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the contest, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest.  No responsibility is assumed for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries; or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or electronic entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials from this contest.  In the event of a dispute over an electronic entry, prize will be awarded to the owner of the e-mail account, not the name on the entry form.

To claim prize: (a) winner must provide proof of age, identity and residency; (b) winner must sign and return affidavit of eligibility/compliance with rules, publicity/liability release and indemnification; and (c) winner's intended guest(s) or travel companion(s), if any, must sign liability/publicity release, all within the time period specified by Sponsor.

Miscellaneous; Winner Posting:

Void where prohibited.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify and/or suspend the contest in the event of tampering or other circumstances, including but not limited to acts of God or civil disturbance that render it impractical or impossible to complete or fulfill the contest as originally planned.

Official rules will be posted on the GMA page (abcnews.com.) The name of the winner, ice-cream shop and owner will be posted on the same Web site and announced on the broadcast.