Awards of Excellence - Nomination

The Call for Nomination for the next Awards of Excellence is launched in December, and the deadline for submissions is February. The competition is open to Canadian children's and youth productions broadcast in Canada between January 1 and December 31 of the 2 previous years.

In this page, you will find information related to the submisson of candidates for the English-language Awards of Excellence and/or the francophone Prix d'excellence, the categories and their description, the process of submitting nominations, rules and conditions, registration fees and partners.

Detailed texts are provided in the language of a said year depending if that year is the english or french speaking event.

English speaking - Awards of excellence list Submit and manage your entries
Category descriptions Rules and regulations Partners

English speaking - Awards of excellence list

Best Program, Live Action Scripted

Preschool 3-5,
Ages 6-9 and
Ages 9+

Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted

Preschool 3-5,
Ages 6-9 and
Ages 9+

Best Program, Animation

Preschool 3-5,
Ages 6-9 and
Ages 9+

Best Short Form Content

Preschool 3-5,
Ages 6-9 and
Ages 9+

All Ages

Best Podcast
Best Gaming or Interactive Experience
Best Features Film
Best One-Off Special
Best Host(s) or Oon-Air Personality of the year

SPECIAL PRIZES

Outstanding Youth Performer (Talent Award 18 years old and under)
Outstanding Youth Ensemble (Talent Award 18 years old and under)
Outstanding Achievement (*selected by committee)
Emerging Talent (*selected by committee)
Grand Prize

Submit nomination.s

Visit your member's area to submit and manage your entries. The deadline for receiving entries for the Awards of Excellence is February 16, 2024 at 6 p.m. (Eastern Time).

The member rate is available to members in good standing ONLY, and only if you are logged into the account (with the manager's login and password).

Registration Fees :

YMA Member : 295 $ per episod/project submitted
Non-Member : 395 $ per episod/project submitted
Adminisrtation fee of 5% will be applied

Rules and Conditions

Applicable to all categories:

All entries must be received no later than February 9, 2025, at 6 p.m. ET. The entry should include the duly completed form, together with the payment and all the required materials.

The entry’s original language must be English. A rules committee reserves the right to refuse any entry. Entries submitted for the English-Language Awards of Excellence may not be resubmitted for the French-Language Awards.

Content must have been originally released in English, in Canada between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024.

To be eligible, the applicant corporation must be recognized as a Canadian company (i.e., a taxable Canadian corporation within the meaning of the federal Income Tax Act) and/or have its head office based in Canada and be Canadian-owned. All or substantially all of the production was developed and produced in Canada by the qualifying corporation. It was also created in Canada by a Canadian citizen or by a team having a majority of Canadian members.

A separate form is required for each entry. Payment must be included with the entry form, with credit card or cheque made out to Youth Media Alliance. Cheque payments will be subject to a 5% processing fee. Entry fees are as follows:  YMA members: $295,00 per episode submitted, Non-members: $395,00 per episode submitted. All entries are non-refundable.

Incomplete submissions and those not compliant with these rules and regulations shall be disqualified without any further notice and no refund shall be provided for these entries. There is no possible legal recourse against such decisions.

Applicable per category:

Best Program
(Live Action Scripted, Live Action Non-Scripted and Animation)

Required Materials:

Detailed description of what makes this content excellent (200 words maximum).

Full standard credits for the entered episode (200 characters)

Diversity and representation* on-screen (content, cast and storyline). Presentation of the content and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

Diversity and representation* off-screen (behind the camera, production team, key creative roles, crew members). Presentation of the cast and crew and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

URL - One (1) episode in MP4 format. Technical specifications requested for your video: Format MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s

URL - One (1) 15 second clip from the episode, broadcast quality (HD). The following technical specifications are requested for your video: Format: MP4 (h.264); 1920 x 1080 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s

One (1) digital still from the episode in JPEG format (high-resolution).

* Underrepresented groups (BIPOC/Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, LGBTQ2S+, gender parity, body diversity, differently abled, neural diversity, economic diversity, etc.)

Best Gaming or Interactive Experiences
(Apps, web games, interactive experiences, website, etc.)

Required Materials:

A detailed description of the content and why it deserves to be honoured (200 words maximum).

Full credits for the entered content (200 characters).

Diversity and representation* on-screen (content, cast and storyline). Presentation of the content and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

Diversity and representation* off-screen (behind the camera, production team, key creative roles, crew members). Presentation of the cast and crew and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

One (1) digital still in JPEG format (high-resolution)

URL -  A 2–5 minute video walk-through of the content and functionalities in MP4. Technical specifications requested for video file:  Format: MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s.

URL - One (1) 15-sec promo clip from the content, broadcast quality (HD). Technical specifications requested:  Format: MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s.

* Underrepresented groups (BIPOC/Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, LGBTQ2S+, gender parity, body diversity, differently abled, neural diversity, economic diversity, etc.)

Best Short Form Content
(Webseries, linear videos, interstitials or any narrative of less than 5 minutes in length intended for transmission on a linear television network or digital streaming platform)

Required Materials:

A detailed description of what makes this content excellent (200 words maximum).

Full credits for the entered content (200 characters).

Diversity and representation* on-screen (content, cast and storyline). Presentation of the content and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

Diversity and representation* off-screen (behind the camera, production team, key creative roles, crew members). Presentation of the cast and crew and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

One (1) digital still in JPEG format (high-resolution).

URL - Programs in the short form category (less than 5 minutes) could be consolidated (but not necessary) into one video file that runs for a maximum of ten minutes (total). Programs must be selected in chronological order over a given day or week, according to their broadcast schedule. Technical specifications are requested for your video file:  Format: MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s.

URL - One (1) 15-sec clip from the content, broadcast quality (HD). Technical specifications requested:  Format: MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s.

* Underrepresented groups (BIPOC/Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, LGBTQ2S+, gender parity, body diversity, differently abled, neural diversity, economic diversity, etc.)

Best Podcast
(Digital audio that audiences can download on personal devices or stream from web pages. They are episodic series of shows, fictional or educational targeting kids’ audiences)

Required Materials:

Detailed description of what makes this content excellent (200 words maximum).

Full standard credits for the entered episode (200 characters).

Diversity and representation* (content, storyline, production team/crew, key creative roles). (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

URL - One (1) audio file of the episode. Format: MP3 (44.1 kHz) ;128 kbps.
One (1) 15-sec audio promo file (if available/optional). Format: MP3 (44.1 kHz);128 kbps.

URL - One (1) 15 seconds promo video from the project (if available/optional), broadcast quality (HD). The following technical specifications are requested for your video: Format: MP4 (h.264); 1920 x 1080 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s

One (1) digital still from the project in JPEG format (high-resolution).

* Underrepresented groups (BIPOC/Black, Indigenous or People of Colour, LGBTQ2S+, gender parity, body diversity, differently abled, neural diversity, economic diversity, etc.)

Outstanding Youth Performer and Ensemble
(New talent Award to an individual or ensemble of 18 years old and under)

Required Materials:

A presentation of the candidate; why he or she deserve to be honoured. (500 words maximum).

Short bio of the candidate (100 words).

URL - One (1) episode of your choice or one (1) clip in MP4 format (approx. two minutes). The following technical specifications are requested for your video: Format: MP4 (H.264); 1920 x 1080 pixels; 29.97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Kbps; Audio: AAC: 160 Kbps

URL - One (1) 15-sec clip, broadcast quality (HD). The following technical specifications are requested for your video: Format: MP4 (H.264); 1920 x 1080 pixels; 29.97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Kbps; Audio: AAC: 160 Kbps

One (1) digital still of the person in JPEG format (high-resolution, print quality).

Best Feature Film, Best One-Off Special

Required Materials:

Detailed description of what makes this content excellent (200 words maximum).

Full standard credits for the entered episode (200 characters).

Diversity and representation* on-screen (content, cast and storyline). Presentation of the content and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

Diversity and representation* off-screen (behind the camera, production team, key creative roles, crew members). Presentation of the cast and crew and why this production stands out in terms of diversity and representation (200 words maximum). This new criterion will count for 10% of the evaluation.

URL - One (1) episode in MP4 format. Technical specifications requested for your video: Format MP4 (h.264); 1280 x 720 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s

URL - One (1) 15 second clip from the episode, broadcast quality (HD). The following technical specifications are requested for your video: Format: MP4 (h.264); 1920 x 1080 pixels; 29,97 frames per second; Encoding: 1800 Ko/s; Audio: AAC: 160 Ko/s

One (1) digital still from the episode in JPEG format (high-resolution).

Best Host(s) or On-Air Personality of the Year

Required Materials:

A presentation of the candidate; why he or she deserve to be honoured. (500 words maximum).

Short bio of the candidate (100 words).

URL - Extract of approximately two minutes or an episode representing the candidate (for jury members' use). Video encoding specifications:-MP4 (h.264), -Width: 1920 pixels, -Height: 1080 pixels, -Bitrate: 29.97 frames per second, -Encoding: 1800 Kb/s, -Audio: AAC: 160 Kb/s

One (1) digital still from the episode in JPEG format (high-resolution).

Category Descriptions

Best Program
(Live Action Scripted, Live Action Non-Scripted and Animation)

Juries of youth production professionals grant these awards to children’s and youth programs that stand out for their excellence. The categories are: Live Action Scripted, Live Action Non-Scripted and Animation for each age group (Preschool 3-5, Ages 6-9 and Ages 9+)

Best Gaming or Interactive Experiences
(Apps, web games, interactive experiences, website, etc.)
Awarded by our juries of industry professionals, these prizes go to the best digital production intended for interactive platforms. The production will have demonstrated the ability to create an environment and experience specific to its target audience and platform. The chosen production provides an enriched, intelligent environment fostering user engagement and active participation.

Best Short Form Content
(Webseries, linear videos, interstitials or any narrative of less than 5 minutes in length intended for transmission on a linear television network or digital streaming platform)

Awarded by our juries of industry professionals, these 3 new prizes go to the best short form content webseries, linear videos, interstitials or any narrative of less than 5 minutes in length intended for transmission on a linear television network or digital streaming platform for each age group (Preschool 3-5, Ages 6-9 and Ages 9+). The content can be animated, live-action or hybrid. The chosen production stands out for its excellence – more specifically the quality of its pace and editing, its ability to reach its target audience, and a script or content well adapted to the intended platform and audience.

Best Podcast
(Digital audio files that audiences can download on personal devices or stream from web pages. They are episodic series of shows, fictional or educational targeting kids’ audiences)

Juries of youth production professionals grant this new award to children’s and youth podcast that stand out for their excellence. Any fiction or non-fiction programs or series of digital audio files that kids can download and listen to. Entries must include one MP3 file for judging.

Outstanding Youth Performer

This award is designed to spotlight an under-18 individual performer of performers in the industry that uses their unique youth entertainment skill and influence to inspire positive change. They are influential with youth and stand out for their talent in performing, and their uniqueness, audacity, and positive presence on multiple platforms.

Outstanding Youth Ensemble

This award is designed to spotlight an under-18 individual ensemble of performers in the industry that uses their unique youth entertainment skill and influence to inspire positive change. They are influential with youth and stand out for their talent in performing, and their uniqueness, audacity, and positive presence on multiple platforms.

Outstanding Achievement Award
Awarded by a special committee. Given for a distinguished career in youth production in Canada, this prestigious prize salutes the individual’s contributions to the industry, leadership skills, ability to innovate and inspire and career-long commitment to young Canadians.

Emerging Talent Award
Awarded by a special committee. This award is given to a promising professional whose achievements have made him or her a rising star in children’s programming. This award encourages young creators and broadcast professionals to outdo themselves and, more importantly, to pursue a career in youth production.

Best Feature Film

(Outstanding Achievement in Feature-Length Productions)

This award recognizes excellence in feature-length productions in animated or live-action, minimum 40 minutes, aimed at children and youth audiences. Eligible entries must demonstrate exceptional storytelling, technical artistry, and the ability to captivate and engage their target demographic. The winning feature will stand out for its originality, production quality, and impact on its audience.

Best One-Off Special

(Exceptional Standalone Programming)

This award celebrates outstanding single-episode or standalone content created for children and youth. Eligible productions must excel in narrative structure, visual execution, and audience appeal. The winning entry will be recognized for its ability to deliver a memorable and impactful experience within a single program or special.

Best Host(s) or On-Air Personality of the Year

(Excellence in Hosting for Children and Youth Programming)

This award honors a host who brings energy, charisma, and authenticity to children’s and youth programming. The winner demonstrates an exceptional ability to connect with their audience, guide narratives, and enhance the overall viewing experience. Hosting contributions must reflect creativity, professionalism, and positive influence.