Application Information and Disclosures

Eligibility Requirements:

Students’ parents/guardians DO NOT have to be members/customers of Big Country Electric Cooperative in order to compete in and win the Youth Tour contest.

A contestant must:  
• Be a current 10th, 11th, or 12th grader at a school in Big Country EC’s service area (Borden, Fisher, Garza, Haskell, Jones, Kent, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry, Shackelford, Stonewall and Throckmorton Counties).
• Previous Youth Tour contest winners and immediate family of co-op directors or employees are not eligible to participate.

Application Submission

Applications are due by Thursday, January 15, 2026. Once your application is received, you will receive an email with instructions to post your video.

Video Topic and Scoring

This year’s video topic is:
What are the differences between an electric cooperative and an investor-owned utility?

Video Guidelines:

  • Videos must be no more than 4 minutes long and must be uploaded by 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 29, 2026.
  • Your video MUST be titled using this example format: Title of my Video by John Smith.

Winners will be selected on a competitive basis, using the following scoring system:

  • Knowledge of Subject 50%   (40 points)    
  • Presentation Quality   50%   (40 points)   

Multiple applicants CANNOT submit the same video. The video MUST BE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL CREATION! Be unique, be creative, be yourself and have fun!

Finalist Selection

Three winning contestants will be chosen by an independent panel of judges, to represent BCEC on the Government-in Action Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. June 14-21, 2026. Each contestant will be notified of the results by email or phone by 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2026.

**Big Country EC will donate $500 to the school that has the most students submit videos! ** 

Applicant Information

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Applicant Contact Information

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Applicant Headshot

Please upload a clear, high-quality photo of yourself (no selfies). If you’re selected as a winner, this photo may be used in BCEC announcements or TEC publications.
One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, png, svg.

Parent/Guardian Contact Information

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I/We hereby give ________________________________ permission to submit his/her name as an applicant to be considered for sponsorship by Big Country EC on the Government-in-Action Youth Tour. I also certify that I have read and understand all the information in the application.